Just by setting foot in the oil-rich state,which will host the next World Cup in 2022,the Sky Blues and A-League rivals Melbourne Victory and Perth Glory have created history. They are the first Australian club teams to have travelled overseas for competitions since the onset of the pandemic;the only others to have done it were national representative sides in one-day cricket and rugby union,who went to England and New Zealand respectively.
Qatar is almost the same size as the Sydney metropolitan area – just under 12,000 square kilometres – but is recording between 200 and 250 new coronavirus cases a day. When the ACL's west zone fixtures were completed there in September and October,despite extensive mitigation protocols,two teams still managed to suffer outbreaks.
Hence,the reservations expressed by players,coaches and staff of all three Australian teams about flying to Doha and the extreme caution taken by the teams who have arrived in recent days. Mooy's new team has set the standard on that front,with the 30-year-old midfielder and his Shanghai teammates,including former Chelsea star Oscar,donning personal protective equipment suits as they presented for testing at the airport.
The A-League sideswere effectively strong-armed into going by the AFC,who are determined to finish the tournament in spite of all the obstacles to avoid any financial or legal conflict with broadcasters Lagardere Sports.
Success in Qatar is a double-edged sword for the Australian teams:any side that progress beyond the round of 16 will be in hotel quarantine over Christmas,which could impact preparations and planning for the start of the new A-League season on December 27.
The Sky Blues have never gone that far,and it bugs them. In five previous attempts they've only moved past the group stage once,in 2016.