Next Tuesday, November 16th, will mark half a decade since the Socceroos beat Uruguay at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium to qualify for the 2006 World Cup Finals. No-one who was there will ever forget the drama and emotion of that amazing evening, and plenty who watched on TV still talk of it today.
So in five years, how far has football come? Has the “sleeping giant” truly been awakened? Has the game realised its perceived potential or was the word “potential” simply an over-used word of hope among lovers of the round-ball code?
I don’t think the game is there yet, simply because those in charge may not yet know where “there” is. I also think that notions of the game at the domestic level swallowing up the other codes and dominating the sporting landscape are fanciful, possibly dangerous, and wholly unnecessary.
The A-League began before that night in November 2005 but there is no doubt that the competition benefitted from the Socceroos triumph. Interest in the league increased, crowds were up in 2006 and 2007, and the new casual fan was starting to notice.
Unfortunately, a lot of that ground has been lost on the other side of the spectator fence this season, even though the on-field action is arguably at its best.
However, the A-League is a massive improvement on what it replaced in terms of coverage, crowds, facilities and organisation. Sydney FC’s worst crowds are still bigger than most of the Sydney-based NSL clubs best attendances, a fact repeated in Melbourne and Brisbane.
There is parity in Adelaide but Perth, for so long the saving grace of the NSL, has struggled since the A-League’s inception.
My concern with the A-League is around an economy of scale. Too many clubs get into financial difficulties early. I know football clubs are not the only ones carrying debts but they are doing so without the longevity and membership backing of the NRL and AFL clubs.
I hope the FFA take a leaf out of the AFL’s expansion manual, who back re-located or expansion clubs to the hilt for as long as it takes. The uncertainty over North Queensland Fury’s future is a poor step by the FFA.
The Socceroos played their last official game as an Oceania nation on November 16th, 2005. The move to the Asian Confederation has been the best thing for the game since that day.
The Socceroos now have a more equitable qualification path to the World Cup. Not easier, as some might say, but fundamentally fairer. There won’t be any more 31-0 farces against over-matched minnows, and there is no more picking and choosing by our best players as to which qualifying games they play in.
The Socceroos have truly become what legendary coach Frank Arok dubbed “Team Australia” back in the late 80s.
The move to Asia also gives the Socceroos a vital “Second Tier” championship to contest – the Asian Cup. The first tilt in Thailand in 2007 became what the brilliant Roy and HG would sneeringly declare a “wake up call”.
Mistakes were learned from and the World Cup qualifiers for South Africa were safely negotiated in part as a result of what we learned from that tournament. World Cup qualification is now an expectation, rather than a hope.
Had John Aloisi not hit the back of the net with that penalty, had the Socceroos not played out of their collective skins, had the most incredible sporting crowd I’ve been a part of in this country not been able to combine as the vital “12th Player”: had these things have failed, would we have even entertained the thought of bidding for the biggest sporting event on the planet?
In about three weeks, this nation finds out whether a sometimes troubled and acrimonious bid process for the 2022 World Cup finals has been worth the pain and effort. Most observers have it as a two-horse race between Australia and the USA. There is evidence that the FFA have concentrated on the bid process to the detriment of the A-League.
It is a gamble that has cost a lot and attracted as much criticism as praise. However, this is a case of “in Frank we trust”. FFA boss Frank Lowy has put his heart and soul into the bid.
There were a couple of half-hearted attempts to drum up support for a World Cup bid in the past, but Lowy is one of the few people in this country who could have all the right resources, connections and strategic management capabilities to have got the bid even this far.
That we are possibly only a few votes away from hosting the World Cup is testament to the strides the game has made. There may be 10 year olds playing Small-Sided-Games next winter who could play for their country at home, in the World Cup finals in 2022.
And when the catalyst for ALL THAT happened, they would have only been five.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
Morocco is not the only nation to find success with a large contingent of foreign-developed players - and the Socceroos can join that list.
Cameron Burgess scored the winner to confirm Ipswich’s status as a Premier League club.
Socceroo Cameron Burgess has put Ipswich within touching distance of the Premier League after a 2-1 win over Coventry in the English Championship. Kieffer…
Who stood out from the Australians both here and overseas in a busy week of the world game? Goalkeeper - Mathew Ryan- 3-0 win…
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?
