The mood among the Australian football public is sombre. The joy of World Cup qualification has been replaced by the realisation we now have to take our team up against not just the best in Asia, but the best in the world.
And they will be taking no prisoners.
We have landed our man in Ange Postecoglou. Les Murray yesterday tweeted a lack of envy for our newest Socceroos coach – a sentiment no doubt held by many.
Despite the lack of optimism (which I share) around our chances in Brazil and perhaps even in the 2015 Asian Cup, now is the time we should indulge in celebrating a small, but important, milestone – the fact an Australian has been appointed as coach of the Socceroos.
Not only is he Australian, but he is a worthy candidate with a proven track record who was appointed on merit, with two other Australians also in contention for the job.
Boy we have come a long way!
Postecoglou has his work cut out for him, and only time will tell if he can re-invigorate the Socceroos throughout the course of his five year contract.
However all that lies in the future. In the present we have further evidence that the vision set out for football in this country is bearing fruit.
The A-League has produced its first Socceroos coach, with other candidates in the wings and plenty more waiting to get their opportunities at club level over coming years.
We now have a new era to look forward to and a place at the world’s biggest ever celebration of football.
Wins will be hard to come by in Brazil, but with the world’s largest stage waiting for an Australian manager to take charge of an Australian team for Australian fans – it feels like a victory worth celebrating.
Justin Thighm
Roar Guru
Absolutely. Thank heaven we beat Canada 3-0, it was such a good result after all the negative feedback.
Mike
Roar Guru
You can even throw in ASEAN membership too. Yep, a long list of overhauls that have helped the game grow. They've definitely done a lot of hard work at the FFA and I'm excited to witness it all.
mahonjt
Guest
On the boring, administrative/political side of things we hae: AFC / EAFF membership; Medium term financial stability (mainly from broadcast and corporate investments, with huge upside); National exposure through national TV, Radio and FTA broadcast agreements; Reforms to game governance down through the State federations (with much more to come is my hint); Rapidly increasing news/press exposure; Big international friendlies. National Football Development Plan; - assocated National Curriculum - associated NYL; - associated Coach training and accreditation progrmas - associated SSF program - associated various NCR outcomes (including the NPL you mentioned) Australians on increasignly higher AFC, EAFF anf FIFA committees. The list goes on. And people have the temrity to questin the FFA's general approach and ledership. I am so angry about the way they have treated Melbourne Victory over the years - however I can see the 'wood from the trees'.
Mike
Roar Guru
You're right, I think there is definitely much to celebrate Jason. Perhaps if someone is a non-football fan, or even a casual football fan, they will only receive tidbits of information from the news. The recent news, and it has been all over the tabloids, was Australia's two 6-0 defeats. So yes, for them, the mood might be sombre or embarrassing. But for the serious football fan in Australia, things are looking very up at the moment! In the past ten years, we have: - Qualified for the WC three times, and qualified for the first time in a very long time (I'll never forget that day in '05) - Established the A-League. It had a few bumps early on, but is really starting to thrive now. - Established the NPL, which is going to have amazingly good consequences with youth recruitment, and also for spreading football to every corner of the country. - Found a local coach who is worthy of taking the reigns of the Socceroos. - And we're on the verge of having our own FFA Cup, which I am just dying to watch! Not to mention the NCR of the W-League and women's football, and the fact that we are hosting the Asian Cup in 2015. So yes, I think there is much to celebrate. Look at how far football in this country has come in ten years alone. I think we've progessed incredibly far, and I can't wait to see what the next ten years has in store for us.