“What a tragedy the #AUSvJAP game wasn’t on free to air so all Aussies can see what heroes our @Socceroos are & how proudly they represent us.”
This is what I Tweeted at the conclusion of last night’s epic World Cup qualifying match between the Socceroos and Japan.
And it struck a nerve with the Twittersphere because 40,189 spectators, at the potato field known as Suncorp Stadium, and hundreds of thousands lucky enough to have Pay TV, had just witnessed one of the great chapters of Australia’s football history; the Socceroos legend burnished for another 90 minutes.
The tragedy in this piece of sporting lore is that less than half a million people in this country watched the game when it should have been many times that.
For those unlucky enough to have not watched the match, technological progress has seen oral history joined by the printing press, radio, television, the internet and social media as methods of conveyance to pass on the great story.
This story will be reprised countlessly, not only over the next few days, but over the years.
It will end up touching millions.
But those millions would have preferred a chance to watch it live and let the images sear into their memories.
The big sumo sized irony of this tale is that tens of millions in the Land of the Rising Sun did.
According to Simon Hill of FoxSports in his pre-game review of the impressive Japanese football media, over 30 million people watched the Japan’s last game against Jordan; a 6-0 romp which had the nation beaming like a Sony Jumbotron.
Last night, Japanese football fans sat glued to their televisions as a band of ageing green and gold football warriors, who were supposed to be no match for their special generation of Samurai Blue, put on a display of such dauntless spirit and courage they could not help but think that they were watching an old Akira Kurosawa classic.
But it wasn’t the “Seven Samurai,” it was the “Eleven Aussie Samurai.”
In Tim Cahill, they saw a modern day Toshiro Mifune. A veteran samurai, fallen on hard times and his reputation questioned by the local gossip. He led from the front with a fearless display.
The two Japanese central defenders shuddering with trepidation as he took to them as if wielding a flashing blade.
Behind him a motley collection of football professionals followed suit as they made the Japanese suffer on the pitch. All this from a team, who on the international market, could not even fetch the price of one of their golden warriors, Shinji Kagawa.
In every great drama there is comic character, in this case the referee, to not only add entertainment to proceedings but to also give the story and added moral dimension. He did this by reducing the Aussie Samurai to ten.
The Australian goal was finally breached.
Our comic friend intervened again to even the scales of justice by awarding the Socceroos a penalty. Luke Wilkshere, with ice running through his veins, blasted the penalty past the Japanese custodian.
The two teams then battled manfully to the end.
The odds were still against the Socceroos, but they fought on unbowed. They were not to be beaten and with a bit of luck could have come out victorious.
For the Japanese football public, what the Socceroos did not win in points, they gained in respect in this action packed classic.
An international football rivalry to cherish.
The sequel will be held in Japan in June 2013.
Japan has six times the population of Australia, but sixty times more people will get to watch their heroes in action.
On a day where we proudly bask in the heroic efforts of our national team, The Socceroos, it is also a good time to reflect on this sobering reality.
Athas Zafiris is on Twitter @ArtSapphire
Midfielder
Guest
From Foxsports a thread containing some good vid's... http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/socceroos/does-australia-have-the-ability-to-dictate-a-match-in-midfield-without-bresciano-emerton-and-holman/story-e6frf4l3-1226395667203
Roger
Guest
You're not wrong about Rose :)
j binnie
Guest
Johnno - Just a slight correction to your piece, The so-called Golden Generation did not start to LEARN their football at the 92' Olympic Games when they could have been around 22/23 years of age. Their education would have started at a much earlier age,say when they were playing under-8 junior football. That takes them back to around 1978 when there was actually a coaching programme in existence,with a Director of Coaching being paid for by the Rothman's Foundation ,he being the man who introduced small- sided games into the Australian coaching curriculum around 1975. I,among 30 others, had my first coaching camp experience under this man in 1975. Just thought I'd keep the record straight. No offence, Your mate jb
Andyroo
Guest
I think Zullo is injured and is clearly in the frame if fit based on previous selections. Rose is also an option. While I don't mind Carney I don;t think he's an automatic first slot I just don't object to him being in the squad. I don't like the fact Holger doesn't seem to value the fullback spot at all and often plays centre backs there. For the Asian Cup he only took 2 proper full backs with a couple of people who could fill in at right back but only one player who had ever played left back (Carney). In modern Football it's considered a key attacking position but not in Holgers eyes. It's probably the one bug bear I have with him.
Roger
Guest
Agreed!
Roger
Guest
I think this armchair coach will have to disagree. Sorry, but I don't see any reason why we shouldn't be giving the likes of Zullo or Williams or whoever a run in that position. Carney has been given plenty of opportunities, much more than he deserves in my opinion, and has yet to impress.
Roger
Guest
Wait, so is the argument that because someone who is not Carney, is not as bad as they used to be, and therefore Carney shouldn't be dropped? ?????
Roger
Guest
Qantas, when you cut through the fluff, it's as simple as this - Japan scored from a corner that only happened because Carney, as a defender, in his defensive position, made a mistake.
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
I can remember a time when North was dropped from the squad under Pim for defensive errors also..
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
We also would not have been in that situation if someone from the midfield picked up the Japanese player who received the short corner.. OK they got around Carney but who should've picked up Honda alone on the edge of the goal box totally unmarked.. ?
Andyroo
Guest
Yes, but come extra time people are going to be mentally tired and you have to expect some brain fades now and then. He was part of a defence that didn't concede for the 90 minutes of regular time so that's a pass in my book.
Roger
Guest
Or, we leak less goals, and have a better chance at winning anyway???
Roger
Guest
I won't argue about his ability to move the ball forward, because he is pretty good at that. But he is a defender, so shouldn't we be looking at how he is defending? It'd be like saying Neill can't defend, but he takes good shots at goal, so we should keep him in that position....?
Roger
Guest
No, I'm saying we would not have been in that situation were it not for Carney's defensive error.
jmac
Guest
If only I shared your confidence I wouldn't need a cortisol detoxification after every WCQ our team plays in.
Andyroo
Guest
Harsh on Carney. They didn't concede a goal until they were into extra time and he was recovering from a shoulder injury. He's not a great defender but is decent going forward and it's really unfair to blame a single defender in what was a miserly defence for the side losing. Should have scored a goal or two!
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
Oh yeah leave it to Jade North to score those goals from the back when it counts...
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
Honda on the far post totally unmarked---where was Jade North? Not to mention the number of players in the box where the ball got through to find the Japanese attacker (Honda)... So are you saying all those players are blameless? http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/videos/socceroos/Qantas-Socceroos-secure-amazing-draw/5867/1
Kasey
Guest
If you think the Aussies are a certainty to qualify for Brazil then you are certifiable. Do I need to list the big football countries that have failed to qualify for the World Cup in the modern era. It contains such countries as England, the Netherlands and Egypt. Football is not some sport played by a handful of Commonwealth countries where Australia’s position of dominance is guaranteed. I was on the edge of my seat the entire game and was ropable to the point of almost popping a vein in my forehead when the ref produced a second yellow for Milligan. If Australia had lost - which was entirely possible given the various factors in play(anything really can happen in a football game) the knockers would have been out in force.. Heck during the live blog of the event on this site alone, when the Samurai Blue went in front, Johnno wrote: "RIP Australian football" if you can believe it.
Kasey
Guest
It's odd you say that dasilva, I brought that up in a past article about which countries I hoped would get grouped with Australia in this phase of Qualifiers. I am a big fan of the MCG and it saddens me to have one of my worst sporting memories associated with this landmark venue. If we had drawn Iran, I would have hoped that the FFA would be bold and book the MCG for the game even though it does mostly suck for football, with spectators being so far from the action, so we could exorcise the demons of November 1997. In 2007 the Iranian media published a bunch of articles about the Miracle in Melbourne, The thing that struck me is that the tone was not one of gloating and the Iranians certainly don’t see us as big rivals. I think this is very much a one sided rivalry due to the hurt of going through qualifying undefeated and then having to watch yet another World Cup on TV from home sans Socceroos :(