50 Defining Moments Of Australian Football

Back-to-back World Cup qualification

The once unattainable dream has suddenly become the minimum requirement for football in this country.

Although Australia have figured in just two finals in the World Cup's 80 year history, the Socceroos were expected to qualify through Asia, despite a rather underwhelming performance in the Asian Cup the
previous year.

After becoming the second nation in the world to qualify for South Africa (without losing or conceding during the second stage of qualification), people then shrugged their shoulders in a blasé fashion at the Socceroos' stellar achievement.

While many graduates of Australia's many decades of footballing heartbreak grew frustrated at criticism over Pim Verbeek's pragmatic style, what the muted superlatives of back-to-back qualification actually defined was a shift in national expectations for the Socceroos.

The Socceroos travelled to Qatar in June needing just a point. They gained just that with the kind military-disciplined display they needed when playing Iran or Uruguay in those do-or-die qualifiers previously.   

Qualification secured for a second consecutive time with two games to spare. Job done and expected from now on, too.

Mackay fires Australia to first ever WC finals

Against South Korea at the Hong Kong Stadium on November 13, 1973, the late Scottish-born Socceroo midfielder Jimmy Mackay cracked a long range drive past the Korean keeper Lee Sae Yun.

That sweet strike in the 70th minute proved the clincher to qualify Australia for their first ever World Cup in West Germany.

Barely a decade after admission into FIFA, Australia's part-time Socceroos beat the odds, the extraordinary travel, conditions and exotic opposition to book a place at the big event and, arguably, push the Socceroos into the top 16 of the world.

This game was the third in a fascinating trilogy. In October, Australia drew 0-0 against the South Koreans in Sydney, while a 2-2 draw a month later in Seoul meant the qualification path would go into a third game in neutral Honkers.

Last gasp Cheryl sets a new Matildas' target

"Our players on the park knew how much of a massive change that was for women's football in Australia," said former Matildas captain Cheryl Salisbury of her last gasp goal against Canada at the 2007 Women's World Cup in China.

"Before we were always the team that didn't quite get there, we were never the team that got the goal at the end. We became that team against Canada."

Reaching the quarters in 2007 set the platform for the future development of the women's game in Australia.

While the Matildas deservedly gained the plaudits at the time, it can be argued that Cheryl's goal had a direct effect on the launch of the W-League. At the very least it raised the women's game to new heights.

Harry takes us to the knockout stage

World Cup finals are rollercoasters of emotion, and despair was the prominent sentiment approaching the final 10 minutes of Australia's final group game against Croatia at the 2006 World Cup.

The Croats were leading 2-1 and heading through. Then a deep Bresciano ball from the right found its way through a crowded penalty box and to the feet of Harry Kewell, who managed to control the ball before lashing in from close range.

While the first Japan game was a historic opening victory, the benchmark for South Africa is the knockout stages and that's because Harry's goal against Croatia got us there four years ago.

"Australia's golden boy has come up with a golden goal," proclaimed FourFourTwo columnist and then SBS commentator Simon Hill at the time. "It just had to be Harry... the dream is back on." Long may the dream continue.

England 1 Australia 3

The Australia-England rivalry is one that spans across all sporting codes and, well, pretty much anything else we can argue or compete over...

While cricket's Ashes are seen as the common platform for the duel, beating the Poms back in 2003 at their national game in their own capital city has to be ranked as an all-time Australian victory.

Even today, the loss hurts the English, as they cling to excuses like, "it was only a friendly that didn't matter" and blaming Sven Goran-Eriksson's 11 half-time substitutions. But they still started with a full-strength team, including seven automatic starters in Gary Neville, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Michael Owen.

Plus it was during that first half where a near unplayable Kewell and his teammates tore into England, first through a Tony Popovic header from a free-kick, then from a dizzy dribble and finish by Kewell which had the Poms on the rack and 2-0 down as the players went into the changing room.

David Beckham famously pleaded with Eriksson for the 'full strength team' to be given the opportunity to put right the first-half performance, but the coach refused.

The wholesales changes introduced five debutants for England and, in an even more damming slur on England's stars, the rookies faired better. 

Francis Jeffers, the youngster Arsene Wenger paid $16m for before his career nosedived into obscurity soon after, got England back into the game at 2-1 and a 17 year-old Wayne Rooney won his first cap. But it was to little avail when Brett Emerton slid the ball home after good work by John Aloisi.

This may have only been an international friendly, but it's been the only meeting between the nations in the modern era.

The result gave confidence to our players, belief to our fans, but above everything else, it gave us bragging rights over the Poms and their inflated opinion of their abilities on the football pitch for a full six years
and counting...

Cheryl Salisbury makes world All Star team

While the men's game has a plethora of national and international competitions and accolades, the women's game has fewer platforms for rewarding the best players.

Behind the World Cup, the Women's World All Star games are seen as the elite showcase of female players and Matildas legend Cheryl Salisbury has twice been selected, much to the pride of Australia.

As you might expect the Women's World All Star team is dominated by the sport's leading nations such as Germany and USA, so to have an Aussie playing - and scoring - at the heart of the team's defence was an inspiration to female Aussie players.

"To have played twice in such a game was absolutely magnificent and I even managed to score a back post header in one of the games too," says Salisbury. "That really is the pinnacle of any sport, to be in a World All Stars team and score."

Government funding for the local game

What the game in this country had always lacked was backing from the big end of town.

That all changed when the extraordinarily persuasive businessman and football tragic Frank Lowy assumed power in the reconstituted national governing body.

Through Lowy's negotiations and influence as one of the richest men in the country, the new FFA secured vital seed money of around $15m from the government in 2003. It reflected a new-found confidence in the game and an understanding that, with a little push, it could blossom in a large way.

The money was the start of the business of reinvigoration of the national team. It went in part on assisting the most important elements of the new regime - namely the Socceroos' campaign for Germany 2006 and the setting up of the new A-League.

And the government must have been happy with their investment because a few years later they shelled out another $45m for the bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cups.

While the government had funded the game indirectly through the AIS and various sports commission projects before, direct funding was a massive breakthrough.

South Americans deny Socceroos a World Cup place... again and again

For years in Australia, South America was seen as the achilles heel of Australia's World Cup campaign; A final hurdle too tall to conquer.

No task was more mammoth than when taking on an Argentina team including Diego Maradona, Claudio Caniggia et al for a place at the 1994 World Cup. After a spirited 1-1 draw in Sydney, Argentina won 1-0 back at home. After the game Maradona famously remarked "your tears of pain will one day be tears of joy". He was right, but the wait was too long all the same.

Our heartbreaking loss to Iran in 1997 has been well chronicled, but the loss to Uruaguay in 2001 hurt just as much as it looked finally like we had the players to overcome a South American team.

A 1-0 win in Melbourne garnered false hope, with the return in the Centenario all one-way traffic as the Uruguayans ran out 3-0 winners.

The ultimate irony of our battles with the South Americans is it was only after we secured a move to the Asian Confederation that we managed to beat the hoodoo and qualify for the World Cup.

FFA go Dutch with new football blueprint

Grassroots football and youth development in this country has always been the elephant in the room.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the recent results of our representative youth teams, whose performances in the Olympics and U20 World Cup have been distinctly underwhelming.

The solution to these issues was unveiled in May this year when FFA technical director Han Berger unveiled details of the new 'football curriculum', designed to revamp the game from grassroots up to the Socceroos and from the youngest players through to full pros.

The curriculum outline is broad and detailed, including mandatory use of the 4-3-3 formation at all age levels, while younger players will be encouraged to do more technical work with the ball and focus on their performances over the final results.

It is not an overnight plan, but a long-term one aimed at producing world stars and then delivering World Cup glory. Sounds great on paper; the reality is a waiting game...

Socceroos hit new low with Kiwi loss

If you've ever wondered what it was like to be a Socceroo fan before the current golden generation, this 2002 calamity encapsulated the frustration.

Just five years after "Iran" and a year after Uruguay inevitably knocked the 'Roos out of World Cup contention, OFC nation Australia's shot at redemption - and a desperately needed big pay day - was the Confederations Cup in France 2003.

All we needed to do was beat lightweight Oceania opposition at the New Zealand-hosted Oceania Nations Cup (which doubled as the qualifiers), and face the Kiwis in the final. We strolled through to the final but a Ryan Nelson header had the All-Whites celebrating a famous win.

More than that, it was the manner in which Australia was forced to approach this tournament. With the national body skint, the Socceroos under Frank Farina were a cobbled together, NSL-based national B team at best (Scott Chipperfield was the only overseas-based player - and he paid his own way to the tournament!).

A big pay day was squandered, we looked like amateurs - again - on the international stage and the fans continued to ask, 'How bad can this get?'

This embarrassing episode was one of the catalysts for the subsequent rebirth of the game in Australia.

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Aussies humbled in 2007 Asian Cup debut

Expectations were high in the wake of Dutch maestro Guus Hiddink taking the Socceroos to the World Cup knock-out stages for the first time.

Heading into the 2007 Asian Cup, Guus had departed and the inexperienced Graham Arnold stepped into the gaping void left behind. Australia swaggered into the tournament as bookies favourites, with talk of a first major trophy in the cabinet, but they left the tournament like a playground bully put in their place by his new classmates.

The players seemed disinterested, underdone and tired against newly adopted foes in a humid climate. Plus many clubs seemed unwilling to release their Aussie players, whcih set the tone of the entire tournament.

After drawing with Oman courtesy of a Tim Cahill goal at the death, Iraq then humbled the Socceroos 3-1 to offer a stark reminder of the quality Asia boasts. A better display against Thailand got Australia into the knock-out stages but they were duly dispatched by rivals Japan on penalties. 

The failure of the Aussies at the 2007 Asian Cup was a learning curve of the style and quality of Asian opposition. Without such a warning, Australia may have entered their first ever Asian World Cup qualification campaign with the same attitude and fallen short of reaching South Africa. We needed this harsh dress rehearsal to ensure there was no future complacency.

NSL formed in 1977

The 1970s was boom time for football locally. Qualification for the 1974 World Cup was soon followed by the launch of a national club competition in 1977.

This pioneering spirit came well before the AFL and NRL cottoned on to a national vision as a vehicle to grow their sports.

The new National Soccer League (NSL) drew together the best state league clubs in Melbourne, Brisbane, NSW and South Australia - although most, if not all, were built and backed by migrant communities (something which bedevilled the league until its ultimate demise 27 years later).

Interestingly, though, Perth was excluded, with the NSL's most influential powerbrokers (including Victorian Sam Papasavas) stating the West should never be included. Ironically Perth Glory some two decades later became the biggest NSL club of the time.

The NSL, though much maligned, contributed greatly to the game's history and launched the careers of some of Australia's biggest current names, including Mark Viduka, Jason Culina, Mark Schwarzer
and Brett Emerton.

Robbie Slater wins first Aussie EPL title

Before Manchester City's billions tried to buy the EPL title, Blackburn successfully did it using the funds of late steel millionaire Jack Walker.

Back in 1995 Blackburn won the title in a dramatic final day finish to deny Manchester United another title. It had been Walker's dream to assemble a title winning squad at his local side, and using his millions he did just that.

Among pricy recruits such as Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton was former NSL star Robbie Slater who formed part of that title winning squad, becoming the first Australian to win an EPL title.

Success in Europe has always been the yardstick of any great player and Slater managed to set such a marker for all Aussies before and after him. Slater is by no means the greatest Aussie player, but he has landed one of the greatest accolades.

Joeys make the 1999 Youth World Cup final

Australia often falters at youth level, with criticism aimed at a lack of technical ability and a patchy track-record at tournaments.

After the Joeys failed to qualify for the 1997 Youth World Cup, only modest expectations were permitted for the 1999 edition in New Zealand. However, after emerging from a group including Brazil and Germany, knock-out phase victories over Qatar and USA set-up an unthinkable final showdown with Brazil.

The young Aussies did us proud in the final, shutting out Brazil 0-0. Unfortunately they let Iain Fyfe have a go during the penalty shoot-out and the Brazilians won.  

Going toe-to-toe with Brazil on such a stage proved that young Aussie players could match a side known for their natural flair, skill and technical ability - all areas believed void from Aussie players.

Formation of the AIS

The Australian Institute of Sports' arrival was a defining moment for all of Australian sport, not just football.

It was launched as a response by Canberra to Australia's growing realisation that to keep up with the emerging sporting nations as well as the big guns, more of a systematic approach was needed.

In a football sense, the AIS program became a respected, professional finishing school in a part-time club environment. Some of the best and brightest came through the bleak Canberra structure that housed the Institute includinng Viduka, Neill, Skoko, Burns and Djite. 

At a time when NSL clubs were essentially part-time, the AIS was indispensable in providing a professional environment for Australia's elite players, many of whom name it as instrumental in their success overseas.

As government money helped boost the game years later, the AIS was instrumental in helping our footballers develop beyond the scope possible in the NSL. 

And it's still going to this day, just as valuable as ever.

Warren's legacy

He was a lightning rod for change; a former Socceroo hero who dared to dream big during the bleak, lost years when the game - rightly or wrongly - was dubbed by some as Australian sport's "basket case".

It's therefore a bitter irony that Johnny Warren, MBE and OAM, passed away from cancer in 2004 just as the game was morphing from its ugly duckling image into what we know today.

Johnny dreamed of Asia and Australia joining forces. He dreamed of an A-League and ,of course, the national team reaching new heights. He wanted us to think beyond narrow prisms of thought, to have a bit of bloody ambition and a desire to better ourselves as a football nation.

For a potted history of the game in Australia, just read his book Sheilas, Wogs And Poofters. The former Socceroo captain also loved Brazil, urging Australian football to follow the South American lead. Of course it was a fanciful dream but that was Johnny - always dreaming big. Like when he said we should dream not only of qualifying for World Cups but actually winning them.

His memory will remain forever a link between what we've become and where we've come from.

The phrase "I Told You So" is a recurring reminder of his enduring legacy. And in a gesture that spoke volumes, he was the first Australian sportsman to be given a full state funeral too. And that is nothing less than the great man deserved.

Australia's World Cup bid launch

For many the continued growth of the game in Australia is comfort enough, but the thought of hosting the world's biggest sporting event might prove be the most defining of all the moments listed here.

Landing either the 2018 or 2022 tournament is the crowning legacy of the Frank Lowy football revolution. You can't help but feel it is the chairman's destiny to do just that after contributing so much for Australian football already. After all he is a man accustomed to getting his way.

All fingers are crossed for successfully landing the World Cup finals to usher in a new era for Australian football. But ahead of FIFA's decision in December next year, we still have to laud the audacious progress the bid launch itself signifies.  

After announcing our intentions to bid in March, politicians (surprisingly from both the government and opposition), Australian football's leading bodies and select Socceroos gathered in Canberra in
June to formally launch the bid.

Canberra is an eerily quiet place at weekends and that cold winter's Sunday in June was no different except for a Parliament House alive with the prospect of warming the hearts of millions of Australian football fans.

That day Lowy called the bid "realistic and achievable". Let's hope the leader of our game is right once again.

First organised game in Australia c1800s

The first recorded football match in Australia was played on Parramatta Common in Sydney on Saturday afternoon August 14, 1880. And for that we have a certain John Walter Fletcher to thank.

Students from The King's School First XV rugby squad went up against the Wanderers, the first 'Association Football' club in the country and a team set up by Fletcher.

Earlier that month, the London-born Fletcher, who'd been educated at Oxford University, was elected Honorary Secretary of the committee set up to form an 'Association Rules' football club. After that first hit-out against Kings, Fletcher did proposals for the official establishment of The Wanderers FC a week later.

He continued as Wanderers secretary, enrolling the new club with the (English) Football Association (remember, this was the 1800s and they had to differentiate from the more established rugby football) and organising more games for the team.

A year later, Fletcher branched out and formed a football team of his own at his private school Coreen College. It was the catalyst for others to organise themselves around the country. In Melbourne, four clubs were formed that year and by 1882, the NSW English Football Association formed.

Fletcher passed away in 1918 leaving a unique legacy in Australian football. In 1999, he was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.

Yorke Gives A-League bling

Much like assembling a music festival line-up, you need your headline act to pull the crowds in. Dwight Yorke was the A-League's Rolling Stones.

The marquee system established to give A-League clubs a remit to sign a true star of the game was most successfully utilised by Sydney FC in the opening campaign of the newly formed league.

He ticked every box of a perfect marquee signing: a global star with a massive haul of silverware from his time at the biggest club in the world; someone who could attract fans to games and actually perform; and an off-the-field character which claimed column inches in his own right.

Yorkie was a perfect fit for the new 'bling bling' Sydney franchise, but he offered more than that. He could still play too, as he inspired the Sky Blues to their first and only A-League Championship.

Sydney, with its many bars and clubs, were also a perfect fit for him and when he departed for the north of England to join Sunderland after only one season it wasn't on hiss terms. His departure cemented the idea the A-League not only attracted stars, but that you could move back up to the EPL. It showed that Australia wasn't the end of the career path.

The former Manchester United star was a trail blazer for the marquee concept. It is fair to say that no other marquee has ever matched Yorke for the complete package since, but this season has seen a resurgence in the notion as new franchises Gold Coast and North Queensland attracted Jason Culina and Robbie Fowler respectively.

First Australian football awards

While other codes in Australia have their opportunity for an end-of-season walk on the red carpet complete with their WAGs, football has always taken a back seat in the glamour stakes.

This year ushered in the first ever Australian Football Awards in Sydney during 'Super June'. Complete with a full complement of Socceroos in the country for the final World Cup qualifiers, alongside A-League stars, football administrators, grassroots nominees and few token media hacks too.

Dishing out awards to the best players and local teams was not the most relevant point here. It was more football gaining column inches off the pitch and for the right reasons too.

It seems preposterous that such an event wasn't mandatory before this year, but much like the facelift the rest of the Australian game has been given, it needed a fresh name and a new approach.

Hopefully it has started an historic annual event that gives players something to strive for, and the public a reminder of the game's equal billing in the sporting landscape.

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Joe Marston is first Aussie in FA Cup Final 1954

Uncompromising defender Joe Marston plied his trade in the English top flight long before the EPL hosted its current cocktail of foreign stars.

When Marston lined up for Preston in the 1954 FA Cup final against West Brom, he was the only non-British player on his side. The opposite side boasted only one non-English player, an Irishman by the name of Reg Ryan. The idea of a player from 10,000 miles away playing the world's oldest cup tournament was an alien concept in the '50s English game.

West Brom got the better of Marston's side that day running out 3-2 winners, but the following year Marston was appointed Preston captain and he went on to become one of only two Australian footballers to receive an MBE from the Queen, with the other recipient being Johnny Warren.

We've become accustomed to watching the likes of Cahill, Neill and Schwarzer find a home in the English league, but Marston was the original Aussie export to the English game.

And popular one at that - in 2000 Joe was chosen in Preston's Best 100 Players Of All Time (trust us when we say that's more impressive than it sounds today!)

Adelaide show Asia that Aussie clubs can play

The Asian game has often been seen as the yardstick for development in Australia.

Since joining the AFC, our Socceroos first failed in the Asian Cup, before redeemed themselves with a comprehensive World Cup qualification campaign by topping their group.

Expectations at a club level were more modest. Just having Asian Champions League qualification places on offer through the A-League seemed reward enough, so when Adelaide took the competition by storm last year it showed the whole of Asia we were not there to make up the numbers.

After topping their group without losing a game, the Reds surpassed J. League outfit Kashima Antlers in the quarters, before toppling Uzbek side Bunyodkor, with World Cup winner Rivaldo, in the semis.

Gamba Osaka may have ended Adelaide's run in emphatic style by beating them 5-0 in the final, but the A-League side had done enough to reach the Club World Cup, where they again battled valiantly.

For once it wasn't just the Socceroos fighting the Australian cause overseas, Australian club football had something to say too.

Kewell makes Aussie debut against Chile

Harry Kewell made his Socceroos debut in a friendly against Chile in April 1996, aged 17 years and seven months. The significance of his first appearance is not linked to his performance on the day as such, but rather what it cemented for years to come.

His debut was a safeguard to ensure a more established football nation didn't persuade Harry to shift allegiance.

"You never know, otherwise those sneaky Poms could have had Harry playing for England," Kewell's manager Bernie Mandic told FourFourTwo earlier in the year. "Even after Harry had played for Australia, there was still pressure for him to wait four years and then play for England."

It sends a shudder down the spine of every Socceroo fan to image Harry lining-up in the white of England. Thankfully a premature debut for a teenage phenom ensured that wasn't the case.

Making 1992 Olympics semis in Barcelona

The year 1992 was the first time we referred to our U23s as 'The Olyroos'. And these boys - mostly from the NSL - set a standard yet to be matched. They were simply sensational in qualifying and in Barcelona.

Reaching the 1992 Olympics, they famously knocked out Holland in the final qualifier. Coached by the late Eddie Thomson, the Aussies snatched a 1-1 draw at the SFS and headed to Utrecht for the second leg, where they were expected to fall short against the Dutch.

Elegant Olyroo libero Ned Zelic's extraordinary extra-time goal - his second of the game - capped a remarkable 2-2 draw with Australia advancing through on the away-goals rule.

Proving this was no fluke at all, Australia made the semis of the Barcelona Olympics. A loss to Nii Lamptey's Ghana 3-1 in Sabadell was followed by a 1-1 draw with Mexico in Barcelona.

The Aussies then found a new level with a 3-0 defeat of Denmark. Goals to Tony Vidmar, John Markovski and Damian Mori handing them a quarter-final date with Sweden, where the Olyroos held on for a 2-1 win against Thomas Brolin's side.

This set up a semi with Poland, but a 6-1 thumping finally brought the green and gold down to earth in some style. This was followed by a 1-0 loss to Ghana in the bronze medal play-off.

A disappointing end, yes, but the careers of Zelic, Paul Okon, John Filan, Milan Blagojevic, Tony Vidmar and others were assured after this fabulous run.

TV deal signed with Fox Sports 2005

"A transforming transaction for the sport," was Frank Lowy's assessment of Fox Sports inking their $120m, seven year TV rights deal in 2005.

If money makes the world go round, then Fox Sports considerable fiscal contribution got the Australian game in motion and helped transform the game on every level.

It was not just about money - the wide-reaching coverage of the A-League, Asian Cup, Asian Champions League and all Socceroos fixtures got the local game into homes and pubs across the country.

Football captured a broader community and speaking generally Fox also did a stellar job of putting together a professional and entertaining product.

While some people today bemoan the restricted access to the game, Fox Sports deserve to be in that position. Fox put their money where their mouth is from the start and have earned the right to dominate the coverage stakes.

"Was it a transforming transaction for the sports?" said ex-FFA CEO John O'Neill to FourFourTwo back in 2007. "Yes, it was. Absolutely no question."

Sydney catches a dose of Beckham fever

The biggest selling point football has is that it is truly a global game. A language understood across the world. As such, its stars can be exported anywhere and no player garners such universal attention as David Beckham.

When Becks came out to Australia in November 2007, locals found themselves going as giddy with excitement at the prospect of 'Golden Balls' mooching around Homebush in a showcase friendly with an A-League side in Sydney FC.

Far from mooch, Becks - and Sydney FC themselves - didn't disappoint the 80,000 fans in a eight-goal thriller. The spectacle of Sydney's goals and LA Galaxy's woeful goalkeeper Steve Cronin was more than matched by the man we were all there to see.

As half-time approached Sydney were cantering 3-0, but as Galaxy won a free-kick on the edge of the box anticipation grew from a crowd aware of what could follow next. Beckham produced a trademark free-kick finish and the crowd celebrated in a similar fashion to the previous three goals.

The purists will disagree, but while Australia still fights to shift general public opinion of the beautiful game, this game produced all the goals and glamour needed to convert the armchair fans into dedicated followers. Channel 10 showing the game was another coup for the showpiece.

This showed us the Beckham brand was universal and so is the game of football.

Harry Williams leads way for Aboriginals

 Through the FFA's recently launched Indigenous Football Development Program, the need to harness and bolster Aboriginal football ties has taken centre stage.

Back in the days before such programs, Harry Williams became a pioneer by starring as the first Aboriginal Socceroo. A quiet and shy man off the field, Williams, who grew up in Sydney's St George area, went on to earn 44 caps and played briefly at the 1974 World Cup.

Though the number of Aboriginal Socceroos after him is a disappointment, Williams remains an iconic figure for breaking the mould. That said, the man himself always claimed his background had little relevance to his role in the Socceroos.

"We were all soccer players and it didn't matter where we were from," says Williams. "No one went about congratulating me because I was an Aboriginal playing soccer."

Williams was called upon to speak in Canberra during the recent World Cup bid launch and lends his name to a tournament aimed at bringing together indigenous footballers in Sydney.

Australia joins the Asian Confederation

The flurry of changes under the new Frank Lowy-driven Football Federation Australia included a long touted entry into the Asian football confederation in 2005.

If Australia was ever to bloom as a football nation, it needed to break the shackles of the OceaniaConfederation and its many Pacific island minnows.

How could the game in Australia ever be taken seriously with results like the 33-0 victory over American Samoa? The result was a joke, and so Australian football got tarred with the same laughable brush.

The move into Asian seemed a natural one for the freshly funded Australian football landscape. For the Socceroos, rather than the rudimentary Oceania walkovers followed by a do-or-die playoff against a South American nation, they were to be pitted against a host of technically-sound Asian nations over an extended period of time.

Qualification through Asian became a long slog, but one which drew the squad together and ensured we entered into next year's World Cup in the sharpest shape ever.

Domestically, the A-League was no longer a floating domestic afterthought. There was the Asian Champions League to aim for and as Adelaide showed last year, the possibility to excel in the tournament and make the Club World Cup.

We now find ourselves part of something bigger and better, and we're the better for it.

Tim scores our first World Cup goal in first ever finals victory

Qualification to the 1974 World Cup was achieved in the face of adversity, while a goalless and winless performance at the finals was entirely expected.

Bounding into the 2006 edition as the last team to qualify bought its own challenges, especially when the draw threw out Japan, Croatia and the mighty Brazilians.

Each time the Socceroos reach another milestone, they are also raising the bar of expectations for the future. Tim Cahill did more for those expectations in a few minutes against Japan than any other Aussie has done before or since.

With just six minutes remaining in the opening fixture for the Aussie at the 2006 World Cup, Japan were winning 1-0 and set to put the brakes on the dawn of a new era for Australian football before it had even begun.

Then our nation was shown the drama of footballing theatre at its best. Super sub Cahill turned the game - and our World Cup fortunes - on their head with two stunning strikes to turn a 0-1 deficit to a 2-1 lead. John Aloisi put the icing on the cake with a well-taken third.

To enter the World Cup stage in such a dramatic fashion was exhilarating for players and fans alike. It was breathtaking stuff and kick-started a successful month of football.

The feeling in the aftermath of the game is stored by all Socceroo players and fans alike. Getting that feeling back is what has driven us all onto South Africa. Can we recreate that feeling? Time till tell but one thing's for sure -we certainly won't forget it.

The A-league kicks off

In the wake of the Crawford Report and the death of Soccer Australia, the country needed a fresh identity for its new-found football landscape.

The NSL was ravaged by an exodus of talent moving overseas, a botched TV deal with Seven, a drop in sponsorship interest and ethnic tensions which defined club rivalries everywhere.

Australians needed local sides which represented their areas' identity and this fresh approach was realised in 2005 when the Hyundai A-League was born.

Well organised, funded and promoted, the league was an outlet for the whole community. It was the shiny new tournament needed to bring local fans to the grounds, and returning stars, rising young talent and exciting imports on the pitch.

While the league is still finding its feet today, the FFA have insisted the competition is a long-term venture. There is still work to be done, but sometimes it is worth casting your mind back to pre-A-League days to fully appreciate what we have today.

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Australia reaches FIFA rankings high

While some thumb their nose at idea of the FIFA World Rankings, they play a major role in the global perception of football nations - an area where the Socceroos have been grossly underestimated in previous years.

The football pitch decides head-to-head battles, but the rankings are a well devised guide to progress over a period of time.

An all-time low of 92 was hit in 2000, while September of this year witnessed the Socceroos reach nose bleed territory with an all-time high of 14.   

More established countries scoffed at Australia's lofty position, however there is no cheating the system.

After Australia's most convincing World Cup qualification ever and a series of impressive friendly victories, we found ourselves above the likes of Portugal, Czech Republic and Mexico.

With a World Cup host bid gathering pace, the men with the votes will need to see Australia's worth on the pitch and the dizzying ranking will no doubt help the cause.

Socceroos reach 1997 Confeds Cup final

The dust had barely settled on the Socceroos' Iran heartbreak when Terry Venables' men had to get up for the Confederations Cup in Saudi Arabia.

It was fascinating to see how the 'Roos would react barely three weeks after the devastating exit. It was either going to be an utter disaster or a surprise success. Fortunately it was the latter.

While the final was a 6-0 whitewash to Brazil over a ten-man Socceroos, who had Viduka sent off after 24 minutes, the rest of the tournament proved an eye-opener.

The semi against Uruguay cemented teenager Harry Kewell's growing status as a rising star with a cracking strike to win the tie. Earlier in the tournament, a classy 3-1 win over Mexico helped by a brilliant long-range effort from Joe Skoko and a 0-0 draw with Brazil - who seven months later made the World Cup final - emphasised what we could've achieved at France 98.

Jason Culina return sends positive message

For the first four seasons of the A-League there were three categories of Australian players: youngsters learning their trade; players at their peak but not quite good enough for overseas success; and old hands playing out their final days.

Jason Culina changed all that. When he inked his deal for marquee status at new franchise Gold Coast United, he broke the mould of previous A-League pigeon holes; he was a current Socceroo playing at a high level in Europe and returning to the A-League in his pomp.

It sent a message to all other Socceroos that the A-League doesn't have to be just your kindergarten, middle-ground or graveyard, it can be your first choice, too. Pim Verbeek did not approve of the move, but Culina didn't not listen to his coach. Despite this, Culina has remained in the Dutchman's plans since.

Let's hope the midfielder has started a trend for other Socceroos to follow suit in the future.

Australia enters FIFA

Australia's entry into FIFA in 1963 afforded the national team a chance to play for a place at a World Cup finals. Until then, Australia played an assorted mix of club or regional sides in A and B internationals.

But with entry granted, FIFA World Cup qualifiers became the main focus, which in turn would ratify our credentials as a football nation.

It only gave us two years to prepare for the first FIFA qualifier test. Against North Korea in neutral Cambodia, the Aussies had to negotiate the heat and a very tricky opposition over two legs.

A 9-2 aggregate loss (6-1 and 3-1 losses) was a spiky introduction but also a harbinger of things to come for the under-rated North Korea at the 1966 World Cup in England.

Prior to 1963, Australia was a blip on the world football map at best. The FIFA stamp gave us credibility and offered us the biggest stage - a stage we've since qualified for three times.

Birth of summer football1989

The arrival of football as a 'summer' sport 20 years ago was in response to the Australian sport's evolving landscape.

Clearly, football's rival codes rugby league and Aussie rules were fast becoming darlings of the media and powering on with their own national expansionary vision (the Broncos in the NRL and West Coast and Brisbane Bears in the AFL).

What it also allowed was an aligning of seasons between Europe and Australia - meaning players could in theory trial in the off-season without leaving their NSL clubs at vital times.

Playing surfaces was another major benefit. As we've seen in the A-League, the first eight weeks of games at multi-use stadiums can be hazardous. Summer football was a response to that, kicking off the season in the first week of October. So soccer - as it was known then - sought a summer sanctuary to carve out its own niche.

We've settled into the idea of summer football now and we've been a summer club sport ever since.

Australian football's Dutch revolution

Dutch roots run deep within the FFA, from team coaches such as Guus Hiddink, Pim Verbeek, Henk Duut and Jan Versleijen, to the technical direction of the whole system in this country - first through Rob Baan and now Han Berger.

The success and universal likability of Guus Hiddink has made the work of his countrymen far more acceptable in Australian eyes.

While Aussies Graham Arnold and Ange Postecoglou were publically chastised for their efforts with Australia's youth sides, Jan Versleijen led the Young Socceroos to three consecutive defeats at the recent U20 World Cup and no one seemed to blink an eye. The Dutch respect is now ingrained.

While Pim Verbeek was not a popular choice at the time of his appointment (or arguably still), he has picked up where Guus left off by getting Australia to a second consecutive World Cup. True fans of the game appreciate what Verbeek has done.

The FFA's plans for the development of young players and future Socceroos teams is heavily invested in a Dutch approach.

The National Football Curriculum is a Dutch approach, a concept of 'Total Football', using flowing football and technical ability on the ball. It is a revered one around the world and, much like
many members of the Dutch football administration, is coming Down Under. TT

Five-star Archie makes Grand Final history

What Archie Thompson did against Adelaide United in the 2007 Grand Final is unlikely to ever be repeated. Finals are normally tense and tight affairs; in fact, they often disappoint.

Not that Adelaide fans weren't depressed by the end, but the majority of the 55,000 people on hand were joyous at the most spectacular of Victory victories. That sea of royal blue cheering on their marquee star's finest domestic hour sent a message to the rest of the country. Football was here and here to stay.

Records are made to broken, but as Archie bagged his fourth and fifth goals, there was a sense the former Socceroo's celebratory, tongue-out place in the history books might be permanent.

It was a finishing clinic of the highest order against one of the best defences in the league - albeit without midfielder Ross Aloisi who was sent off on 30 minutes when the game was still salvageable. Credit must also go to Brazilian Fred for setting up Archie for four of his goals, a man of the match performance on any other night.

Everything Archie tried worked on that humid night but it was the look of shock on his face as the goals continued to come that will be the enduring image.

Not that he should have been surprised. He admitted afterwards that he had dreamt midweek that he was going to score a hat-trick in the final - he was only two out...

Crawford report ends Soccer Australia

With the old NSL like a punch drunk boxer about to hit the canvas, something had to be done about Aussie soccer.

The Crawford Report - the Independent Soccer Review Committee into the Structure, Governance and Management of Soccer in Australia in April 2003 - was the beginning of the end of 'old soccer'.

It was unheard of to actually wind up a national body and declare it bankrupt. In truth, it was bankrupt of ideas too.

It was also hamstrung by some the myriad rules and regulations and the state/federal divisions. The report put a microscope over the "the existing governance, management and structure of soccer in Australia... to deliver a comprehensive governance framework and management structure for the sport that addresses the needs of affiliated organisations and stakeholders".

All corporate speak for cleaning up the byzantine structure of football and paving the way for a new direction to flourish under a reconstituted national body and framework.

 "We believe that the adoption and implementation of this report's recommendations will provide the foundation for success in national development, financial stability, stakeholder and public support, and international performances that have, on a consistent basis, eluded the sport in the past," the report claimed. They were right.

Australia 2 Iran 2

Just say, "The Iran Game". Nothing else. No year, no specifics, no nothing.

It's seared into Aussie football consciousness like a death in the family. That stomach-churning, car-crash of a night at the MCG dangled World Cup qualification 25 years after Jimmy Mackay's heroics in Hong Kong. Then, like a horror movie unfolding, it was cruelly and painfully taken away.

For the record, a 1-1 draw away in Tehran set up the second leg against Iran at the MCG in the Socceroos' final qualifier for France 1998. The national anthem shook the foundations; there was a carnival, pre-match glow. The stadium a sea of green and gold.

Australia bombarded the battle hardened Iranians in a blistering first half, going one up through teenager Harry Kewell. A second half goal to Aurelio Vidmar had us dreaming of the Champs Elysee.

But we cocked it up in 20 god-forsaken, ugly minutes that still cuts deep. It was there for the taking, all we had to do was grab it. But we didn't. We couldn't. A break in play allowed the Iranians the time to figure out the situation. The Socceroos were tiring.

Terry Venables' 'Roos - unbeaten in their qualifiers - allowed Iran back in the game and they nicked a 2-2 draw with late goals to Khodadad Azizi and Karim Bagheri. "This is a great place for Iranian pleasure" beamed Azizi moments after the game.

Life can be painful; and for Socceroo fans in the 1990s, the pain and despair was becoming the
norm. Conversely, that night also showed how much support was out there for our national team. Sadly, it brutally exposed yet again the ability to shoot ourselves in the foot.

Craig Johnston scores in 1986 FA Cup Final

The 1980s was a decade when export of our talented players slowly gained pace; Krncevic, Farina, Slater, Mitchell and Arnold to name a few that made the trip. But with all respect to that group, none reached the heights of Craig Johnston.

But for all his success with Liverpool in England and in the European Cup, it was Johnston's goal in the 1986 FA Cup final against Everton that is the most recognised moment in his career.

The FA Cup was always a big day in the Australian sporting calendar - a night (because it would kick off at midnight) when non-football fans could revel in this annual occasion along with the die-hards.

So, given this, Johnston's goal was a particularly proud moment for football in Australia. It didn't matter that he'd already represented England U21s or his comments about playing for Australia (he's said to have stated that playing football for Australia was "like surfing for England").

Here was a kid, a complete unknown from the Hunter - once dubbed the worst footballer Boro boss Jack Charlton had ever seen - who'd done it tough and made it. He was to become a hero to Harry Kewell and the like.

And Johnston made it in the arguably the greatest ever Liverpool side, a Double-winning side featuring Dalglish, Rush, Mølby and Hansen. He showed us how far we can go with that Aussie grit. Sadly, he never played for Australia but that goal at Wembley proved an inspiration to an entire generation of Australian professionals.

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W-League on free-to-air

The advent of the W-League in 2008 allowed a new generation of football fans to watch their heroes on free-to-air TV - in this instance the eight team women's league. ABC's coverage of live W-League games finally gave our female players the exposure they deserved at a time the women's game was enjoying unprecedented popularity off the back of the Matildas strong showing in the 2007 World Cup. And don't think the deal was just an equal opportunities exercise - reports had viewing figures averaging 100,000, far above those of A-League games from the same season.

Stewart Royal Commission 1994

The Stewart report was commissioned by the Australian Soccer Federation into aspects of the running of the game, and while initially the report was kept secret for legal reasons, it was eventually flushed out by a Senate inquiry.

The whole thing was entertaining, if not a little embarrassing, for the code to air its dirty... no, make that filthy laundry in public. 

Feisty Senator Peter Baume suggested in the Senate Committee the sport needed an enema, also writing to The Australian, accusing journo Ray Gatt of running a "continually inaccurate campaign" regarding the inquiry. National team boss Eddie Thomson was the show-stopper though, with the classic riposte, "They wouldn't hang OJ Simpson with this evidence."

ASF boss John Constantine resigned as a result of the report, some reputations were tarnished, and there was a rash of finger-pointing while allegations of death threats and claims of kickbacks were also made.

There were other issues, including allegations some national team player were called up to help procure overseas contracts. The report recommended the abolition of domestic player transfer fees.

In the end, the whole sad, murky saga reinforced the sport's image as the pot-smoking dude on the dole. And the report didn't change a damn thing.

South Melbourne face Manchester United

FIFA's obsession with a club world championship began at the turn of the millennium in Brazil and, as Oceania champions, South Melbourne got their day in the Rio sun.

The draw saw reigning EPL and European champions Manchester United, Brazil's Vasco da Gama and Necaxa of Mexico lined up to play little South.

Just as the Olyroos proved at the 1992 Olympics, Australian football and its players should never be underestimated. Under the guidance of Ange Postecoglou, South were compact, defended well and didn't look out of their depth at the fabulous Maracana.

For many players, it was a defining moment in their modest club careers. "He worked so hard off the ball," recalls Richie Alagich of playing against David Beckham. "You don't necessarily see it [on TV]. That's when you realise what a great player he is."

After losses to United and Vasco,John Anastasiadis bagged South's first goal of the tournament in a 3-1 loss to the Mexicans. The NSL part-timers left with their reputations enhanced despite finishing bottom of the group.

"I remember defending a corner," South midfielder Steve Panopoulos remembers. "We were marking up and I turned to Steve [Iosifidis] and said, 'You got Edmundo?' and he said, "Yeah, you got Romario?'. The ball cleared and we looked at each other as if to say, 'Is this really happening?'"

Tim Cahill is cleared to play for Australia 

In some alternate universe, Australia is still looking to make its second World Cup appearance and Tim Cahill is a free-scoring midfielder for the Republic of Ireland. Yes, if events had turned out differently just five years ago, the above fantasy could have been reality.

Due to an appearance for Samoa at 14, Cahill was seemingly locked in to play for the Pacific nation under FIFA rules. In 2002, Tim threatened to take the governing body to court if they would not release him to play for his country of choice... the Republic of Ireland!

The furore lasted another two years, and when Cahill was finally cleared to play senior international football, he chose the green and gold of his country of birth and made his debut for Australia in March 2004 against South Africa.

Let's not ponder too long on how Cahill in the emerald green would have impacted on the destiny of our game...

Frank Lowy arrives in Australia 1952

If it wasn't for Frank Lowy, you wouldn't be reading this magazine, watching the A-League or enjoying the Socceroos at a World Cup. It's that simple.

It was his return to the game in 2003 that triggered remarkable changes in the last six years.

Lowy built a business empire after arriving here from Europe in 1952. In fact, he's in the top two or three richest in the country - give or take a few hundred thousand dollars.

But more than that, he's built a valuable network of contacts at the highest level. For a decade, he was a board member of the Reserve Bank, he has his own Institute for International Policy and currently he is
a member of the FIFA World Cup Organising Committee too.

Wisely, and fortuitously, he was able to corral political help and cash injections to galvanise the sport.

Not bad for a guy who arrived here with just a dream of making a better life for himself and a lasting passion for world football.

Australia's first international

With World War I scuppering the formation of an Australian Soccer Association, the swelling ranks of Aussie footballers caused by returning servicemen finally saw a governing body formed in 1921.

A year later a national team was formed for the very first time to tour New Zealand and play 14 friendly games between May and July 1922. Australia's first ever international was played on June 17 in front of 10,000 people at Carisbrook Park, Dunedin and ended in a 3-1 defeat.

And while we all know Tim Cahill scored our first ever World Cup goal, Australia's first ever international goalscorer was... Anyone...? You in the back...? Bill Mauder.

Mark Bosnich joins Manchester United

"I could not have found myself sitting in Italy or Spain, having turned down the chance to follow Peter Schmeichel."

And so the Mark Bosnich era at Manchester United began, with the then 27 year-old joining from Aston Villa on a free transfer to replace the 'Great Dane'.

Bosnich had come full-circle, returning to the club he played for as a teenager but ultimately left because Schmeichel was blocking his way.

The most talented Aussie of his generation, Bozza had shown at Villa he was a world class keeper, but his time at United was blighted by injury and Ferguson's inability to give one keeper a good run.

Although he won a Premier League winners' medal in his first season, Bosnich only played 23 times for United before signing with Chelsea in 2001. PH

Viduka 4 Liverpool 3

A legend at times, a scapegoat for a lack of heart at others - Mark Viduka was Australian football's greatest enigma.

After tearing the NSL apart at Melbourne Knights, and spells at Dinamo Zagreb and Celtic, it was Viduka's 2000 move to Leeds that propelled him to superstar status.

During his inaugural season Mark struck 22 goals, the most memorable being his flurry of four during an incredible performance in a 4-3 win over Liverpool, his first ever match-up with The Reds.

His four strikes highlighted all the tricks at Viduka's disposal. The first was a clinical finish, second a glancing header and third a memorable 360 spin and finish off the post. And possibly his best of all, with the game locked at 3-3, Dukes produced his fourth with the cheekiest of chips.

An Aussie scoring four goals in the English top flight against one of the biggest clubs in the world was a watershed moment for the profile of our footballers.

It looked to be a taste of things to come for the talented striker, but after disappointing spells at Middlesbrough and Newcastle, it proved to be the highpoint.

SBS is launched 1980

Australia's anglo-saxon view of the world got a healthy dose of global perspective when the Special Broadcasting Service - or 'Channel 0/28' as it was officially called - launched in 1980.

It also launched the on-camera careers of Les Murray and Johnny Warren who presented and dissected a new world of football coverage. SBS's amazing coverage of Serie A, England, South America, Europe and others opened our eyes to a glistening football world beyond our shores - even if it cemented the sport's position as a multi-cultural beacon.

SBS - or "Soccer Bloody Soccer" as some half-joked - arose at a juncture when football was sometimes tagged with the decidedly pejorative "wogball". "Bringing the world back home" was the network's cute slogan.

And for many Aussie footballers, SBS was the catalyst for an overseas career. It defined and focussed the dreams of the coming generations of footballers who'd go from watching these leagues to playing in them.

Schwarzer saves... and Aloisi scores 2005

It's impossible to separate the actions of Mark Schwarzer and John Aloisi when recalling the events of that magical Wednesday night in November 2005.

Both men showed almost superhuman levels of composure, concentration and skill to recall the very basics of their job and apply them to the most significant moment of their careers.

Where the heroes of November differ though was in their approach to said jobs, especially on the eve of the
big match.

While coach Guus Hiddink's final training session did include a penalty-taking session, Schwarzer and Aloisi's attitude to a shoot-out couldn't have been more different.

For the then-33 year old keeper, he recalls doing "just OK" after saving a couple of pens in training but didn't put too much stock in the extra practice.

"I'm not one to practice saving penalties," said Schwarzer recently. "I like to see what a opposing player likes to do on penalties but I don't necessarily like to go out there and practice it. For me it doesn't work that way."

In contrast, Aloisi had a funny feeling he might be taking a penalty in the game and so went for some extra practice afterwards with Lucas Neill.

"We were joking around, asking where people's family were going to be sitting so I knew where to run when I scored the goal!" Aloisi told FourFourTwo last year.

"I hit all five in the same corner because I was thinking you have to pick a spot with a penalty and stick with it. If you change your mind, that's when... you don't take a good penalty. I hit them all perfectly."

Practice is practice though. Having to stop/score a spot-kick to take your country to its first World Cup in more than 30 years is something entirely different.

As anyone who was at the game can attest, the tension rose as the game progressed until it reached almost snapping point with the start of the shoot-out.

Schwarzer was the set-up man to history saving Dario Rodriguez's first penalty with ease. He later said he felt he was 'in the zone', able to read which side each taker was going to place the ball. His second save of Zalayeta's well-struck shot sums up Schwarzer as a goalkeeper: a brilliant combination of instinct and technique.

And so the stage was set for Aloisi, the unlikely hero. Brought on just before the end of full-time - and knowing Hiddink, probably for just this moment - the hopes of a nation rested squarely on his shoulders.

"I did think, 'Do exactly what you did yesterday and you'll take Australia to the World Cup'," said Aloisi.

And we all know what happened next.