20 years on: Memories of a green and gold year like few others

As we wait for Ange Postecoglou to announce his first Socceroos squad this morning, it is with hope that he can rekindle some of the life that’s been sucked out of our green and gold in recent years.

MORE: Read Tony’s thoughts on the announcement from Mark Schwarzer that ends his international career.

Whether it’s been the stagnation or regression of the national team under Pim Verbeek and Holger Osieck, or our continuing disappointing results at youth level, the feeling is that our national teams have been over-engineered and over-corporatised by head office in recent times, and become a touch bland.

Yes, the Matildas have occasionally kept that flame flickering.

But, generally, the feeling is our national teams across the board have been on the decline, with consecutive 6-0 losses to Brazil and France tough for fans to take.

The question now, with Australia set to host the 2015 Asian Cup in just 14 months, is whether Postecoglou can help rekindle some of our lust for our national teams.

While there’s a strong argument that his reign should be starting somewhere other than Sydney, it’s at least apt, given it is in Sydney, that it should start at the Sydney Football Stadium, where our national teams have some great history.

The marketers may have dreamed up the notion that the Olympic Stadium is “our home”, but those of us that were around before the John Aloisi penalty will have fond memories of the SFS and other stadia around the country as home.

I reflect with particular fondness on 1993 when our nation played host to a great World Youth Cup and our Socceroos played crunch World Cup qualifiers against Canada and Argentina.

While much of the the action was centred around the SFS, and Sydney was the default home for all the big games, there was still a feeling then that our national teams belonged to the nation.

Particularly in Melbourne and Adelaide, fans will regularly remember seeing the Socceroos and Young Socceroos at Olympic Park and Hindmarsh Stadium.

At the World Youth Cup 20 years ago, many fans might remember the thrilling quarter final featuring Les Scheinflug’s Young Socceroos that was held in Brisbane, where Anthony Carbone scored a golden goal in extra time after Paul Agostino had climbed above a Uruguayan defender to head in an equaliser.

Many will remember the euphoria that surrounded that win.

It took the team to Melbourne, where they eventually lost a tight semi to an impressive Brazilian side that needed more than 75 minutes to eventually break us down.

The Young Socceroos may have lost, but it was a time when we equally marveled at the feats of Brazil’s Gian and Marcelinho, and the size and shot-stopping of a young Dida.

Earlier, the Young Socceroos had played their three Group games against Cololmbia, Russia and Cameroon at the SFS and this then teenager was among the tens of thousands that took advantage of a very affordable tournament pass that allowed access to all the SFS games.

I remember turning up to the opening ceremony that featured before the Young Socceroos’ opener against Colombia, and it was an incredibly vibrant carnival atmosphere.

One memory in particular stands out: the sight of a Ghanian visitor running up and down the stairs that separated the bays in the eastern terrace with a Ghanian national flag hoisted above his head.

Chanting, repeatedly, and with incredible pride and joy, “all the way from Ghana, all the way from Ghana”, it signified everything that was so beautiful about our beautiful game.

The world had come to play down under, and it felt incredible to be a part of it.

Over 30,000 were there for the opening match and I remember the crowds and atmospheres being great throughout.

The final, between Ghana and Brazil, was out of this world, with the Africans dazzling as much as as the Brazilians. Many will remember the names Augustine Ahinful, Naii Lamptey, C K Akonnor and Ossei Kuffour fondly.

The feeling of goodwill throughout was something to bottle, from the beat of the Brazilian drums to the African dancing, and the media attention was great.

Across the country there were many great memories, and those in Melbourne might remember America’s Chris Faklaris scoring a bomb as Andy Paschalidis, commentating at the time, went ballistic.

English fans got an early look at Nick Barmby and might reflect on what could have been of Julian Joachim and Chris Bart-Williams, who showed much promise at the tournament.

Meanwhile the Turkish population of Melbourne made for some terrific atmospheres at their matches, even if their football wasn’t up to scratch.

In Adelaide, it was the Brazilians and Mexicans making all the noise, on and off the pitch, while in Brisbane it was the Uruguayans and Ghanaians, as the German team of robust-types like Carsten Jancker were knocked out in the group phase.

The fact that our Young Socceroos team, which featured the likes of Kevin Muscat, Craig Moore, Agostino, Ante Milicic, Ante Juric, Peter and Jim Tskenis (no relation), Carbone, Marc Wingell, Vince Matassa and Ante Moric, played with such pride and passion only filled the fans with more great feeling.

This team wasn’t as talented as the one that did so well in Portugal two years earlier, or at the Barcelona Olympics a year earlier, but it played with the heart we had come to expect and love from our national sides.

They were heady days for our youth teams.

It was a time of the mullet, and some of the best featured on Muscat, the Tskenis’s and Carbone.

The good times rolled into the second half of 1993, with the Socceroos playing in two thrilling play-offs.

The first, against Canada, was brilliant for the way the Socceroos came back from what at one point looked a lost cause with Mehmet Durakovic sending a crowd of about 30,000 in delirium when he headed in the goal that took the tie to extra time.

It was the tie that introduced us to a mulletted Mark Schwarzer, who had come on in the first leg in Canada and became the penalty shoot-out hero as the SFS, saving  from Alex Bunbury then Mike Sweeney, before Frank Farina, who had earlier given the Roos the lead, took the winning penalty.

It’s somewhat surreal to think that 20 years on, as we contemplate another Socceroos selection, Schwarzer might still be in the picture.

He wasn’t around however when the great Diego Maradona visited our shores a few moths later to try and rescue what had been a fairly disastrous qualifying campaign for Argentina.

Back between the sticks were Mark Bosnich for the first leg and one of my favourite ever Socceroos, Robbie Zabica, for the second.

This was an incredible couple of weeks for the round ball game in Australia, and our national relished the attention.

While the Roos ultimately came undone in unlucky circumstances in Buenos Aires, with a deflection off Alex Tobin going over Zabica and in, the fact they were able to compete so admirably against the almighty Argentines that featured not only Maradona, but Gabriel Batistuta and Abel Balbo, spoke volumes for the spirit that typified that era.

The Roos might have been underdogs, but in every game they went out and had an almighty crack.

With Ned Zelic and Aurelio Vidmar pulling the strings, Jason van Blerk, Tony Vidmar and Robbie Slater bombing on and Milan Ivanovic, Durakovic, Tobin and Paul Wade keeping things tight, some of the football on display in the opening half of first leg against Argentina at the SFS was a sight to behold.

Of course, there have been other great and bitter-sweet days for the green and gold before and after 1993, and some will remember the Bicentennial Golden Cup in 1988 with pride, others Iran in 1997, Uruguay in 2005 or Germany in 2006, but there was something very special about that year, and era.

The Young Socceroos and Socceroos had made the world sit up and notice, and represented the nation with great pride.

It moved Brazilian youth coach Julio Leal to comment after the WYC semi final: “Australia has the basis for a really great senior team for the future. This country now belongs to the top rank of world football”.

Of course, we heard many a similar sentiment in and around the World Cup in 2006, and the hope is Postecoglou can bring back some of these good vibes, and the whole country gets to feel a part of it.