Ange Postecoglou was in charge, the team contained several stalwarts of the old NSL and no one gave them much of a chance.

That side acquitted itself with honour, losing 2-0 to a Vasco da Gama team that had a frontline of Brazilian superstars Romario and Edmundo. It also lost to United (for whom Mark Bosnich and David Beckham, among others, were on the bench) by a similar scoreline.

On Wednesday night the part-timers of South prepare to entertain A-League champions Sydney FC in an FFA Cup semi-final.

Their opposition is not as illustrious, the tournament not as grand, nor the crowds anywhere near as big.

But, says the club's football director, Nick Maikousis, it is the biggest game South will have played since those nights in the Brazilian mega city all those years ago.

"I would say it definitely is. We have told the players who are here now what a group of part-timers then could achieve, and that they too can upset the odds and make a huge statement for themselves and the club," Maikousis said.

"Back then they were training three nights a week, the same as now, so it shows what a strongly motivated, highly focused group of players can achieve."

South have home ground advantage as the match will be played at Lakeside, but they have been put in a difficult position by the vagaries of the calendar.

Because their NPL season finished at the start of September they have not played a competitive game for three weeks - since their quarter-final win on the Gold Coast - and they will come up against not just the A-League champions but a Sydney side that is full of confidence having seen off Melbourne Victory 1-0 at Etihad Stadium in Saturday night's season-opener.

"We have had a fairly intensive training set up, but its obviously not the same as playing games that mean something against good opposition. We have added extra players to the training squad, so at least we can have full intra club games," Maikousis said.

This game has plenty of off-field importance for the Victorian club as well, given that it is pushing to be included in the A-League if the FFA ever does sign off on expansion.

South Melbourne want to demonstrate through their crowd and the buzz it generates that they could offer the competition something new should they gain admission.

"This is a major chance for us to show what we are about. In footballing terms everyone knows that it will be difficult for us to go up against the champions who are all full-timers," Maikousis said.

"But we can use the game to show that we have the supporter base, the infrastructure and the whole underpinnings of a club that could make the step up."

Ticket sales have been strong, he added.

"Pre-sales have been better than I can remember for any other game. We have done almost 4000 there, and of course there will be a walk up with fans coming on the night," he said.

Lakeside can hold around 10,000, and the club, said Maikousis, "is expecting both grandstands to be full, that's probably 8000 people".