John Aloisi has hailed Brisbane Roar's AFC Champions League boilover in China as the greatest victory in his tenure at the club.
The Roar booked a spot in the tournament's group stage with an upset 2-0 qualifying win on Wednesday night against a star-studded Shanghai Shenhua, whose megabucks recruit Carlos Tevez was making his competitive debut.
Flying in the face of predictions the Chinese Super League's star power would be too much to handle, Brisbane's Brandon Borrello and Tommy Oar combined to score first-half goals and stun the hosts before their disciplined midfield and defence shut out Shenhua as they pushed for a way back into the match.
Considering the travel, opponent, change in conditions and hostile crowd at the Hongkou Stadium, Aloisi rated it as his proudest victory.
"Since I've been up been here, that's probably been the biggest win -- especially because a lot of people really didn't give us a chance of beating them," Aloisi said.
"But we showed we're not only a good footballing team but we can also fight when we have to and defend.
"I wouldn't say that money's overrated -- I'd say that people shouldn't underestimate the culture we've got at Brisbane Roar.
"We've shown that time and time again.
"It was a brilliant result -- a tough game, but bloody hell, it was an unbelievable atmosphere, and a really good performance."
The Roar will play in Group E, alongside South Korea's Ulsan Hyundai, Thailand's Muangthong United and Japan's Kashima Antlers.
Brisbane have been to the Champions League twice before but never made it past the group stages.
"The players that have been in there before are excited. Matty McKay especially, he was one of the happiest after the game because he wants that opportunity," Aloisi said.
"We know it's going to be difficult, we know we've got another big couple of months coming up, but this is the position we wanted to be in."
The Roar now face a tough trip home for Saturday's A-League clash with Melbourne City, but will have a number of fresh players available who were left at home by Aloisi, including former Socceroo Brett Holman.
The team will not depart Shanghai until late on Thursday night because of a lack of flights, and face an additional stopover in Sydney before arriving in Melbourne little more than 24 hours before the match.
Right-back Jack Hingert, who rolled his ankle and had to be withdrawn just before halftime in China, is unlikely to play.