The Roar » Mike Tuckerman

Olyroos need to stand up for our proud Olympic history

Mike Tuckerman — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:19:59 +0000

A 2-0 defeat to Uzbekistan in Tashket overnight means the Olyroos will have to qualify for the 2012 Olympics the hard way if Aurelio Vidmar’s men are to book a trip to London this year.

“Is is just the picture or are they playing on a cow paddock?” read one response on Facebook to a grainy still photo of the pitch in Tashkent – the concept of playing in snow seemingly so alien to the average Australian fan it’s not even considered.

But play in snow the Olyroos did – in temperatures around minus 12 degrees Celsius – and they failed to get on the scoresheet for the fourth game in a row.

They had two goals ruled out, by all accounts, but whether they were ruled out legitimately is hard to judge since like most folks I didn’t actually see a game not broadcast on Australian television.

What is certain is that if the Olyroos are to qualify for the Olympics, they’ll have to do so through the playoffs given that Uzbekistan are in total control of Group B in Asian qualifying.

That means Australia could face off against the Group A and C runners-up for the right to take on the fourth-ranked African nation in a sudden-death showdown for a place at the Olympics.

A star-studded Japan ominously occupy second spot in Group C after losing to Syria overnight, but currently that’s the least of Vidmar’s concerns.

Australia won’t qualify for the Olympics if it can’t get on the scoresheet, but that doesn’t seem to have unduly concerned a new breed of Australian football fan.

When Football Federation Australia decreed recently that only three players per A-League club could be selected for Olyroos duty – thereby undermining the value of the jersey, it must be said – many A-League fans applauded the move.

There has even been a vocal outcry from those who insist Australia should forget about playing Olympic football altogether.

Yet many of these same fans insist the FFA must do more to respect the history of football in this country.

Does that include the history of one of the greatest ever performances by an Australian in the international arena?

Who could forget Ned Zelic’s virtuoso display against the Netherlands in Olympic qualifying in 1992, when the marauding libero scored one of the most famous Australian goals of all time?

His Olyroos side beat Denmark and Sweden en route to reaching the semi-finals of the 1992 Games in Barcelona, before losing to an explosive Polish outfit in the final four.

And let’s not forget that the 2000 Olympics kicked off with the Olyroos losing narrowly to another European powerhouse in Italy.

The crowd that night? 93,252 at the MCG – most of whom left cursing Hayden Foxe for the catastrophic error which allowed Andrea Pirlo to register a late winner.

Or what about the fact Australia has twice been drawn against eventual champions Argentina in the past two Olympic tournaments?

Check out some of the names to have turned out for the the Albiceleste in those two Games.

Roberto Ayala. Javier Saviola. Carlos Tevez. Gabriel Heinze. Javier Mascherano. Juan Roman Riquelme. Angel Di Maria. Sergio Aguero. Oh yes. And Lionel Messi.

Are those who state Australia “shouldn’t bother” with the Olympics seriously suggesting it’s not worth pitting our talents against some of the best young players in the world?

Is it suddenly beneath us to try and compete with the likes of the former Soviet Union, Spain, Nigeria, Cameroon and Argentina – countries which have all won the Olympics since Australia’s rollercoaster run to the quarter-finals in Seoul in 1988?

Yes, the tournament has flaws but the rules are the same for everyone.

And while it will be an uphill battle to even reach London, that doesn’t change the fact Olympic football is an important part of our football heritage.

Roaring Hot

Yesterday’s most commented articles

India vs Sri Lanka, Perth ODI: cricket live scores, commentary [180 comments]
Sonny Bill Williams vs Clarence Tillman III: Live updates, blog [video] [179 comments]
AFL divisions are the way of the future [84 comments]

Most read articles last 3 days

Article link: Olyroos need to stand up for our proud Olympic history. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

What happened in Port Said was not a football riot

Mike Tuckerman — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:14:01 +0000

The shocking scenes of violence at Port Said Stadium in Egypt this week were a dreadful reminder of the dark side of the beautiful game, but they must be analysed in context. Waking up to the world news yesterday was like travelling back to a time when names such as Heysel and Hillsborough sent shivers [...]

Article link: What happened in Port Said was not a football riot. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Phoenix need more than flash in the pan crowds

Mike Tuckerman — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:19:44 +0000

How do we solve a problem like Wellington Phoenix? The Kiwi side are in second place and inexorably finals-bound but seem beset by issues off the pitch. You wouldn’t have got that impression yesterday when a big crowd turned out in the New Zealand capital to see the Phoenix beat Melbourne Heart 3-1. But the [...]

Article link: Phoenix need more than flash in the pan crowds. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

A-League needs to entertain more consistently

Mike Tuckerman — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:46:03 +0000

While much of the focus was on former Sydney FC defender Mark Milligan, there was some symmetry to the fact it was ex-Victory defender Sebastian Ryall who proved the man of the hour in the “Big Blue” yesterday. Ryall’s goal was symptomatic of the match: unexpected and scrappy, but thoroughly entertaining. Not for the first [...]

Article link: A-League needs to entertain more consistently. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Which English Premier League team should I support?

Mike Tuckerman — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:28:43 +0000

Now is probably as good a time as any to mention it – just in case someone out there is taking notes – but I no longer watch English football. I haven’t watched it in a serious way since 2005, when Malcom Glazer and his family took control of Manchester United in one of the [...]

Article link: Which English Premier League team should I support?. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Judge Magilton on results, not his passport

Mike Tuckerman — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:18:44 +0000

If Sir Alex Ferguson had been named as coach of Melbourne Victory, would it be considered a backwards step by those who take umbrage with A-League clubs hiring Britons? I refer, of course, to Craig Foster’s column in yesterday’s Fairfax press which so spectacularly raised the hackles of his former Socceroos team-mate Robbie Slater. Slater [...]

Article link: Judge Magilton on results, not his passport. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Looking ahead to a stormy A-League round

Mike Tuckerman — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:28:26 +0000

Do they still host celebrity boxing matches? Because Gary van Egmond and Kasey Wehrman are the two combatants I’d most like to see pitched into battle. Reading Wehrman’s comments on The World Game website last week was like looking into the future – you just knew he would be searching for a new club about [...]

Article link: Looking ahead to a stormy A-League round. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Why Jim Magilton has nothing to lose

Mike Tuckerman — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:27:51 +0000

“No matter how much due diligence or expert advice you get, there is always risk in appointments,” said Melbourne Victory chairman Anthony di Pietro as he gave Mehmet Durakovic the chop. Fair enough, but there shouldn’t be too much risk in appointing Jim Magilton as the new coach because Victory’s season could hardly get any [...]

Article link: Why Jim Magilton has nothing to lose. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Is Matt Simon irreplaceable or overrated?

Mike Tuckerman — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:00:43 +0000

It’s slightly ironic that Matt Simon signed off on his Central Coast Mariners career with the kind of goal many critics thought him incapable of. When the bustling striker breezed past Melbourne Victory defender Petar Franjic before slamming the ball into the bottom corner, I wonder if a few of his detractors didn’t have second [...]

Article link: Is Matt Simon irreplaceable or overrated?. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

The A-League marathon will be one heck of a day

Mike Tuckerman — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:25:39 +0000

I’m getting ready to watch about eight hours of A-League football today, and I doubt I’m the only sports fan gearing up to do so. It won’t conflict much with my usual summer schedule, which sees me transform into an antisocial hermit and spend hours flicking compulsively between the cricket and the tennis, and generally [...]

Article link: The A-League marathon will be one heck of a day. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Why A-League fans must stand up to anti-football brigade

Mike Tuckerman — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 19:23:02 +0000

The Boxing Day derby did more than settle a local grudge match, it also marked the appearance of a frequent visitor: the anti-football nutter. What is it about this time of year that brings out the anti-A-League brigade? It seems we can’t go a single summer without a random ‘sports fan’ arriving at the earth-shattering [...]

Article link: Why A-League fans must stand up to anti-football brigade. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Are Sydney FC the most frustrating A-League team of all?

Mike Tuckerman — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:18:49 +0000

Sydney FC fans are either eternally loyal or completely daft for their continuing support of arguably the most frustrating team in the A-League. A Sydney FC home game generally means one of two things: that it will rain and that Sydney fans will go home with chewed fingernails after watching their team mix a combination [...]

Article link: Are Sydney FC the most frustrating A-League team of all?. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Graham Arnold is the new Postecoglou

Mike Tuckerman — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 19:36:31 +0000

If Erik Paartalu had headed his A-League Grand Final effort just half-a-metre further to the right, we might now be lauding Graham Arnold as one of the greatest coaches Australia has ever produced. I should categorically state I don’t think Ange Postecoglou is suddenly a bad coach because Brisbane Roar have lost four games in [...]

Article link: Graham Arnold is the new Postecoglou. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Why do fans boo their own team?

Mike Tuckerman — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:31:33 +0000

Will Melbourne Victory fans boo their team off the pitch if they fail to beat Wellington Phoenix this weekend? No doubt there’d be plenty of takers should one of the bookmakers offer odds as one those exotic bets currently making media headlines. Why is it that fans boo their own teams off the pitch? And [...]

Article link: Why do fans boo their own team?. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

The future of football coverage is online

Mike Tuckerman — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 19:20:17 +0000

The news that Football+ magazine has “ceased publication” hammers another nail into the coffin of print media coverage. It also highlights something we have known for a long time: the future of football coverage in Australia is online. Football+ joins the recently departed Soccer International and the A-League’s former matchday programme The Full 90/Australian Football [...]

Article link: The future of football coverage is online. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

It’s time A-League clubs succeed in ACL

Mike Tuckerman — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:45:54 +0000

It’s a shame Bill Murray didn’t conduct the AFC Champions League draw since it ended up feeling like “Groundhog Day.” We saw some familiar foes and came to an old conclusion: A-League clubs must do better in Asia. Central Coast taking on Tianjin Teda? Adelaide United drawing Gamba Osaka and Bunyodkor? If Pohang Steelers beat [...]

Article link: It’s time A-League clubs succeed in ACL. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

A-League controversy is good for the game

Mike Tuckerman — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 19:38:35 +0000

When Nikolai Torpor-Stanley slid in on Archie Thompson on Saturday night, he guaranteed Victory coach Mehmet Durakovic had a ready-made excuse after another costly defeat for the visitors. There’s no doubt in my mind Victory were denied a cast-iron penalty against the Newcastle Jets as Thompson’s pace took him around Torpor-Stanley and into a scoring [...]

Article link: A-League controversy is good for the game. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Kashiwa vs Brisbane? I’d like to see that!

Mike Tuckerman — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:24:41 +0000

The J. League is one of the most underrated competitions in the world. And when full-time blows on Saturday afternoon, it will signal another thrilling climax to one of the world’s most entertaining football leagues. For the umpteenth time in its recent history the J. League will be decided on the final day, with league [...]

Article link: Kashiwa vs Brisbane? I’d like to see that!. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Rini Coolen, you are the weakest link

Mike Tuckerman — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 19:40:54 +0000

So Harry Kewell has his first A-League goal and Mehmet Durakovic retains his job for another week. Good news for Melbourne Victory fans but what’s going on at the A-League’s real problem club? “A quick review because you don’t need so many words with a game like this ” was how Adelaide United coach Rini [...]

Article link: Rini Coolen, you are the weakest link. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Brisbane Roar’s unbeaten run is the best of all the codes

Mike Tuckerman — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 13:30:02 +0000

“Apart from coaching I have a real drive to build a football club, which I don’t think really exists here in Australia,” said Ange Postecoglou when he was appointed coach of Brisbane Roar. Who would have thought that when the Roar appointed Postecoglou as Frank Farina’s successor back in October 2009, the club he would [...]

Article link: Brisbane Roar’s unbeaten run is the best of all the codes. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Victory the losers in gory Glory draw

Mike Tuckerman — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 19:22:26 +0000

It’s funny how often a draw seems like a win or a loss. Two weeks ago Melbourne Victory enjoyed a moral victory when they drew with Brisbane Roar, yet the southern side was the biggest loser in yesterday’s 2-2 draw with Perth Glory. 2-0 up with twenty minutes to go and Victory should have had [...]

Article link: Victory the losers in gory Glory draw. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Socceroos performances need some perspective

Mike Tuckerman — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 21:45:56 +0000

The chorus of disquiet after Australia’s narrow win in Bangkok was as predictable as a scything Mile Jedinak tackle. But six years after that magical night in Sydney, do Socceroos fans now take World Cup qualification for granted? There’s little to add to the discourse on Australia’s 1-0 win over Thailand at an atmospheric Suphachalasai [...]

Article link: Socceroos performances need some perspective. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Holger’s heroes struggling in key positions

Mike Tuckerman — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 18:20:29 +0000

When Amad Al-Hosni burst through a gaping hole against the Socceroos in Muscat, he reminded us Holger Osieck’s team is far from the finished product. Oman recorded a deserved win in their World Cup qualifier against Australia, and in truth, Al-Hosni could have practically driven a bus through the space between Lucas Neill and Matthew [...]

Article link: Holger’s heroes struggling in key positions. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

A-League needs Roar to make history

Mike Tuckerman — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 19:47:40 +0000

Dave Brown was known as “the Don Bradman of Rugby League”, and the A-League needs their own stories to etch the competition into history books. The headgear-wearing centre broke numerous point scoring records as part of a star-studded Eastern Suburbs team in the 1930s, going on to become the youngest captain of Australia and eventually [...]

Article link: A-League needs Roar to make history. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Winless Melbourne Heart offering little for fans

Mike Tuckerman — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 19:36:47 +0000

Five games in and the new A-League table is taking shape. There’s a familiar look at the top with unbeaten Brisbane Roar leading the way, but fans of a certain southern club could be forgiven for their hand wringing. Melbourne Heart sit winless at the bottom of the standings. Heart coach John van’t Schip was [...]

Article link: Winless Melbourne Heart offering little for fans. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Victory face up to A-League’s yardstick: Brisbane Roar

Mike Tuckerman — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 21:42:19 +0000

I hope the theatregoers cross the Bourke Street bridge to Docklands on Saturday night. There’s a palpable sense of history brewing for the clash between Melbourne Victory and Brisbane Roar. The A-League aristocrats hosts a fledgling giant in a match full of significance and intrigue. Victory’s scratchy start to the season is well documented and [...]

Article link: Victory face up to A-League’s yardstick: Brisbane Roar. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Time for a technical rethink at Adelaide United

Mike Tuckerman — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 21:25:22 +0000

As a former defender himself, Adelaide United coach Rini Coolen has no doubt seen some bad defending in his time. He had a bird’s eye view of it in Adelaide’s 7-1 thrashing at the hands of Brisbane Roar on Friday night, so why did he do so little to prevent it? Coolen blasted his defenders [...]

Article link: Time for a technical rethink at Adelaide United. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Brisbane Roar’s foreigners make a world of difference

Mike Tuckerman — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 16:51:32 +0000

Fox sports commentator Andy Harper is right to label Thomas Broich the best foreign import the A-League has ever seen. The German playmaker has been key to Brisbane Roar’s success and in the past two seasons the Roar have set the benchmark when it comes to recruiting foreign players. Broich was in typically inspirational form [...]

Article link: Brisbane Roar’s foreigners make a world of difference. Written by Mike Tuckerman, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Melbourne Victory winless and desperate for direction

Mike Tuckerman — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 18:40:54 +0000

Harry Kewell can't believe it either (AAP Image/Joe Castro)

You know a team is in poor form when they’re outplayed by Melbourne Heart. The reaction to Melbourne’s scoreless derby said it all, with Victory defender Matthew Foschini labelling his side’s performance “a disgrace,” while Heart coach John van’t Schip preferred to talk his team up.

Will foreign owners change English football forever?

Mike Tuckerman — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 16:00:53 +0000

They don’t call it the world game for nothing. Football’s global popularity has always made it attractive to outside investment, but calls to scrap relegation from the English Premier League suggest foreign investment may one day take a heavy toll on the fabric of the English game.