I told you so: The legacy of the class of ‘06

Heartbreaking disappointment: the phrase that could be used to summarise how every Australian football fan felt before that glorious night in Sydney in 2005, when Australia reintroduced itself on the world stage in the biggest sport of all.

Downing the first-ever winners of the football World Cup – a team boasting the talent of the classy Alvaro Recoba – in a nail-biting penalty shootout, the Socceroos exacted revenge for the failed attempt to qualify four years previously where we were comprehensively beaten by Uruguay in the play-off qualifier.

Failed attempt after failed attempt, heartbreak after heartbreak, tears of anguish streaming down the faces of players and fans; for years Australia was the bridesmaid that couldn’t qualify for the World Cup after our solitary inclusion in 1974.

The loss to Iran in 1997 from a seemingly unlosable position solidified the belief that we were cursed as a footballing nation and would never get an invite to the party that the rest of the world was a part of.

This is why there are no words that can describe the emotions felt by the long-suffering football fans of this great country when John Aloisi tucked his spot kick passed Fabio Carini to book us a place in the biggest tournament in the world.

Football fans across the country were finally allowed to stand up to those who for so long mocked our Socceroos and quote the great Johnny Warren. “I told you so” became our unofficial motto.

What was achieved that night by the Socceroos was great – however what they did on the world stage in front of the eyes of billions is the real legacy left behind by a squad of player’s largely known as our ‘Golden Generation’.

The Socceroos’ never-say-die attitude in Germany won over a plethora of fans and created a sense of pride and belief back at home. Hordes of supporters sacrificed their precious sleep and fought against the bitter cold to watch their heroes in public viewing areas to show their support.

For many fans, the idea of this support behind our football team was a mere fantasy. The reality would never have occurred had the players of the 2006 World Cup not shown the populace that they deserved the support of an entire nation. The results that were achieved in our group – consisting of Asian heavy weights Japan, reigning world champions Brazil, and strong European opposition Croatia – brought the nation together as the underdog Australian was punching above his weight on the world stage, again.

Losing to the eventual winners, Italy, in controversial circumstances only added to the anecdote created by the Socceroos in 2006. “If we didn’t get robbed we would have gone on to win the whole thing” was a tongue-in-cheek statement made by most during heated footballing discussions.

And that is why the class of ’06 were so successful and inspiring. They made the whole nation talk about football. They made the whole nation take notice of a sport that was not a mainstream success. They made a whole nation believe that we deserved to be part of the world’s biggest tournament.

They provided pure joy to the fans who had to endure nothing but torture for many a year. They made themselves heroes for a whole nation, so much so that 10 years later we are still talking about them. We will more than likely look back in time 40 years from now and continue to talk about the 2006 squad with the same pride and excitement.

I thank the players, coaches and staff of the 2005 World Cup qualification campaign and the 2006 World Cup for putting football on the map in this country. I honestly believe football would be half as big as it is now had our heroes not shown the world that we are no schmucks.

The continuing rise of the A-League and the success of the Socceroos in the Asian Football Confederation can be attributed to the unfathomed success of Mark Viduka and his fellow professionals.

It all started from the outstretched right hand of Mark Schwarzer, and the left foot of John Aloisi. It continued when Tim Cahill hit the back of the net twice in two minutes. There was no going back when Harry Kewell sent us to the knock-out rounds with his golden left foot.