With the final Socceroos squad announced, and the seconds to kick off dragging by, fans can start debating about what it will take for the upcoming World Cup campaign to be considered a success.
People are throwing about numbers and results. For some, a respectable goal difference will be their yard stick, while others demand nothing less than progression to the second round.
Football has always been about more than just numbers though.
As cliché as it may sound, and something my statistics-oriented mind automatically rebels against, Australians believe in and admire those who display a fighting spirit and who ‘have a go’, regardless of the results.
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The history of Australian football is full of teams that have had a go. This is the yardstick by which all our teams are measured, not the final score.
Our part timers, despite not scoring a goal, had a go in the 1974 World Cup. In 1986 we lost to an Alex Ferguson coached Scotland, but we had a go. We shocked the world by defeating the reigning world champions Argentina 4-1 in the 1988 Bicentennial Gold Cup, where Charlie Yankos scored one of the national side’s greatest goals.
In 1994 we came from behind to beat Canada in a penalty shootout, where Mark Schwazer saved two penalties, followed by a 1-1 draw a 0-1 own-goal loss against a Maradona-inspired Argentina. In 1998 we didn’t lose a game but missed out to Iran on away goals in our most heartbreaking result.
Among many others of course, we also had the 2006 World Cup where it felt like Australia was a genuine chance to defeat any opposition in the world.
Every one of these teams had a go. Under both Pim Verbeek and Holger Osieck, this fighting spirit seemed to be lacking and was a large part of why many turned against them.
The 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Germany in 2010 could have been so different if our bright start had resulted in a goal, but the insipid defensive effort thereafter destroyed a lot of public faith in the team and Verbeek.
Osiecks’ qualifying campaign, while ultimately successful, was marred by bland results, and it was only a couple of backs-against-the-wall matches that gave the Australian public any glimmer of the spirit we demand from our national team.
Osieck wasn’t fired because he lost to Brazil and France. He was fired because of the perception that his team did not have a go in either match. Ange not only understands this need in the Australian public, but more importantly is someone who can inspire his teams to fulfil this ethos.
Regardless of the scoreline, there will be those who say our results were not good enough but that will miss the point entirely. We cannot ask or expect our team to play better than what they are capable of.
There is no simple mathematical equation to judge the success of the team. For the majority of fans the Socceroos will not be judged on how many goals they score or give away, but on how close to their best we perceive them to be and whether they had a go.
If they do their best, and have a go, they may just get some unexpected victories along the way.
4-1 against Spain anyone?
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Even though St.Pauli ultimately lost a high-scoring affair, Jackson Irvine was a standout, as well as scoring a late goal.
What if we celebrated all of the achievements big and small, and weeded out those hell-bent on bringing down a game that is doing a hell of a lot right?
A good performance from Michael Ruhs, scoring twice to beat Macarthur and doubling his season goal tally in the process.
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