By Liam FitzGibbon
November 20th 2009 @ 1:21am
Love new art, fashion, music? Check out Aussie site which unearths all things cool and creative.
Join Australia’s community for solo & micro business at FlyingSolo.com.au
View The Roar's top football writers.
Henry handles pressure, Guus misses out
Thierry Henry sparked a storm by taking matters into his own hands while Guus Hiddink’s golden touch finally went missing as next year’s World Cup line-up was finalised.
The Socceroos learned exactly which 31 teams they’ll be up against at the tournament in South Africa as France, Portugal, Greece, Slovenia, Uruguay and Algeria booked the last [...]
This article is over 2000 days old and has been trimmed.
Get Australia's best Football opinion emailed daily.
Like this content? Buzz it up!
Free Email updates:
Our daily emails are only sent if there is content for the sport or that author. You can subscribe to multiple daily emails; or get the daily Roar email with all our content in it. We value privacy. More...


![“Be Afridi, Very Afridi”, read a poster at Lord’s during the World Twenty20 final on Sunday. And the in-form Sri Lankans understood its full demonic meaning as Pakistan’s dynamic all-rounder Shahid Afridi slammed 54 not out, leading Pakistan to an easy eight wicket win to lift the Trophy.
He was the Man of the Final [...] Kersi Meher-Homji: Why are rule changes always unfair to bowlers?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/why-rule-changes-unfair-bowlers-th.jpg)
![At 6.45am on Tuesday, my phone rang. It was Geoff Mould and he was as mad as hell about the demand by some senior Wallabies for $2,500 to play a trial match before the overseas tour.
Mould is a rugby guru.
He coached and selected the 1978 Australian Schoolboys side which is, arguably, the best rugby [...] Spiro Zavos: Wallaby disgrace! Money comes before the jersey](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/wallaby-disgrace-jersey-robbie-deans-th.jpg)
![I can’t decide whether Oman coach Claude Le Roy looks like Tom Petty or an aged Joni Mitchell, but there’s no doubting he’s one mightily pissed off dude. And for good reason. Not the fact his valiant Omanis fell victim to another one of Tim Cahill’s get-out-of-jail goals, but because Socceroos team manager Gary Moretti [...] Jesse Fink: Moretti’s truculence jeopardises Australia’s standing in Asia](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Moretti-truculence-jeopardises-Australia-standing-Asia.jpg)
![Libby Trickett is considering retirement at the age of 24. Casey Stoner has taken a leave of absence due to extreme fatigue at the age of 23. What’s happening to our star athletes?
It seems as though their lifespan, or ability to sustain a long-term career at the top, is being tested, not just as [...] Adrian Musolino: Sports stars start too young, retire too early](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/sports-stars-start-too-young-th.jpg)
![The AFL dominates the Australian sporting landscape because it delivers entertainment like that. Geelong and St Kilda ensured the greatest day on our sporting calendar lived up to the occasion with the Cats confirming their greatness in a thrilling Grand Final.
With the grey weather relenting in the dying moments of the final quarter with scores [...] Adrian Musolino: Geelong confirm their greatness in an epic struggle](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/geelong-confirm-th.jpg)
![Lance Armstrong and his lycra clad buddies are in Adelaide, Federer and co. are in Melbourne, the Aussie cricketers are touring the nation, as the A-League is coming down to a thrilling conclusion, and the AFL and rugby folk gear up for another season.
Plenty to keep us entertained. So is Australia the sporting capital [...] Adrian Musolino: Is Australia the sporting capital of the world?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/ffa-crowds.jpg)
![Despite their reality check overnight, the Socceroos, for so long the underachievers and forgotten Australian national team, are making a strong case for being the countries premier sporting entity, the most marketable and the biggest drawcard.
Since their long awaited World Cup qualification in 2005, they have threatened the domination of the Wallabies and [...] Adrian Musolino: Socceroos are now Australia’s premier national team](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/socceroos-australias-premier-national-viduka-th.jpg)
![Netball is now following in the footsteps of cricket and rugby in providing a shorter version of the game, which will hopefully excite existing netball fans and grab the attention of new ones. Between October 9-11, a new World Netball Series will take place in Manchester, featuring the top six netballing countries: Australia, New Zealand, [...] Natalie Medhurst: World Netball Series may fizz without crowd support](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/nat-medhurst-th.jpg)
![Earlier this year I attended a conference of sports historians talking about the history and future of rugby union.
The main speech was delivered by an English academic, Dr Tony Collins, an expert and passionate supporter of rugby league, and currently writing a history of rugby union in the 20th century.
Dr Collins’ main theme [...] Spiro Zavos: Does rugby league need a dose of the ELVs?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/eels-roosters-th.jpg)
![Whether you love or loathe the English Premier League, you have to acknowledge its rise to global prominence from the dark days of hooliganism as truly phenomenal for what is a domestic league. But the popularity of the EPL has overshadowed the development of the A-League, with many football fans sticking with the overseas product. [...] Adrian Musolino: The dominance of the EPL is hindering A-League growth](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/england-france-th.jpg)
![Let’s make one thing clear. Robbie Deans knows rugby. 10 years of provincial rugby and five test matches proves he is capable of understanding the game at the highest level. He can coach – that surely isn’t in dispute.
He led the Crusaders to five Super 12/14 championships. No other team has even won the [...] David Wiseman: It’s time to go Wallabies](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/its-time-to-go-wallabies-th.jpg)



