Mark Schwarzer caused a stir with his comments on Zeljko Kalac and Guus Hiddink. We met the Socceroo stopper to talk about his love of a different kind of beef: the good ol’ Aussie pie
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Like his fellow Socceroos, being mobbed is something new for the native Sydneysider. In his time home, Schwarzer surrounded himself with family as often as possible and was seen meeting up with his clan in hotel foyers at every opportunity.
But he knows that success in the Asian Cup will just mean even more home town glory.
“Yeah it’s nice,” he says, smiling. “It’s obviously always been the sleeping giant of Australian sport. Football is such a big sport globally, and we’ve always suffered and been seen as a lesser sport here. It’s nice to come home, especially with the recognition we’ve been receiving from the public. But it’s about getting football on the map in this country. You want to have respect for playing football, rather than people saying ‘wogball’ or ‘It’s a game for sissies’ and so forth.”
Public expectations for our Asian Cup campaign are high, and Schwarzer is quick to warn that the conditions could still prove to be our undoing.
“It’s all exciting times. It was a new experience playing in somewhere like Kuwait, even though obviously it was a bad result for us,” he admits, referring to Australia’s 2-0 Asian Cup qualifier defeat in Kuwait City last year.
“I think it gave a lot of people, a bit of… not a wake up, but a bit of a shake up. To say, ‘Listen, you can’t afford to just turn up a couple of days before the game in these countries and play, because the conditions are so extreme (compared) to what we’re used to.’ It’s just… barely possible. Even coming from Australia and going into those sort of conditions. It’s very, very difficult.”
As for our biggest rivals in Asia, Japan, Schwarzer doesn’t believe we are a cut above them. Rather, he points to an even greater desire from the Blue Samurai to win back honour after our 3-1 win in Kaiserslautern last June.
“I think we’ve shown them we are a good side, and they’ve had a bit of a rebuilding process now. Nakata has retired and he was a big player for them over the past 10 years.
“They’re obviously disappointed about being knocked out of the group stages of the World Cup and especially with us being one of the teams that knocked them out… Now it’s a different ball game for them, as well as it is with South Korea and the other teams. China is another team in the competition who are waiting to again show they can mix it at the top level.”
Mark Schwarzer will be close to 38 by the time the next World Cup rolls around. There are a number of keepers who, certainly by that stage, will be biting at his ankles for the top job. His rivalry with Kalac was an enduring one, but it’s his next rivalry that may actually be the one to really test his mettle.
Only time will tell how well he’ll be playing, but statistics show that goalkeepers don’t fall prey to the sands of time as much as outfield players do. Naturally, all fans judge players and Schwarzer has had both glowing and average reviews over the years. His commitment and work ethic for the cause can’t be questioned though, and, as he has shown in so many big moments, he is a player that grows with the occasion.
“It was probably even before the last game (of the World Cup) that I decided I wanted to continue to play,” he reveals. “I’d spoken to my wife about it and she was 100 percent behind me, even though she did moan a bit because it would mean another four years in Europe! But it was something that I knew I needed to do and I wanted to set myself another long-term target and what better target to have than to try and be at the next World Cup and represent your country again.”
On the issue of age, Schwarzer is not too concerned that he can still perform to international standards but has pencilled in his retirement to coincide with the end of the tournament.
“It’s well-documented around football that goalkeepers do tend to hit their prime in their mid-30s and hopefully I’m hitting my prime now. For me I think that would be the pinnacle of my career, and then (I’d) retire after that.”
For a player who some believed once did the unthinkable by putting his club before country, he has surely proven, in every sense, to be one of our country’s finest ever servants.
Discover what makes Mark a smarter saver… find out about the NAB iSaver account at www.nab.com.au
But he knows that success in the Asian Cup will just mean even more home town glory.
“Yeah it’s nice,” he says, smiling. “It’s obviously always been the sleeping giant of Australian sport. Football is such a big sport globally, and we’ve always suffered and been seen as a lesser sport here. It’s nice to come home, especially with the recognition we’ve been receiving from the public. But it’s about getting football on the map in this country. You want to have respect for playing football, rather than people saying ‘wogball’ or ‘It’s a game for sissies’ and so forth.”
Public expectations for our Asian Cup campaign are high, and Schwarzer is quick to warn that the conditions could still prove to be our undoing.
“It’s all exciting times. It was a new experience playing in somewhere like Kuwait, even though obviously it was a bad result for us,” he admits, referring to Australia’s 2-0 Asian Cup qualifier defeat in Kuwait City last year.
“I think it gave a lot of people, a bit of… not a wake up, but a bit of a shake up. To say, ‘Listen, you can’t afford to just turn up a couple of days before the game in these countries and play, because the conditions are so extreme (compared) to what we’re used to.’ It’s just… barely possible. Even coming from Australia and going into those sort of conditions. It’s very, very difficult.”
As for our biggest rivals in Asia, Japan, Schwarzer doesn’t believe we are a cut above them. Rather, he points to an even greater desire from the Blue Samurai to win back honour after our 3-1 win in Kaiserslautern last June.
“I think we’ve shown them we are a good side, and they’ve had a bit of a rebuilding process now. Nakata has retired and he was a big player for them over the past 10 years.
“They’re obviously disappointed about being knocked out of the group stages of the World Cup and especially with us being one of the teams that knocked them out… Now it’s a different ball game for them, as well as it is with South Korea and the other teams. China is another team in the competition who are waiting to again show they can mix it at the top level.”
Mark Schwarzer will be close to 38 by the time the next World Cup rolls around. There are a number of keepers who, certainly by that stage, will be biting at his ankles for the top job. His rivalry with Kalac was an enduring one, but it’s his next rivalry that may actually be the one to really test his mettle.
Only time will tell how well he’ll be playing, but statistics show that goalkeepers don’t fall prey to the sands of time as much as outfield players do. Naturally, all fans judge players and Schwarzer has had both glowing and average reviews over the years. His commitment and work ethic for the cause can’t be questioned though, and, as he has shown in so many big moments, he is a player that grows with the occasion.
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| Eyes closed: too painful to watch |
“It was probably even before the last game (of the World Cup) that I decided I wanted to continue to play,” he reveals. “I’d spoken to my wife about it and she was 100 percent behind me, even though she did moan a bit because it would mean another four years in Europe! But it was something that I knew I needed to do and I wanted to set myself another long-term target and what better target to have than to try and be at the next World Cup and represent your country again.”
On the issue of age, Schwarzer is not too concerned that he can still perform to international standards but has pencilled in his retirement to coincide with the end of the tournament.
“It’s well-documented around football that goalkeepers do tend to hit their prime in their mid-30s and hopefully I’m hitting my prime now. For me I think that would be the pinnacle of my career, and then (I’d) retire after that.”
For a player who some believed once did the unthinkable by putting his club before country, he has surely proven, in every sense, to be one of our country’s finest ever servants.
Discover what makes Mark a smarter saver… find out about the NAB iSaver account at www.nab.com.au
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