Today is the sixth anniversary of that most memorable night when Australia defeated Uruguay on penalties in the final FIFA World Cup qualifier of 2005 and secured passage to the finals of 2006.
With 84,000 other Aussie football fans at the Olympic Stadium and millions watching around Australia and other parts of the world it was one of the most memorable sporting events that I have ever attended and will never be forgotten.
It meant that after 32 long years and many frustrations and disappointments, we finally qualified for our second-ever appearance at the World Cup Finals, which like 1974 were played in Germany.
That Socceroos team of 2006 and their exploits were the benchmark of Australian football teams and their performances on the world stage. I rate them even higher than the very courageous Socceroos of 1974 who were meritorious in their own right in getting Australia to the World Cup Finals for the very first time.
The 2006 Socceroos effort in getting past the first round and only losing by a penalty to the eventual champions Italy, is still the greatest achievement of our men’s national football team in a world competition.
I’m not going to get into arguments here about why I consider the golden Socceroos of 2006 the best, but I want to fast forward to 2011 and the Socceroos qualification path for Brazil 2014.
From a 32-year drought we have now reached a point where World Cup qualification is now expected, not wished for. Anything short of a convincing victory against lower-ranked Asian teams is no longer acceptable.
No matter the conditions, the odds or whatever slice of good or bad fortune awaits us, if Holger Osieck doesn’t qualify for the World Cup finals of 2014 he will be seen as a failure and asked to leave.
Australian sports fans are increasingly taking the Socceroos for granted and expecting instantaneous success at every attempt on the international stage.
Even not winning the hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup was seen as a momentous failure for this nation.
A lucky win away to Thailand and clinching passage to the next round of Asian qualification for Brazil 2014 with a game to spare, let’s face it, just doesn’t have the same allure and excitement of that memorable night in November 2005 against Uruguay.
If we don’t win convincingly, we are lucky or disappointing. If we do, then it is to be expected. The Socceroos are becoming more devalued, the more successful they become.
It has reached a point where the Socceroos not winning the Asian Cup of 2015 will be seen as a gross failure and not qualifying for Brazil 2014 will be the “greatest disaster” for Australian football.
Let’s go and tell the king that the sky is falling in.
ItsCalledFootball
Roar Guru
Thanks TomC. I appreaciated all that Pim did for the national team and his record is prettty good. But I did disagree with some of his tactics and team selections particularly in the 2010 WC, but that's with hindsight too. My only major criticism of Pim was the way he attacked the A-League and some A-League players - it was not needed, not within his scope of responsibility and played right into the hands of our enemies in the media.
ItsCalledFootball
Roar Guru
Yes, since the new Roar website went live sometimes the avatar doesn't show on the posts, (not just mine) but it seems to be working now - maybe the version of browser or compatibility issues? Not sure.
ItsCalledFootball
Roar Guru
Cheers QSAF, I'll never take anything the Socceroos do for granted and one of my favourite teams. Win lose or draw, I'll still follow them right round the world. I think we are good enough to qualify again for 2014, but unlike some fans, I won't start criticising them till we actuall fail to qualify. There are a number of reasons why we didn't play our best against Thais but I am not into making excuses for anyone else.
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
ICF----someone needs to fix your avatar; I have noticed its been missing on several of your articles.
TomC
Guest
We football fans were very dismissive of Pim Verbeek's extraordinary achievement of taking us to South Africa with such consummate ease, complaining about the boring, unimaginative football displayed. When we don't waltz past 'lesser' teams like Oman and Thailand now everyone starts wringing their hands. Part of the problem is we just don't appreciate that those teams are actually pretty good. Anyway, I agree with the article.
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
ICF----I'm glad to have seen all three qualifications and no doubt there will be more to come. The goal posts have moved from not just dreaming of qualification (which remains a massive achievement---taken for granted or not). But the real deal now is, how do we win the World Cup? This is the new frontier for Australian Football we all must now aspire to. Remember the Roo's 2006 golden team were only 3 games away from achieving this incredible, unimaginable dream until now... Will we do it in 2014? The Australian Football Dream takes on a new meaning.