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Keisuke Honda's Melbourne Victory debut delivers welcome boost for A-League

Japanese international Keisuke Honda has landed in the A-League with a serious splash, both on and off the field.

The Melbourne Victory marquee, lured to Australia with the powerhouse club's biggest-ever salary, netted the opener in the derby on Saturday night.

But his influence on the contest began well before kick-off.

Victory's membership levels have ballooned off the back of his signing -- already sitting above 24,000 -- which will see the club break its all-time record this season.

Both the Victory army and Honda's own Japanese-based fans swamped Marvel Stadium for an attendance of 40,504.