It proved to be perhaps the most revealing insight into the minds of two Socceroos who have been very much front and centre of the national team since the 1990s.

They are two of the most recognisable faces in Australian sport; two of the greatest-ever Socceroos and two proud Australians who’ve done the hard yards early in their careers to conquer English club football and the international stage.

In short, the star wattage is dazzling as Harry Kewell and Mark Schwarzer pose for a FourFourTwo photoshoot at the Sofitel hotel in Brisbane.

Pivotal in helping their nation reach a first World Cup in 32 years followed by a stunning performance at Germany 2006, the duo were again key to a second World Cup appearance in 2010 and now loom again as key men on the Road to Rio 2014. 

Now father figures in the national team, the 30-something pair from western Sydney clearly have a lot in common, and, a lot of respect for each other. So it’s no surprise they opened up on a number of issues. At the same time they showed a side we rarely see in public. But in amongst it all was a sombre warning about the future of the Socceroos.

And when these boys talk, you do tend to listen.

Twelve hours earlier, an exhausted Australia trudged off the Suncorp pitch to a rapturous reception from over 40,000 fans. They’d witnessed another Socceroo classic.

Six years to the day Australia fought back to claim a famous first-ever World Cup win in Kaiserslautern, the Socceroos once again showed Japan that mental toughness is one stark difference between the two sides as the clash ended 1-1.

And as ever, it seems, Schwarzer was imperious in goals while Kewell – who’d done the job in Muscat days earlier – was kept on the bench. Down a man after Mark Milligan’s dubious red card in the second half and down a goal against the talented Japan, those last 20 minutes said a lot about this squad.

Just days after Holger Osieck’s men had arrived from the stultifying heat of the Middle East, where the Aussies had ground out a 0-0 in their opening qualifier, Australia were being given their harshest test yet in qualification.

You got the feeling Japan were convinced a vital win on Australian soil was theirs for the taking. But this enduring Socceroo spirit stood up under the assault of Honda, Kagawa and Endo to drag the contest back.

A late penalty – albeit dubious – levelled the match. The Aussies could’ve even won it had Sasa Ognenovski’s effort gone in off the bar.

Brisbane, the morning after. Schwarzer and Kewell have arrived at a wood-panelled function room at the team’s hotel and are now posing in a selection of casual gear. The snapper is more accustomed to photographing supermodels and fashion shoots than superstar footballers, but being
a footy fan himself, Nick Scott looks like he’s in his element.

He jokingly asks the boys to ‘Work it, baby!’ eliciting much ironic laughter as the shutter clicks and the soft box pops and flashes.

With the shoot over, Kewell and Schwarzer settle into the comfy chairs with a view of the Brisbane cityscape.

In full and unedited, this is what Mark Schwarzer and Harry Kewell had to say in a conversation published in August’s issue of FourFourTwo Australia magazine with editor Aidan Ormond