Depending on how far the Socceroos go into the tournament, the fitness guru behind the Socceroos' 2015 Asian Cup triumph might be conspiring against the team during their upcoming title defence.

Australia's former Head of Sport Science, Dr Craig Duncan, is understood to have been poached by former Real Madrid coach, Carlos Queiroz, to work with the Iran national team during the 2019 Asian Cup in the UAE. Dr Duncan worked with the Socceroos from 2014 through to the 2018 World Cup in Russia before attracting the interest from Queiroz.

If both Australia and Iran top their groups as expected, they will be on course to meet in the final which would be the first time the two nations have played against each other since the infamous 1997 World Cup qualifier.

Redback reunion

On Friday night, Sydney FC coach Steve Corica will face his former teammate and now Perth Glory coach Tony Popovic across the dugout at NIB Stadium. The two didn't just play together in the Young Socceroos, Olyroos and senior national team but also for one of the most feared over-35's teams in Australia.

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Until recently, the two were central figures in the Glenwood Redbacks, an amateur side that, at its peak, collectively boasted more than 400 Socceroos caps. Alongside 'Popa' and 'Bimbi' were the likes of; David Zdrilic, Alex Tobin, Jason Culina, Tony Sekulic, Zeljko Kalac who played as a striker and apparently a pretty handy one while Wanderers' goalkeeping coach Davide del Giovine wore the gloves. Understandably, the team retired with a perfect record.

Babbel's blues

Markus Babbel was given a rap over the knuckles by Western Sydney Wanderers senior staff on Saturday night but it wasn't because of his decision to take star playmaker Alex Baumjohann off midway through the first half. Instead, the Wanderers' coach broke one of the club's strictest rules by wearing an all blue outfit. The Wanderers forbid all staff from wearing the colour of their fiercest rivals while on the clock. It's not the first time a Wanderers coach has breached this rule - Josep Gombau's decision to wear a blue suit at his unveiling last year made for a poor first impression with his bosses.

Rain delay

Sticking with the Sydney Derby last week, the 53-minute delay in kick-off due to the storm that hit Olympic Park on Saturday night left the Sky Blues somewhat frazzled. Coach Steve Corica delivered a stirring pre-game speech only to be told immediately after the game wouldn't start for almost an hour.

Half-inspired, half-puzzled due to the delay, the players didn't know what to do and it's understood a game of cricket broke out inside the change-rooms for the better part of the delay. It hasn't been confirmed but The Hairdryer is pointing the finger at cricket nut, Rhyan Grant, as the instigator.

Pourre's performance

In the hours before Brisbane Roar’s home match against Melbourne Victory last week, the young local fans at Suncorp Stadium were treated to a visit from Santa. A jolly man in a red suit walked among the crowd posing for photos ahead of the holiday season. Unbeknownst to all, the man in the suit was one of the head honchos of Brisbane Roar, understood to be club chief David Pourre.