Australia’s Mark Viduka with Soccer Australia President Frank Lowry after Australia defeated Uruguay during the 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifier match at Telstra Stadium, Sydney, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2005. Australia defated Uruguay in a penalty shoot out qualifying them for the World Cup in Germany. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
The Socceroo’s defeat of Uruguay in November of 2005 catapulted the sport into the pantheon of Australia’s greatest sporting moments, capturing the imagination of a nation and changing forever the profile of a sport once considered to be the basket case of this country’s footballing codes.
Qualification for Germany 2006 ranks in the top 5 of most polls of Australia’s greatest sporting achievements; recognition and respect that none of us who are passionate about the game could have ever dared to dream of 40 years ago.
And yet there is still a lot of conjecture about whether the Socceros’ achievements deserve to be talked about in the same breath as Australia II or Cathy Freeman, Bradman or Phar Lap.
Non-football people struggle to understand the reverence but the answer comes in where the socceroos have come from, and that like the aforementioned, the Socceroos victory against Uruguay unified a nation.
I recall going to Olympic Park in Melbourne as a youngster to watch an endless procession of overseas teams play against our representative sides: Bologna, Red Star, NY Cosmos, and the list goes on.
The stands were packed with fans cheering for the visiting teams because they identified with them more than they did our national team.
I wonder how that must have felt for our players.
The 70s and 80s saw football in this country that was largely run along ethnic lines, that resulted in a national league that struggled to win mainstream support in the media.
Where our talented players needed to go overseas to ply their trade professionally and where our national team was reduced to sporadic and infrequent matches and then asked to play against hardened footballing nations to qualify for a world cup.
Things began to change in the 90s.
Australian football talent was being sought overseas and the national team was able to secure the services of a coach of world renown who would famously take the Socceroos to within a whisker of qualifying for a second world cup in front of a near-capacity crowd on a ground usually reserved as a stage for Cricket and AFL.
While Iran’s last-minute heroics at the MCG may have spelt the death knell for the Socceroos 98 campaign, it did herald a turning of the tide for the sport in this country.
After that night, long-time football fans got a taste of the world stage and they wanted more.
The Crawford Report of 2003 provided the infrastructure for success and delivered to a position of power arguably the games greatest patron in Frank Lowy.
The results of his labours evident for all to see in Sydney, Nov 16 2005 when John Aloisi’s penalty strike sent the nation into raptures.
But it wasn’t just the result.
I remember vividly as the camera panned around the ground, seeing a sea of yellow and gold. People of every cultural background draped in flags sporting the boxing Kangaroo.
Australia’s long-time football supporters were galvanised and even those who had previously taken just a lukewarm interest in the game were won over to the cause. The knockers and naysayers were forced to admit that the code had finally arrived.
On that night, we bested a two-time World-Cup winner.
And we, a nation of 20 million, were given a ticket to take on the giants of the game that have football as a religion and not just a sport.
Where we would go onto stamp our courage and tenacity on the world stage losing to the eventual world champion but win respect in a sport that is played by more people than any other on this planet.
But by far the greatest achievement of that night in Sydney, and the reason the exploits of the Socceroos deserve to be remembered as being in the top, if not the top, of the lists of sporting achievements, is that the game was watched in every corner of the country, by every age group, by every cultural background.
It bought a nation together to shout, with one voice, for the Socceroos.
Bring on South Africa.
mushi
Roar Guru
Between this and cricket I must get different telecasts to you freud.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
I'd have to say America's Cup in-so-far that I am not a sailing fan at all however that moment sticks in my mind.
cab711
Guest
Still remember Vidmar crying cause he couldnt go to Germany and he knew this would be his last chance. Sums it up for me.
cab711
Guest
Nice. A positive article about the good aspects of soccer in aus. It was a beautiful moment for Australian Soccer. It is quite amazing to think that all we did was qualify for the WC, for the neutral you would have thought we had won the thing. Its amazing to think of what we accomplished that day and how the sport, domestically has advanced in such a short amount of time. If you overlay where we were in 2006 to where we are about to be in 2010, its quite amazing. The amount of international games, TV coverage, players becoming household names. It makes me feel good about the sport and that one day Aus kids may not have to go to overseas to make a living in soccer. It stands to reason that any kid today who thinks he is good enough can now make a decent living playing soccer in Australia. As for that day, well I watched it on TV and I was very suprised with the result and didnt think we would qualify. I feel a little guilty but I booked a ticket to Germany straight away to make ammends. Fort someone who has followed the game all his life it is nice to see alot of people understanding what is great about soccer. The tactics, the skill and the energy is very unique but what is undeniable is the emotion. I was dissapointed when they added extra time way back. Penalty shoot outs are fantastic and the sickening nerves you feel are just great, and if you win...its the best.
cab711
Guest
Nice, man loving.
Cpaaa
Guest
Gary, like i said in my first post "its hard to pick australias greatest moment for we are all bias." ill also add to that, we are all born in different eras. i was born in an era where australia had never qualified for the fifa world cup. i was also too young to give a shit that australia had won a cup named america's...in a boat race. on makybe diva, let me say this. i feel a stronger connection with the diva for i am of Croatian heritage, the owners are croatian and therefore the jockey (what was his name by the way) was dressed in beautiful red white and blue colours resembling the croatian flag, yes i did feel good.....but bro, its still a bloody horse.! i feel your pain when wilko dropped that goal for the poms for i was living in the uk watching the game in a pub full of english. but on that note, dont we expect the wallabies to be there every time. that final 4. so as you say qualifying for tournaments is no big deal, then why was it such a big deal that november nite against Uraguay. perhaps it was revenge for 4 years ago. perhaps it was a case of beating 2x world champions perhaps it was a case of only being there once in 74 perhaps it was just a dream or just our destiny. so we qualified for the finals of the football world cup. some here say we have to win it to prove anything. and when Australia finally does win it, im sure i will be reading on the roar whether a horse or our national football team deserves that honour.
Matthew-R
Guest
Its great that we've got so many great sporting moments
Matthew-R
Guest
I think the most important thing here is that while Australia qualifying for Germany was a fantastic moment, and very much my favourite. We are lucky that there have been so many sporting moments that have made us scream at the top of our lungs..... And the best thing is that they will be many more to come in the future.
Gary
Guest
Australia II.winning the Americas Cup in 1983 was without doubt the event that literally stopped the whole nation, not just the suporters of any particular sport. Virtually everyone stayed up all night to watch the cheating Yanks finally get their just desserts. Not much work was done the next day but a lot of partying. Makybe Diva winning her 3rd straight Melbourne Cup. The others really depend on your personal taste in sport. For me its Rugby so the greatest moments are: When Larkham kicked that field goal in Rugby World Cup 99, The come from behind Lynagh try v Ireland in 91 Rugby World Cup to win in the dying seconds of the match. The first ever Rugby Test match held in Perth V South Africa when the Sydney centric Australia Rugby Union finally acknowledged that Rugby is a national game. Watching my sons play Football (Soccer) and Rugby. Cpaaa asks: "Where were you when the wallabies qualified for the Rugby World Cup?" I can't remember because qualifying for tournaments is no big deal for really competitive national sides. But I can remember every detail of the really significant games in the World Cups the Wallabies actually won. I can also remember the devastation when Johnny Wilkinson kicked that goal in extra time to win the Rugby World Cup for England. Qualifying for a World Cup was a big moment for Australian Football but one of the great moments in Australian Sport that will be remembered for decades I think not. The Socceroos are going to have to win the World Cup as the Wallabies have done twice and be competitive as a matter of course to rate legend status.
Mick
Guest
1. Austalia WCQ 16/11/05 V Uruguay 2/3 Not sure how too separate these 2 but Freeman having too put up with all the media bs and hype and Jason Macartney playing after being in bali 4 Eric the eel competing in the Sydney olympics 5 me scoring my only ever century 101 not out on dodgey pitch with next best score of 20 out of total of 215
The 1 and Only Master
Guest
Australia's greatest sporting moment. Well that is very simple The day the SHERRIN was invented
AndyRoo
Guest
Perhaps the AFL Grand final becasue it's watched by the nation but I think Australia's greatest moment would be relevent to most Australians. Your opinion I guess but I think all those AFL moments don't beat the Socceroos, Australian cricket team or Americas cup in my eyes because of their national significance. I was disputing Pip claiming a "poster" is our number 6 greatest sporting moment. Didn't know posters and Banners were sports down south. Is it hard to get into the banner making team? At least you mentioned things I would consider actual sporting moments (apart from Ted Whitten) even if they don't mean anything to me.
Freud of Football
Roar Guru
So the only way an event can be of national significance is if its involving the national team? So all AFL and NRL moments are out of the running because they are somewhat state orientated? Just because something happens only in the Southern States doesn't make it any less noteworthy, AFL is the biggest sport in the country and is dominant in WA, SA, VIC, TAS and NT. It is by far the most noteworthy sport in the country and just because QLD/NSW don't care much for it doesn't make it any less important to the country. Blight's 80m torpedo after the siren, Leo Barry's mark in the 05 GF, Lockett's 60 odd metre point to reach the GF, Ted Whitten being driven around the G before that state of origin game, even Gary Ablett scoring 9 goals in a losing GF - those are fantastic sporting moments and they are from a sport that isn't on any international stage, nonetheless for Australia as a sporting nation, ask any true AFL Fan (yes, those are the ones supporting the most popular code in the country) and they will tell you of the significance of each and every one of those moments, people from all across the country and that is national enough for me.
Freud of Football
Roar Guru
Neill didn't do anything wrong, he tried to make himself as small as possible and Grosso tried to trip himself over
AndyRoo
Guest
Actually we should blame the CSIRO and the AIS. If those scientists had worked a little harder they may have come up with some sort of medical way to get kewell to play. With his creativity on the pitch and passing in the final third we probably would have got the goal we needed.
AndyRoo
Guest
But are those sports beating the other nations best. It's amateur athlete vs amatuer athlete. or minor sporting team vs minor sporting team even in track your only beating the guys that didn't make the NFL.
Pippinu
Roar Guru
While I was initially pissed off with Grosso - it didn't take too much into the morning to realise who the real culprits were: 1. Bresh - for being pretty weak at a vital moment and having no engine (it was Grosso showing a bit of G&D when everyone else was dead on their feet) 2. Neill for being to clever by half (trying to cut off the centering ball that never came), and committing the mortal sin of unnecessarily going to ground.
Hansie
Guest
A great moment, but far from our greatest moment. All Australia did was qualify, not win anything. Alongside all our Olympic memories and world championship memories from many other sports, it doesn't rank as our greatest moment.
Sandy B
Guest
How about the recently retired Jodie Henry's unexpected 3 golds in Athens Or the over the shoulder pass from Campo to Horan in 91 RWC Or the come from behind Lynagh try v Ireland in 91 RWC Andrew Hoy's 3 Golds in a row in the olympics 3 Day Event - to equal Dawny's record Really the Uruguay game was exciting, (as all penalty shoot outs are) but it only got us into the top 32 in the world - how many countries are there - 200 odd? So that means the win got us into the top 16th percentile - Like WOW!
katzilla
Roar Guru
Funny how you guys blame Grosso, almost no blame on Neil who made the shocking decision to go in hard at that point.