Roar folklore: The Turning Point

November 6, 2011 marked the one-year anniversary for many Brisbane Roar fans of the moment that truly cemented the belief that their club had undergone a fundamental shift in its culture.

The previous culture of the Roar, under the guidance of former coach Frank Farina had slowly and painfully deteriorated into one of complacency, conservatism and perhaps even a touch of arrogance.

Farina had long been regarded as a hero in the eyes of most Queenslanders for his accomplishments with the Brisbane Strikers in the old NSL competition as well as his illustrious playing career with the Socceroos.

However, many summers had passed on those glory days and in its place, sadly, an unhealthy and ultimately detrimental culture had emerged within the club.

Many senior players seemed to have lost the ambition to play to the very best of their abilities. Media coverage at the time documented their preference of the lifestyle benefits of the Queensland beaches and pubs as a pathway into retirement over putting in concentrated efforts at training.

On the pitch, it was not uncommon to see the team give an underwhelming performance. On the occasions that the players did show determination they did so to the point of inflicting dangerous tackles and displaying appalling unsporting behaviour.

The downward spiral of the destructive club culture finally culminated in the sacking of Farina in October 2009. Several days later Ange Postecoglou was announced to take over as Head Coach.

Changing the culture of a club, or any organisation for that matter, is a very difficult and arduous task. This was especially the case for the Roar, who had serious problems both on and off the field.

Postecoglou’s approach over the next few months resulted in drastic uprooting measures to affect change as quickly as possible and establish a fresh foundation to nurture a new culture.

Many senior players left the club, coaching and management staff had been replaced, intense training and football-focussed conditioning plans had been implemented and a host of new players were recruited based on specific skill sets and personal qualities. Thus, controversial and severe as it seemed at the time, the seeds had been sown.

The 2010-2011 campaign got off to an encouraging start with the Roar outfit slowly finding their feet and adjusting to the new system. Like a young sapling emerging from the melting snow, the team cohesion began to form but looked fragile.

It was unclear whether the Roar would continue to develop or whether they would fall back into their self-destructive ways. Steady results on the pitch warranted measured success, however at this point many of the performances were, arguably, not entirely convincing.

The real affirmation came on the night of November 6, 2010. It was a top of the table clash against Adelaide United, an opponent that had been performing exceptionally well in the sixth season of the A-League.

On this spring evening, the fans of the Brisbane Roar Football Club witnessed the transformation of a previously despondent club culture into one that was institutionally invigorated and driven.

It was the coming of age of the new Brisbane Roar ethos.

Up to this point, Brisbane was only one point ahead of Adelaide on the ladder with Adelaide holding a game in hand.

The standings for the season were:
Adelaide 7 wins, 4 draws, 1 loss
Brisbane 7 wins, 5 draws, 1 loss

Adelaide United were coming to Suncorp Stadium where they had never lost a game in the entire history of the A-League.

It seemed like one of the toughest challenges of the season for Brisbane and the odds seemed to be stacked against the hosts.

The game kicked off and Adelaide immediately looked dangerous. Explosive Adelaide wingback Cassio was dismantling the Roar’s defence with his marauding runs and blistering pace. Striker Sergio Van Dijk was also looking sharp and en route to score against his former club.

Pressure continued to mount from both sides as the play went back and forth, each side engaged in a thrilling duel.

The Roar struck first blood with striker Reinaldo holding off Adelaide United defender Iain Fyfe to send the ball just past goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic.

Reinaldo celebrated by taking off his shirt and flexing his muscles while wearing what appeared to be a sports bra. The undergarment was actually a harness to hold a GPS and heart rate monitor but nevertheless the referee produced a yellow card for the striker.

The half-time whistle blew and the teams went back to their dressing rooms to regroup but it was the visitors that returned with a renewed tenacity. Eager to gain the upper hand, they applied immense pressure on the Roar in both the offensive and defensive halves. Adelaide were in rampaging form and it seemed as though they would surely take control of the game. The enormous pressure resulted in United defender Robert Cornthwaite bringing down Reinaldo outside the 18 yard box.

In protest, Reinaldo angrily berated referee Mathew Breeze, who then produced a second yellow card to for dissent. The Roar were down to 10 men. This was a tragedy. Memories came flashing back of the bad old days when red cards were a common sight for Roar players, which would end in the team struggling to compete and eventually implode.

The conservative and complacent culture of years gone-by threatened to rear its head and send the team back to its dark and unforgiving past.

The shoulders of the home supporters slumped, almost in unison, as though the wind had literally been knocked out of them.

Many pondered whether the Roar would resign to a cautious defensive structure to protect their lead and hope to stave off an aggressive and powerful opponent intent on breaking them down. With nearly an entire half of football left to play this would have been a mammoth task for Brisbane.

However, this was not how it would play out. This was the beginning of the moment when the fans of the Brisbane Roar Football Club would witness The Turning Point. The Roar’s coming of age. A legendary tale was about to unfold.

It’s not how you get knocked down that matters, it’s how you get back up.

The sending off of Reinaldo ignited a belief of solidarity within the Roar playing group. They realised that this moment was a test of their character and a test of their resolve. In front of their home fans, their coach and in front of each other, the remaining 10 players showed they had the passion and absolute determination to retake control of the game. A feat only possible due to a fundamental shift in the culture and mentality of the club.

The Turning Point came immediately after the sending off of Reinaldo. The Roar regrouped and instead of falling back in a defensive stance, they pushed higher and further to win possession, distribute the ball to overlapping players and incorporate the fluid movements of other positions to counter the outnumbering opponent.

Erik Paartalu regained possession from a loose ball high up the pitch as he charged forward from his usual defensive midfield role. He took the ball to the goal-line close to the 18 yard box and then cut it back to find Matt Smith, a central defender and now captain of the team, angling in on the run to smash the ball high into the back of the net. It was incredible. The sound from the stadium was deafening. The worries and the frustration from the decision of the red card erupted into cheers of elation and disbelief. The ground was shaking from the thousands of fans celebrating with enormous fervour.

It was not known at the time, so overpowering was the joy of the goal, but this was the moment that the Brisbane Roar Football Club was reborn. A symbolic act that signified a new life had begun.

And there was more to come.

Six minutes later, Brisbane struck again. German maestro Thomas Broich led an attack with teammates Kosta Barbarouses and Mitch Nichols. Barbarouses received the ball from Broich and played a one-two with Nichols to find space in the box and with pin-point accuracy he threaded the ball around the keeper and into the bottom corner. 3-nil.

Five minutes after that Barbarouses unleashed a thunderous strike way outside the 18-yard box to send home the final goal of the match into the top right corner. Unbelievable. 4-nil. The goal, also, a result of the Brisbane Roar fluidity as the assist was provided by Luke Devere, another central defender that had pushed forward in attack.

3 goals had been scored unanswered with only 10 men, in 10 minutes, after the prominent striker had been sent off from a deflating and demoralising red card. The contest was against the most formidable opponent in the competition who had never lost a game at Suncorp Stadium in the history of the A-League. This was truly an outstanding moment for the fans of the Brisbane Roar Football Club. The team’s success since this point has been truly outstanding. They have shown a winning mentality nurtured by a new culture of ambition, hard work and continuous improvement.

The people of Brisbane should all be very proud of what they saw on this day, as I am sure it will go down in Roar folklore as The Turning Point.