1982 was a good year. The World Cup gave us everlasting memories of a rampaging Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and the sublimely gifted midfield wizard Michel Platini, long before they wore suits for a living. Bruno Conti made wing play fun again while, under the late Tele Santana, a Brazil side playing strength-through-joy football and led by Zico mesmerised the world. Meanwhille, a young and frustrated Diego Maradona carried the hopes of a nation on his unprepared shoulders, his rage boiling over and World Cup dream ending with a flying kung fu kick to his marker’s groin. The man who would dominate the tournament four years on like no other in World Cup history was not quite ready for fame and expectation in 1982, not to mention the defensive brutality of the day.

Some of my peers were just discovering girls while the rest of us were coming to terms with the stark realisation that girls were not interested in discovering us. School hours dragged and hormones raged. It was like “American Pie” without the happy ending.

Dexy’s Midnight Runners were all over the music scene, “Come On Eileen” played at parties and nightclubs and all over the radio. Not exactly a one-hit wonder like The Knack and Patrick Hernandez, DMR never quite went on with it, becoming consigned to pop culture reference status as immortalised in the Simpsons’ “Be Sharps” episode:

“Homer:  Lisa, did you see the Grammys?”

Lisa: You beat Dexy’s Midnight Runners.

Homer: Well you haven’t heard the last of them!”

Football has had its share of one-hit wonders, players whose careers began brightly but who never quite went on with it, reasons unexplained and great potential unfulfilled. Michael Curcija, Mark Koussas, David Seal, Kaz Patafta and Kostas Salapasidis, the latter putting four goals past a rampant Argentina in the 1997 Youth World Cup (a side featuring Samuel, Riquelme, Aimar and Cambiasso), all stand out in my mind as local players unable to back up their spectacular potential with a career to match.

Aaron Calver is a young player whose name who will go down in Australia’s football history. A decade from now we will either be saying: “I remember the day I saw Australia’s greatest ever centreback start his first game for Sydney”, or “Who was that 16 year old kid who played a couple of games at stopper for us? Whatever happened to him?”

Central defence is for the hard and the experienced, players unafraid of going in where it hurts and living with the knowledge that an error at the back is likely to result in a one-on-one with the keeper. So to see a 16 year old centre half starting an A-League game says one of two things – either Calver has the ability to go all the way or Frank Farina’s level of desperation due to the injury crisis in the Sky Blue camp was at an all-time high.

A little of both perhaps, but Calver showed what a raw kid with potential and a good head on his shoulders can do. And what a talent he is, reminding many of a young Craig Moore at the 1993 Youth World Cup here in Australia, dominant in the air and on the ground and comfortable with the ball at his feet.

Which isn’t to say the boy made no errors - forgivable given the kid’s inexperience - but surely the Joey showed enough ability to be rewarded with a senior contract come next season. And his partner at the back, himself hardly a veteran at just 23, stood up to be counted with another Man of The Match performance, holding it together at the back and popping up to smash home a deserved equaliser – a finish that did not receive sufficient praise for its coolness under pressure and the technique to bounce it under the despairing Danny Vukovic. Seb Ryall was an outstanding backline leader and while he may not realise it, he has thrown his hand up for captaincy in a year or so.

When one door closes, another opens, and defensively Frank Farina has decisions to make.  Rhyan Grant has done exceptionally well at leftback, and has thrown down the gauntlet to Fabio. Does the coach opt for Grant’s defensive solidity over the affable Brazilian’s attacking game?

When Pascal Bosschaart returns from injury, does he partner Seb Ryall, relegating Adam Griffiths out of the starting 11? Which would leave the door open for Trent McLenahan to continue his sterling work at rightback.

That said, the back four were hardly faultless in the end-to-end thriller at NIB Stadium, showing a few concentration lapses and fortunate not to concede garbage goals. Once again Travis Dodd was allowed to run unchecked straight into the box, some defensive naivety leading to a classy second to Shane Smeltz.

Behind the defence, Vedran Janjetovic is looking the goods and kept the away side in the contest with a couple of brilliant saves. Is he the # 1 that we have searched for unsuccessfully since Clint Bolton’s departure? The rest of the season will tell.

The first half belonged to Perth Glory, the men in purple and white dominating the Sky Blues and unlucky to go into halftime only one goal to the good. As an aside, could the clubs please consider the colour-challenged among us? Sydney has a perfectly good black away kit – what gives?

Come the second half and it was a different story, the Sydney midfield finally getting it together and mounting attack after attack. Jason Culina, Ali Abbas and Brett Emerton were instrumental in dragging us back into the contest and within an inch of victory, but the unsung hero was Peter Triantis, the diminutive 20 year old defensive midfielder winning every one-on-one and distributing neatly from the back.

Del Piero’s passing may have been off-radar but it was the introduction of Joel Chianese that really threatened up front, the player who scored six last season putting his injuries behind him to stake a claim for a starting spot next week. Chianese caused the Perth defenders nightmares with his pace and acceleration, one such burst nearly resulting in a second goal to Culina who skied the cutback.

In all a draw was probably a fair result, both teams laying claim to all three points. Overall Perth had one or two more chances, especially in the first half, but either side could have won it at the end.

The A-League’s highest ever goalscorer underlined his quality once again, taking both his goals with aplomb. The Japanese winger Nagai was dangerous, but may well have picked up a yellow for “simulation”. And Josh Risdon looks a kid going places, the young rightback on target to win his first Socceroo cap and a contract abroad.

Back at Moore Park this Sunday, hosting Melbourne Heart – the side that began the December Del Piero Kickfest - has had a season only marginally better than ours but finds itself on the edge of the top six, just four points ahead of us. This time though we are not as reliant on the #10 and with the Sydney midfield firing, if Heart pay too much attention to Del Piero they will pay the price.

Tough though the match will be, the home side definitely has the ability to take all three points in front of its fans and commence a belated climb up the charts.