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Over the past few weeks my mind has drifting back to 1993 and the last time Australia hosted an international football-only tournament, the World Youth Cup.
While the nation hosted the Olympics seven years later, the football somewhat got lost among the multitude of other sports. But in March 1993 it was football-only, and what a treat the fans that flocked to stadia in Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane were given.
Mixing it with Colombians, Ghanaians, Brazilians, Americans, English, Turkish, Germans and Uruguayans, to name some, local fans flocked to back a Young Socceroos team coached by ‘The Boss’, Les Schienflug, and featuring the mullets of Kevin Muscat, Marc Wingell, Anthony Carbone, Peter and Jim Tskenis, and the quality of Craig Moore, Paul Agostino and the two Antes, Milicic and Juric.
Fans recognised that that team didn’t have the quality of the Young Socceroos team that made the semi-finals in Portugal two years earlier, but it was a highly organised team that demonstrated the mental qualities Australian teams became renowned for, making it all the way to the semis.
A successful home team of course helped, but Australians didn’t only flock to see the flowing locks of the young Roos, but the flowing football of the likes of Gian, Marcelinho, Nii Lamptey, Augustine Ahinful, C. K. Akonnor, Chris Faklaris, Fernando Correa and Nick Barmby.
And Australian football fans turned up to these games with a spirit to embrace a world that came here to party. It made for one of the most memorable fortnights, the carnival atmosphere starting and finishing at the SFS.
When the Asian Cup kicks off at the Bubbledome in Melbourne tomorrow night with the Socceroos taking on Kuwait, the hope is that this same carnival and welcoming spirit resonates.
Of course the likes of Korea, China, Japan, Iraq and will draw upon a vast diaspora in Australia, but for the Asian Cup to be a complete success the locals need to get to games not only involving the Socceroos but the likes of Uzbekistan, North Korea, Oman, UAE and Bahrain.
To that end, the organisers have certainly made it affordable to get to non-Socceroos games.
Rather than whinge and whine about Middle Eastern time wasting, North Korean secrecy, and basking in our apparent superiority, the hope is that Australians turn up to enjoy themselves, and maybe break down a stereotype rather than reinforce it.
Without a ball being kicked there was already talk yesterday of “Asian time-wasters” from both Australian host broadcasters. For a tournament being marketed as an opportunity to unite, there is little unifying about bashing our visitors and painting them all with the same brush before a ball is kicked.
Instead, it would be nice to see Australia and Australia’s media use the Asian Cup to reach out and try and learn a thing or two by embracing our visitors, and showing decency.
Yes, of course we want the Socceroos to go on to the semis and final, but let’s do it with a bit of class.
Since Australia entered the Asian Confederation almost a decade ago it’s fair to say it hasn’t always been the most cordial of relationships, both ways. Indeed, we still appear rather isolated, and there is little regular connection with many of the teams visiting.
The hope is this tournament acts as a bridge builder and that football can show Australia in a brighter light than those running our politics and media.
In terms of the quality arriving here, there remain question marks about many of the teams, even the top few fancied to fight it out for the title.
Another average World Cup from the Asian sides last year, with coaches being sacked left, right and centre, and a few key injuries mean that very few teams come greatly prepared and settled.
You can throw the Socceroos firmly into this mix.
With the ranking having slipped into three figures and not much convincing about all the thirds in recent months, Ange Postecoglou’s men enter the tournament without the confidence you get from winning games. The pressure is on to produce and the Roos will certainly look to build through the tournament, but nothing is a given based on recent form.
Postecoglou has certainly looked to fill his men with confidence and belief, a tactic used to good effect in Brazil, but the question is whether this is enough to get the job done.
This will be a tight Asian Cup, with Japan, South Korea, Iran and the Socceroos in with a chance of winning it.
Elsewhere, I’m seeing the standard lifting across western Asian, and a team like Qatar, as settled as any, offers genuine outsider interest. I was very impressed by the work of Djamel Belmadi when they beat the Socceroos a few months ago.
Oman and the UAE are others continuing to invest in creating better football.
Then there’s Iraq and the Palestine, who will have plenty of local support and look to use the feel-good factor.
This will be a tournament where the 4-2-3-1 dominates, with many new coaches defaulting to ensure the base is strong. It means we are likely to see defences dominate, but there will also be plenty of exciting attackers to keep the interest high.
On Sunday I ventured to Parramatta Stadium for a warm-up game between South Korea and Saudi Arabia. Apart from the outstanding crowd of almost 7000 mainly South Korean fans making incredible noise and generating great atmosphere, the quality on display was of a very competitive standard.
Indeed, as I watched Bayer Leverkusen’s Heung-min Son carve up from the left side of Korea’s 4-2-3-1, I felt I was watching a player that would emerge as one of the stars of the tournament. With Ki Sung-Yueng prompting him, Korea will be an extremely tough opponent for the Roos in Brisbane.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia were competitive for the first 50 or 55 minutes before wilting under the relentless Korean control, but showed in that time they also have quality up front in Salem Al-Dawsari and Nawaf Al Abed.
Then there are others I’m looking forward to seeing, like one of my favourite ever Asian players, Kuwait’s Bader Al Mutawa, and exciting young Iranians like Sardar Azmoun and Alireza Jahanbakhsh.
Undoubtedly we will see a few kids emerge to become stars of Asian and potentially international football, and that’s one of the exciting things about any tournament.
But apart from that, the Asian Cup offers an opportunity to enjoy a three-week football carnival in our backyard, and if we can come away from it feeling more connected with our Asian football family, and more humble about our place in it, then it will have been a great exercise.
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