Having finally come down from the high of being there when the Socceroos were crowned champions of Asia a couple of weeks ago I’m left with a warm afterglow and just three niggling questions.
1. How’s Eddie McGuire going with the XTC challenge of ‘trying to taste the difference ‘tween a lemon and a lime’?
2. Why on God’s earth was Tim Cahill speaking to John Laws anyway?
3. How do the Socceroos capitalise on the success of the tournament and continue their march toward becoming Australia’s most recognisable national sporting team here and on the world stage?
The first two questions I’ve filed in the ‘too hard basket’ for the moment – although anyone with suggested answers should feel free to submit them below.
The third I find provides more useful food for thought.
The crowds and atmosphere at games, the television ratings, and the support shown for teams other than Australia were all positives from the Asian Cup. The icing on the cake, of course, was the emergence of the new, positive, energetic, ‘Ange-ised’ Socceroos who were great to watch.
It’s all created momentum worth building on but while it’s good to leave the fans wanting more, it’d be good to have something more to look forward to than World Cup qualifying (for a World Cup that’s more than three years away) and a bunch of friendlies.
Yes, we’ve got the Matildas and their World Cup later this year and if they go deep into the tournament, as their ranking suggests they should, it will be another boon for football in this country and Australia’s standing on the world-game stage. But the Socceroos are now rivalling the Australian Cricket team and the Wallabies as Australia’s premier national sporting side so it’s important that we have a more immediate challenge for them to build towards and for the fans to look forward to.
One thing that both the Australian cricket team and the Wallabies have that keeps the fires stoked is old enemies.
In cricket, an Ashes series generates special passion and in rugby the Bledisloe Cup does similar. It’s partly the tradition and partly the ‘familiar opponents’ factor. We identify the opposition players we expect to worry us most, or the ones we especially look forward to inflicting defeat on. And there are even those in the opposition ranks that we hold a grudging admiration for. In the lead up to, or during, any series they are as familiar to us in face and name as if they were featured on “WANTED” posters all around the town square.
This is the only element that was missing from the Asian Cup – at least for the non-specialist football fan. And, let’s face it, they’re the ones you need to win over to achieve critical mass.
We weren’t really familiar with our opponents. We might’ve known Son Heung-min was South Korea’s danger man because he’s been influential playing in Germany for Bayer Leverkusen but he isn’t recognisable to us in appearance or style. We know nothing of his personality. He should’ve created the fear/loathing/excitement of a Kevin Pietersen or a Richie McCaw but most of us couldn’t have picked him out of a line-up of South Korean team members.
Maybe we still couldn’t – and that’s despite the fact he was the guy whose goal dragged us into an agonising extra thirty minutes of play in the final when we’d been just seconds from taking the Cup in regulation time.
But if we played against the same countries more often we’d get captivated more by the ‘who’s who’ of opposing teams. Ironically, the comparatively limited number of nations playing cricket and rugby works for those sports in building fan recognition of stars of other nations. Soccer’s multitude of options is, in that sense, a drawback.
But wouldn’t it be great if we could try to schedule a regular series against one of our Asian neighbours and work towards a Bledisloe Cup or Ashes atmosphere? Our recent history against South Korea and Japan means there already is a solid foundation for an arch rivalry with both those nations, but I think the ideal candidate would be China.
To an extent neither South Korea or Japan would stand to gain much from entering into a series arrangement with Australia. They’ve both got reasonable claims to be more established forces in international football than Australia, Japan having twice made the round of 16 at World Cups and South Korea having reached the semis in 2002. They could be excused for thinking they have no reason to help the Socceroos get more established by offering them regular top level competition.
But China is a rising force with the impetus of big dollars and even bigger population behind it. Team Dragon have only once qualified for the World Cup so the case could be made that they would benefit from some regular hit outs against the Aussies and, unlike South Korea or Japan, they don’t seem to export as many of their individual stars to European leagues so we’d get a chance, as fans, to develop a relationship with them.
It surely would benefit Australia to form an allegiance with Chinese football by becoming special rivals. The media, marketing, business, cultural and geo-political possibilities are limitless. If you’ve watched English Premier League clubs court China for the past several years, you’ll know how seriously China is regarded in world football. We’ve got the advantage of being physically closer and playing games in friendlier time zones.
Imagine if between now and the next World Cup we could have a five match series, home and away, Beijing, Shanghai, Sydney, Melbourne and (lord knows whether this would be politically possible but let’s throw it in there while we’re reaching for the stars…) Hong Kong. Fit the games in when there are FIFA sanctioned international breaks. Create a trophy to play for. I don’t know, say we call it ‘The Free Trade Cup’. If the games are spread over the next three years we’d still have room in the schedule to play other friendlies and World Cup qualifiers. By January 2018 we could have the series decided, clearing the decks for whatever World Cup qualifying and preparation needs to be done from there.
Getting to know better the players from China could also have spill over benefits for the A-League (perhaps more Chinese interest from fans and players?) and the Asian Champions League clashes between Chinese and Australian clubs would be spiced up nicely.
Look, I’m sure my fantasy series would generate enough FIFA and AFC red tape to wrap around the Great Wall twice and then tie a great big bow, but I’m just brainstorming in the ‘anything’s possible’ afterglow of the Asian Cup.
And it is still easier than trying to figure out why Tim Cahill would do an interview with John Laws.
James
Guest
Japan is the prime candidate for a regular International Soccer / Football Series against Australia. Our countries were once at war but are now on friendly terms sharing mutual alliances. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will lead to more trade between our countries. Eventually this agreement will enhance opportunities for visa-free travel between our Nations, so we will see more Japanese players in the A-league and more Australians in the JFL.
Aussie in Mexico
Guest
First it was nice to read an article aiming to provoke a measured debate instead of just an opinion piece. Second I think Debbie is on the right track. However I think a lot of posts have touched on some difficulties with the test idea. If we could start with a 1 off match per year for a trophy (for ex Aus vs Jap) it might be easier to fit in and build in the long run. Also in the rugby we play for the bledisloe whilst we play in the 4 nations (and other trophies vs the argies and SA). So maybe we could incorporate the game/s into WQ qualifiers if we are drawn against that team etc.
Pat malone
Guest
Why ask a question you know the answer to?
Paul
Guest
A second friendly opponent is to be announced soon. With the Asian Cup in full swing, FFA probably haven't had the time or opportunity to arrange an opponent.
Paul
Guest
A rivalry will not come of age until we meet England at the World Cup finals. I just thought of another team we could have regular matches against. We don't speak the same language but we are well familiar with them, there's a history and most of all, sufficient animosity. URUGUAY. Many Australians are well familiar with Mr Luis Suarez. That's a name that could be held in just as much, if not more, infamy than the likes of Pietersen, McCaw, Botham. Remember how our boys were treated over there both times? Recoba's "divine right"? The karate chop that ended Ray Baartz's career? Deb, I think we just found our Test opponent.
Chris
Guest
Yep exactly. .to compare the rivalries in cricket and rugby to that of football is fraught with danger. Both cricket and rugby don't have the world to play. Football is soooo much bigger and have very powerful domestic leagues all over the world something cricket or rugby don't have. Football will establish itself on the world cycles I.e Asian and world cups . The qualifying alone takes years. Good try Debbie but we need to get out of the insular world of sport we have been in in this country where small sports on the world stage have dominated. The Australian sporting public now want and demand success on the world stage something football can deliver.
Jack
Guest
I think we should play Honduras . Why have we only lined up on friendly in March ?
Professor Rosseforp
Guest
Debbie, as far as question 2 goes, as a journo, I think you would know the answer would probably involve a PR company. Probably hired by the Australian team, because they have contacts with talkback radio hosts. Probably would involve a set of questions on a bit of paper, with suggested answers for Tim Cahill. PR company lines up the time with the company/companies, in between coal mining PR spruiking and banking executive PR spruiking, and puts the call through. With any luck, it might even get a run in the "news" that night, especially if it involves airline executives parachuting into Sydney Harbour.
Professor Rosseforp
Guest
No Canadians, Scots, English, Irish, or Welsh allowed to take part? Could have been tricky, too, if anyone had suggested an Armenian team.
Uncle Junior
Guest
Debbie, whilst I understand your idea of wanting to build a rivalry, given Australia is part of Asia and will play 9 different Asian opponents over the next 3 years, don't you think it's more important for Australia to use friendly matches to benchmark our football style against nations from Africa, Europe and The Americas? After all, if we qualify for a World Cup one thing we know for sure - we will not be playing an Asian team in a Group match.
Lionheart
Guest
I thinks it's called the East Asia Cup Deb. I know your theme here is the national team, but I think in the first instance, we have to focus on the domestic league, and on the commentators and sports reporters, You know, those sports shows on free to air TV and commercial radio that spend hours, days even, chatting about rugby league, cricket, AFL and such but rarely mention soccer. Let's get it into mainstream, and let's build the knowledge base of our sports journalists and commentators. After that we can give some decent coverage to the game. And you'll see there's a vast array of competitions and games going on, all the time, involving us and China, and everyone else in Asia. The East Asia Cup, Asian Champions League, qualifiers for World Cup, and Asia Cup. Women and youth games too. But thanks Deb, for the article. I think you're a great sports journalist.
Debbie Spillane
Expert
Rob, I didn't say five times a year, I said five times over the course of a few years -- having the series done and dusted by January in the next World Cup year (2018) is what I actually wrote. And five was just a suggested number, not locked in as a required number of games. I'm just starting a conversation about ideas, not laying down a formula for what needs to happen. These matches 5 -- or however many -- would be interspersed between our other friendlies and qualifiers.
bobbym
Guest
a tri series with us NZ and Turkey in honour of 100 years since Gallipoli would have been good.
Bondy
Guest
pete4 Just on a footnote and I dont want to climb into other sports I'll watch some of the Cricket World Cup and do watch the Wallabies and Kangaroos . The point I made earlier about the Socceroos not playing England is due to the fact there are Confederations to Football UEFA and the AFC in our case , both Nations are fully booked within their Confederations and will only meet at a Fifa World Cup if good enough then luck of the draw. Where with the other sports there aren't any Confederations or anybody to play against in magnitude in their geographical regions, if you call Six Nations Rugby powerful ,Ok, but . You may also note that the sports that Australia are World Champions at "apart from a few Olympic events" there is no qualification phase to them, imagine a Cricket or Rugby where Australia would have to qualify for those World Cups that would be their World Cup, actual qualification due to size restrictions of those sports. Also prior to 2003 when was the last time the Socceroos took on the English ?.. I try to come at sports from a different angle at times not to degrade other sports or glorify football/soccer .
pete4
Guest
Also think meeting the USA would be some match! But given the regular meetings in other sports it's amazing to think the last time the Socceroos played England was way back in 2003
Rob Gremio
Roar Pro
Of course, the whole reason we joined the AFC was for meaningful football that would improve is as a nation and give us a direct path to the World Cup. As a result, we have begun to develop organic rivalries with nations in the region and become familiar with players like mahommad Al Habsi of the UAE, Honda of Japan and others. I just don't think we need to manufacture these rivalries. Your point about closer ties is a good one, but we still play friendlies with Asian nations. For example, we played two gulf nations prior to the Asian Cup. The relationship is there, especially for the died in the wool socceroos fan, but yes, for the casual observer it might still be a stretch. However, that argent could be made about A-League players, never mind Asian players more broadly!
Rob Gremio
Roar Pro
Debbie, your last little phrase about the "sports where the range of options is far more limited" is where the rub is. It is far easier to get recognition of the players and nations against whom we play cricket and rugby. First, we share the same colonial history and, broadly speaking, heritage as those nations (esp. rugby - Cricket is similar, but not the same cultural heritage when we consider the sub-continent). Second, we play them all the time. there is no one else to play against (well, Rugby can look at Argentina and France as offering stern challenges these days as well, but they are the exceptions that rather prove the rule) However, given Australia is a small fish in Football compared to being a big fish in Rugby and Cricket, you can't expect to have us build that recognition of opposition players, especially given there are some 200 nations around that we could play against. I appreciate the sentiment, and the idea, but China 5 times a year? Maybe a home and away match, with aggregate goals for and against being the decider, but then again, we might get China in our World Cup Qualifying draw. And if China does continue their upward trajectory, there is every chance we will meet them in WC Qualifying. Do we really want to play against them outside this or the Asian Cup Cycle (again, we may meet them in qualifying for the tournament at some point), help them develop and become familiar with our players and playing style, and ultimately aid them in plotting our demise? I don't think we do. We already have magnificent rivalries with Japan and South Korea. China may well become a great rival as well, but that will take time. We have played them in WC Qualifying already. We have played them in the Asian Cup and the East Asian Cup. When we start having ding-dong battles with them of a similar vein to the games between us and Korea/Japan, then we will become more familiar with their players and their personalities. Until then, I say we let the rivalry develop organically.
Paul
Guest
Deb, great idea and I just thought of the perfect opponent. Sure Japan and South Korea may not want to play us that often and England will be hard to drag away from Europe during what seems to be perpetual qualifying action in that continent. But there is a country Australia closely identifies with that speaks our language and would actually be a great gauge of where we are at, and who might see us in the same light. Not to mention a country many of us would love to get one up on. I'm talking about the YANKS! Or more accurately, the USMNT. David Gallop, make this happen!
melbourneterrace
Guest
Scotland name their friendlies as "international challenge matches" but unless they're against England or Ireland the fans just don't care.
j binnie
Guest
Debbie - Have just sat and viewed (again) the opening stanza of the "inter club" game between Melbourne Victory and Liverpool FC ,a classic example of where we could be if everything falls into place, a "home team" playing an opponent from 20,000 kilometres away ,and yet 95,000 bothered to attend.and obviously enjoyed the experience. Cheers jb