With more experience at 21 than most players have in a career, Socceroo Mark Milligan has a maturity beyond his years. And the World Cup was just the start...
Page 2 of 3 | Single page
How did you take to the training sessions. It must have been a step up from Sutherland?
It took me a good two weeks to adapt to the pace. At training, if your touch wasn’t perfect then you’d get smashed. Everyone was so naturally competitive that you just had to make sure you were spot on each day. You had to be playing your best football at every training session just to keep up. It was very physical which also took a lot of getting used to, right up to the World Cup. Every day was so gruelling and you’d get back to your room after training and thank God for your bed! But every session I could feel a difference and see my game improving. We did a lot of the same drills over a period of time and each time I did the drills I could feel myself getting a little better. I found my touch improving or a run I made being a bit quicker. You could feel the difference physically and mentally.
What do you remember about your debut against Liechtenstein?
I think I warmed up for 85 minutes in that game! During the last 10 minutes I was very nervous, standing behind the bench warming up just sweating because we felt like if we were going to make our debut, then it was going to be then. I was pretty nervous that day and it was one that I will never forget. And I don’t remember a lot after I came on. I remember a lot of the game beforehand but honestly I remember coming on but nothing much else. That’s a weird one actually – I don’t know why?!
How was the feeling in the team before the Finals? Did you think you could leave your mark on the tournament?
We were together for eight weeks but right from the beginning when everyone got together you just had this feeling that we were going to be successful as a group. The confidence that everyone had in each other to do well and go to the next level, you could just feel it. And Hiddink is the sort of coach that no matter what he told you to do, you wouldn’t second guess him or think, “Nah, why am I doing that?” If you’re told to do something by him then you do it. He just gives off this air of authority that you know what he’s saying is right. You just do it and you don’t think about it. You had that much faith in this guy even though you didn’t know him. Some people you meet you just know what they’re saying is right and that’s the sign of a great leader.
What was your most memorable moment from your time in Germany?
There are so many great memories but I think the one that I think about a lot is Timmy’s second strike against Japan.
I remember that I was sitting next to Archie [Thompson] and we’ve all stood up as he’s hit it and then it hit the post. Suddenly it felt like it went to slow motion – we’ve all gone to sit down and then we realised that it had gone in and we were in the air again!
I remember that well as it felt like everything had slowed down for a few moments. And of course after the Croatia game when we made it through to the next stage was amazing. The thing I remember about that was when we first walked out we went to our right and that was towards the Croatian supporters, and they were all still hanging around and clapping. And then we made it round to our end and pretty much every single Australian supporter had hung around,
I guess hoping that we’d come back out. Archie’s little AC/DC thing was pretty good as well.
What will you take away with you from working with someone like Guus?
Playing-wise I learnt a lot of little things that people really wouldn’t understand if I tried to explain it. It only really has meaning to myself. Just positioning play… the way you see the game. I look at the game a lot differently now. One of my strengths has always been the way in which I can read the game and see what is going to happen. I learned so much from Hiddink about anticipation, reading other player’s body movements and how they shape up for things. And when I had the ball I worked on hiding passes and watching my body position so other players can’t read what I’m doing. Watching it on TV the normal person might not pick a lot of it up and I guess I hadn’t really picked it up either, but it’s all those little things that make you that much better. And really in my career I’ve done nothing so far, so anything like that is going to help me be a better player when I go out on the field. Every day I learnt something under Hiddink and that’s something that I’ll always remember. It’s a changing moment in your career.
It took me a good two weeks to adapt to the pace. At training, if your touch wasn’t perfect then you’d get smashed. Everyone was so naturally competitive that you just had to make sure you were spot on each day. You had to be playing your best football at every training session just to keep up. It was very physical which also took a lot of getting used to, right up to the World Cup. Every day was so gruelling and you’d get back to your room after training and thank God for your bed! But every session I could feel a difference and see my game improving. We did a lot of the same drills over a period of time and each time I did the drills I could feel myself getting a little better. I found my touch improving or a run I made being a bit quicker. You could feel the difference physically and mentally.
What do you remember about your debut against Liechtenstein?
I think I warmed up for 85 minutes in that game! During the last 10 minutes I was very nervous, standing behind the bench warming up just sweating because we felt like if we were going to make our debut, then it was going to be then. I was pretty nervous that day and it was one that I will never forget. And I don’t remember a lot after I came on. I remember a lot of the game beforehand but honestly I remember coming on but nothing much else. That’s a weird one actually – I don’t know why?!
How was the feeling in the team before the Finals? Did you think you could leave your mark on the tournament?
We were together for eight weeks but right from the beginning when everyone got together you just had this feeling that we were going to be successful as a group. The confidence that everyone had in each other to do well and go to the next level, you could just feel it. And Hiddink is the sort of coach that no matter what he told you to do, you wouldn’t second guess him or think, “Nah, why am I doing that?” If you’re told to do something by him then you do it. He just gives off this air of authority that you know what he’s saying is right. You just do it and you don’t think about it. You had that much faith in this guy even though you didn’t know him. Some people you meet you just know what they’re saying is right and that’s the sign of a great leader.
 |
| Learning Jedi mind tricks from Master Guus |
What was your most memorable moment from your time in Germany?
There are so many great memories but I think the one that I think about a lot is Timmy’s second strike against Japan.
I remember that I was sitting next to Archie [Thompson] and we’ve all stood up as he’s hit it and then it hit the post. Suddenly it felt like it went to slow motion – we’ve all gone to sit down and then we realised that it had gone in and we were in the air again!
I remember that well as it felt like everything had slowed down for a few moments. And of course after the Croatia game when we made it through to the next stage was amazing. The thing I remember about that was when we first walked out we went to our right and that was towards the Croatian supporters, and they were all still hanging around and clapping. And then we made it round to our end and pretty much every single Australian supporter had hung around,
I guess hoping that we’d come back out. Archie’s little AC/DC thing was pretty good as well.
What will you take away with you from working with someone like Guus?
Playing-wise I learnt a lot of little things that people really wouldn’t understand if I tried to explain it. It only really has meaning to myself. Just positioning play… the way you see the game. I look at the game a lot differently now. One of my strengths has always been the way in which I can read the game and see what is going to happen. I learned so much from Hiddink about anticipation, reading other player’s body movements and how they shape up for things. And when I had the ball I worked on hiding passes and watching my body position so other players can’t read what I’m doing. Watching it on TV the normal person might not pick a lot of it up and I guess I hadn’t really picked it up either, but it’s all those little things that make you that much better. And really in my career I’ve done nothing so far, so anything like that is going to help me be a better player when I go out on the field. Every day I learnt something under Hiddink and that’s something that I’ll always remember. It’s a changing moment in your career.
Related Articles
Milligan: We just fell short...
What would you be doing if you weren't at the World Cup, lads?
