Canberra FC helped create Western Sydney Wanderers' Asian Champions League triumph Canberra product Nikolai Topor-Stanley holds aloft the AFC Champions League trophy after leading the Wanderers to victory. Before Western Sydney Wanderers, before the AFC Asian Champions League, before the A-League, Tony Popovic was "born like a winner." Canberra FC president Marko Vrkic remembers a young Popovic, who Sydney United sent on loan to play for the ACT club in the 1994 NSW State League, as a gentleman with an excellent attitude. There were similar thoughts for Nikolai Topor-Stanley, who played in FC's National Youth League title in 2004. Wanderers coach Tony Popovic, who spent some time at Canberra FC. Vrkic said the pair both possessed that crucial blend of talent and work ethic. Now, they've created history as coach and captain of Australia's first Asian Champions League champion. Vrkic was coaching at Canberra FC in 1994 and said the time Popovic spent with the ACT powerhouse helped him grow up as a player in the winter months between the now defunct National Soccer League. It was part of a journey that took Popovic to Crystal Palace and the English Premier League, before returning to play for Sydney FC in the A-League. He's now being touted as a Socceroos coach of the future. "What I remember, he had an excellent attitude outside of the field, a sportsman, born like a winner," Vrkic said. He had respect for opposition and his team's players. After that he went back after a few months to Sydney United and he grew up and started to play for Australia and go overseas and have a professional career. Vrkic said Topor-Stanley joined FC when he finished at the Australian Institute of Sport and the Deakin-based club sponsored his trip to Switzerland to trial with FC Basel. While it didn't work out, it was the beginning of a path that has seen Topor-Stanley become one of the best defenders in Australia and pushing to cement a spot in the heart of the Socceroos' defence. "Inside field and outside field they were working hard, hard training, not going to discos to 4am," Vrkic said. If you've not got talent together with hard work, forget it, but if you have talent and hard work together then you have the chance to be a professional player. Vrkic woke up at 4.30am to watch the game at his home and he likened it to watching John Aloisi's penalty against Uruguay that sent the Socceroos into the 2006 World Cup - an important moment in Australian soccer history. He said it was not only a proud moment for Canberra FC, but one for all of Australia. Vrkic hoped it would inspire Canberrans to support January's Asian Cup - with seven games scheduled for Canberra Stadium, including a quarter-final - to show Football Federation Australia that Canberra loves soccer and deserves an A-League club in the future.