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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