Sydney FC midfielder Anthony Caceres knows how rare it is to make a continental semi-final.
The last time the club did it was 20 years ago in the Oceania Champions League, when coach Ufuk Talay played for the side.
The Sky Blues now have the chance to make their first Asian final, but take on Singapore's Lion City Sailors knowing they have to overcome a two-goal deficit on Wednesday night in Sydney.
"Twenty years ago, I was just kicking the ball around the back yard, having fun and enjoying the game in its purest form," Caceres told reporters on Tuesday.
"I've been here for close to seven years now, and this is the first time I get to play in semi-final Asian competition.
"We have all the tools at our disposal and we're tactically prepared. Individually, we have players that can make a difference."
In the first leg of the semi-final in Singapore, the Sky Blues could not break down their opponents until after they had scored both of their goals.
In the second leg, the Sky Blues will not only have to score twice, but also a third or win on penalties if they are to host the AFC Champions League 2 final in May.
The Sailors are having a fairytale tournament, having beaten Japanese side Hiroshima 4-1 in the quarter-finals.
Until five years ago, the Sailors were run by the Singaporean local police, but since becoming a professional team in 2020 they have recruited names such as former Socceroos defender Bailey Wright.
"This is Sydney's first time in this semi-final, right? It just shows how hard it is to get to this level," Wright told reporters on Tuesday.
"You've got an opportunity to make a final, sometimes it can take 20 years for these moments to come around.
"Obviously, being Aussie, I'm always a big supporter of teams here, but we're here to disappoint and show who we really are.
"Singaporean football doesn't get much attention in terms of our league, but now, if you watch the game last week, it showed that we're a really good outfit, and we deserve to be where we are."
Sailors coach Aleksander Rankovic said he would prefer his team to sit back and defend, with a 0-0 draw his ideal result.
This is because of Sydney's dynamic attack that scores an average of 2.13 goals per game, while young gun Adrian Segecic leads the A-League Men golden boot race with 12 goals.
Brazilian import Douglas Costa will also join the side after being rested on the weekend.
"The mindset is we're not going to go out all guns blazing. We need to be smart in the decisions we make," Talay said.
"We obviously need to play well and score two goals to give ourselves the best chance to get something out of the game."
