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Maradona drug claims don’t faze Socceroos

Con Stamocostas — Wed, 25 May 2011 19:19:27 +0000

What a week in Australian football! Maradona confesses that he and his La Albiceleste teammates took drugs against the Socceroos before a second-leg World Cup qualifier in 1993, and two of the Socceroos participants couldn’t give a flying fox.

When Australia played Argentina during the second leg of their World Cup qualifier in Buenos Aires, a few mates and I jigged school to watch the game at the Sydney Olympic Club. I was in Year 11 and I remember missing a crucial maths class.

Watching the game was a frustrating experience because with the Socceroos down 1-0 late in the game, striker Carl Veart scored what everyone thought was an equalising goal.

The noise and jumping were so loud and thunderous that the projector failed and we lost the picture. We waited a couple of minutes while staff at the Sydney Olympic club tried frantically to get the projector to work again, while the punters screamed. Once the picture was fixed we found that the goal was ruled offside. Failure to qualify yet again was a crushing feeling.

So I was astonished to read that Paul Wade and Robbie Slater have given muted responses to the news Maradona and Argentina cheated. Anytime that game or Maradona’s name is brought up in Australia, Paul Wade and Robbie Slater are always the go to guys to get a quote, even though they were not the only players on the pitch.

Robbie Slater’s response when asked if it tarnishes the experience was that “It certainly won’t for me, it was a magical three weeks, it was mythical. In spite of this coming out … those two games, despite us not qualifying, rest as one of the best memories in my career.”

And Paul Wade’s response is even weirder. No outrage, no feelings of being cheated. Instead he takes the news as a compliment.

Chatting to the Sydney Morning Herald‘s Sebastian Hassett, Wade said ”I was absolutely shocked when I heard about it. But, wow, in a bizarre way, what a compliment to us. They must have been very scared that we’d knock them out of the World Cup qualifiers.”

News that the Argies had been talking happy pills is not any new discovery. Before the World Cup last year I read Jimmy Burns excellent book on Maradona’s Hand of God. In it he claims that during the 1978 World Cup, the eventual winners were as high as Charlie Sheen on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday ,Thursday, Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday.

An excerpt from the book reveals that: “According to other reports Mario Kempes and Alberto Tarantinoi were so ‘high’ after playing one particular World Cup match that they had to keep on going for another hour before they came down again.”

Another most extraordinary episode of the World Cup involved the pregnant wife of the Argentine’s team waterboy, after it was revealed that her urine was used as to cover for an Argentine player in one of the competition’s dopes test.

At least on this occasion they had dope tests!

Surely someone from that Socceroos team has to feel cheated and robbed.

To think of being literally cheated out of playing at a World Cup and taking the news as a compliment, or one of the best memories in a career. I wonder if, indeed, they really wanted to go to the World Cup in the first place?

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Con Stamocostas — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:38:45 +0000

“It all comes despite the sixth instalment of the A-League being arguably the best in terms of on-field entertainment.” And there it is again. This time by Age journalist Jonathan Howcroft. The same line over and over again. Almost every article concerning the A-League Season Six leads to the same patronising line. Hey you A-League [...]

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Con Stamocostas — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 19:30:36 +0000

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Football World Cup predictions, with a twist

Con Stamocostas — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:31:20 +0000

Now the World Cup is upon us, it’s time to make fun of the cultural differences that exist on and off the football field. Here is part one of my politically incorrect assessment of all the World Cup teams. Algeria Who/what are ya famous for? Famous philosopher Albert Camus played as goalkeeper for Racing Universitaire [...]

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How to fake it as a Socceroos supporter

Con Stamocostas — Fri, 07 May 2010 15:41:29 +0000

It’s finally here. I have been waiting close to four years and finally I can get my Wallabies jersey out, put on my Kangaroos socks, and pump up my Italia 90 soccer ball. That’s right folks, I’m here to ride the Quadraphonic Football Bandwagon. Here are a few tips and rules to make sure that [...]

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Con Stamocostas — Sat, 01 May 2010 14:01:39 +0000

Australian player Vince Grella (right) during the Socceroos pre-match training session at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. AAP Image/Luis Enrique Ascui

Forget about the likes of Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill, Mark Bresciano, Vince Grella, Brett Emerton, Craig Moore and Lucas Neill being the Socceroos most important players at the World Cup.

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Don’t you like it when pretentious writers use some obscure foreign reference to start a “This is what I think about stuff” story that then doesn’t really make sense to the point and theme of the story? I don’t like it, I love it! So without any more waffling I present ‘esprit d’escalier,’ which translates [...]

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Raul Blanco talks about World Cup, Socceroos

Con Stamocostas — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 17:49:57 +0000

Former Socceroos coach Raul Blanco will make his debut at the World Cup in South Africa sitting on the Kiwi’s bench. I was lucky to have a chat with him about his experiences with the All Whites and the state of coaching in Australia. HTH: You must be buzzing about going to the World Cup, [...]

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Con Stamocostas — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:47:02 +0000

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Gold Coast United are an embarrassment to the A-League

Con Stamocostas — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:32:07 +0000

Gold Coast players react after Jason Culina scored in the 59th minute to put the Coast 2-0 up during the 1st round A-League football match between Brisbane Roar and Gold Coast United at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009. AAP Image/Dave Hunt

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Con Stamocostas — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:55:52 +0000

Australian football speculators have had a busy week trying to figure out all manner of things that are wrong with Australian football at the moment. If it’s not low crowds, it’s the inadequate shouting from the sideline by Dutch coaches at the Youth World Cup. Or it’s the seemingly bungled attempt to get a 12th [...]

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Con Stamocostas — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:18:22 +0000

While the action on the park in the first month of season five of the A-League has been filled with lots of action and goals (54 goals scored at at average of 2.7 goals a game) and controversy (cardboard Miron cut outs), most of the talk off the pitch has centered on the low NSL-type [...]

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Con Stamocostas — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:34:21 +0000

There were some very interesting developments that took place in the world of television football broadcasting recently. The first piece of news I found interesting was the BBC’s attempt to get football events such as the World Cup and FA Cup back on free-to-air television. The Guardian report said that events such as the World [...]

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Let’s have more action, less talk about crowds

Con Stamocostas — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:03:04 +0000

After four seasons of wondering whether the novelty of the A-League would wear off, the time has come to rid us fans of the manic and depressive crowd count that follows every round of the A-League. For so many column inches to be devoted to the subject, as a fan, it’s getting quite boring. I’m [...]

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Socceroos exorcising our Cultural Cringe

Con Stamocostas — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:18:30 +0000

Australia is a land and a people unto itself. At the same time, our geographic isolation lends to our sense of wanderlust as we peer over the horizon imagining about the different people and places that exist. Any cultural expression that we catch ourselves doing causes our bodies to elicit a reflex gag in the [...]

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A-League season preview [part two]

Con Stamocostas — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:51:50 +0000

The second part of this A-League season preview looks at the chances of both Sydney FC and Perth Glory. Sydney FC (4th) Sydney FC has the best credentialled coach in the A-League in terms of having been a proper coach in a proper league, enjoying success with Slovan Liberec. The squad looks more balanced than [...]

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A-League season preview [part one]

Con Stamocostas — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:43:35 +0000

Most of the A-League squads have been finalised, and with less than a month before the season proper begins, it’s time to rate the chances of the teams and have a look at some of their new recruits. The first part takes a look at the two new clubs – North Queensland Fury and Gold [...]

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Socceroos are sweet at sixteen

Con Stamocostas — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:46:50 +0000

The Socceroos are ranked sixteenth in the world. It’s hard to believe they are sitting one place above football pretty boys, Portugal, a team who are struggling to make South Africa next year, even with the best player in the world in their side. One week derided by its own media and betrayed by infighting, [...]

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How Australia will win its bid for the World Cup

Con Stamocostas — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:22:30 +0000

FIFA President Sepp Blatter, left, talks with Football Australia chairman Frank Lowy as they arrive at the opening ceremony for the 58th FIFA congress in Sydney, Thursday, May 29, 2008. AP Photo/Mark Baker

During a speech at the Press Club gallery, FFA Chairman Frank Lowy said that Australia had embarked on a Herculean task in trying to win the right to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cups.

Did Pim have to be that right about A-League

Con Stamocostas — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:14:05 +0000

The Socceroos 1-0 loss to Kuwait makes everyone look bad. Pim was right about the A-league, but did he have to be that right? Ignoring stats about games played, goals scored, goals conceded, Pim Verbeek has shown that sometimes Football is a very difficult game to play. It seems the players are finding it difficult [...]

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Listen to Pim, make A-League training tougher

Con Stamocostas — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:55:31 +0000

While some see Pim Verbeek’s comments about the A-League as damaging, I like them and want more of them. Australian football seems to have taken the comments personally. But this reflects Australia’s insecurity about their place in the football world.

Verbeek wants to control all parts of the Socceroos’ play

Con Stamocostas — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:02:55 +0000

Kossie’s favourite philosopher is Friedrich Nietzsche. So I was surprised he didn’t use the phrase “whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” after he got sacked from Sydney FC

Stop the phoney outrage, and join the 2018 party

Con Stamocostas — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 21:14:25 +0000

What is it with journalists of the egg ball variety being outraged every time one of our football teams makes an international final (AFC Champions league) or receives government funding ($32m election and $45m World Cup bid)? Rebecca Wilson you should watch the video embedded below. It’s Australia celebrating at the World Cup in 2006 [...]

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To boo or not boo, that is the question

Con Stamocostas — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:20:21 +0000

I wonder if booing is embedded in the English pysche so much that it is a permanent reaction to not having your expectations met, neither as a football fan nor as human being. Only the English would boo Bob Dylan because he had the gall to play electric guitar in the second part of a [...]

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