Santo Cilauro talks Socceroos, A-League

 

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By Con Stamocostas, 19 Feb 2010 Con Stamocostas is a Roar Pro

Tagged:

 A-League, half time heroes, Mark Viduka, Santo Cilauro, Socceroos

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One my favourite moments at the last World Cup in Germany was reading about the meeting between Santo Cilauro and Socceroos captain Mark Viduka after Australia’s dramatic 2-2 draw with Croatia.

In Tony Wilson’s book Australia United, when Viduka meets Santo he keeps asking for Late Show tapes oblivious to the fact that others around him and indeed Santo were congratulating him for getting the Socceroos into the next round. During the meeting Santo promises to get Viduka some copies of the Late Show.

You say: “So that’s the incentive, if they get past Italy, they’ll have Late show tapes to watch”.

So everyone knows what happened in that match against Italy. My first question to Santo is, because of your Italian heritage, would the Socceroos have really got the tapes if they had beaten Italy?

Santo Cilauro: Forget about tapes – had the Socceroos beaten Italy, I’d personally have forced the Late Show team to reform, fly over and perform every sketch live for Mark and the boys. Despite my Italian blood, the veins pumped green and gold in 2006. And boy did they pump that afternoon in Kaiserslautern.

I’d dreamt about that match up since I was a kid. It really hurt to lose and just like the Iran qualifier in ’97, I still haven’t been able to watch a replay.

Sitting in the stadium at K-Town, seeing Lucas Neill sliding into (under?) Fabio Grosso was like watching a car crash in slow motion. Having said that, I think Italy had a great World Cup and ultimately deserved to win – I just wish I could have savoured it more. A very bittersweet moment.

HTH: What’s your feeling about the Socceroos making it out of the group stage? Should we be thinking like the patriarch Darryl Kerrigan from your film The Castle “tell em they’re dreaming” or do we have a chance?

SC: Remember, he also said “Let’s tick it up ‘Em!’. I’m hopeful. And there’s one thing for sure, if we do win the World Cup, it’ll be goin’ straight to the poolroom.

HTH: What do you think of the A League and which team do you support?

SC: I have a strange love–hate relationship with the A-League. Whilst I love the fact that the game has taken off in a major way, I somehow think the standard isn’t all that much better than when I watched state league football as a kid in the ’70s.

In that sense I kind of resent all the hoopla that goes on around it. But before anyone starts accusing me of being a ‘traitor to the cause’, I still think it is an extraordinary feat that there’s been such a growth despite the fact that all our best players reside overseas.

Imagine if any of the footy codes had to operate without their top 50 players!

Anyway, I’m so happy that the profile of Football has changed so much in my lifetime. I’m born and bred in Melbourne, so I guess I’m a Victory supporter though.

In my old age I’ve lost the ability to be partisan and wish the Heart all the best.

For more of this interview with Santo visit Half Time Heroes.

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