- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
It took until 2006 for the Socceroos to reach football’s biggest stage a second time, but an equally talented national team helped lay the platform way back in 1993.
We continue our countdown of the top ten moments in Socceroos history with a look back at the team that narrowly missed out on qualifying for USA 94.
After missing out on qualifying for both the 1986 and 1990 tournaments, hopes were high that a Socceroos side now led by Scottish-born coach Eddie Thomson would finally end the heartbreak.
And with a team containing the likes of overseas stars Aurelio Vidmar, Frank Farina, Graham Arnold and Robbie Slater, momentum started to build throughout 1993.
The players of today might be highly-paid internationals expected to return from their club sides for national team duty with no questions asked, but it’s a hard-won freedom built largely on the back of the players who made the long journey home to Australia long before the Socceroos made their mark on the world stage.
And plenty of those players were present – including Aston Villa goalkeeper Mark Bosnich – when the Socceroos comfortably saw off New Zealand 4-0 on aggregate in a two-legged Oceania playoff.
But Bosnich was absent – controversially so, after claiming he’d retired from international duty – when the Socceroos subsequently beat Canada on penalties in scenes of high drama at the Sydney Football Stadium in August 1993.
Following a 2-1 defeat in Edmonton in which Adelaide City goalkeeper Robbie Zabica was sent off, the Socceroos found themselves relying upon a fresh-faced 20-year-old custodian in the form of Mark Schwarzer between the posts.
And it was to be an unforgettable second leg for Schwarzer in his hometown of Sydney.
After being largely at fault for Canada’s goal when he let Lyndon Hooper’s shot slip straight through his grasp in Australia’s nail-biting 2-1 win, Schwarzer redeemed himself by saving two penalties in the subsequent shoot-out.
And then, just like that, Argentina was on our doorstep. And so too was Diego Armando Maradona.
If Australians thought they knew football, it was nothing like hosting Maradona.
The man who had left the game in disgrace after serving a 15-month ban on the back of persistent cocaine use hadn’t played for his national team since Italia 90.
But Argentina were in a hole, and having finishing second in their four-team CONMEBOL qualifying group behind a rampant Colombia, the Albiceleste found themselves in the unfamiliar position of needing to beat Oceania champions Australia in an intercontinental playoff for a place in football’s showpiece event.
So they called up a familiar source of inspiration.
Maradona is, for many, the greatest player of all time. But having spent vast periods of time out of the game, there were question marks over just how effective he could be in the white-hot cauldron of a two-legged playoff.
We would soon find out.
In front of a ground record crowd of 43,967 fans packed into every conceivable vantage point at the Sydney Football Stadium, the Socceroos set about trying to do the impossible.
And they did it in front of a ferociously parochial atmosphere rarely enjoyed before by the Socceroos.
The uber-talented Bosnich was back. So too was Ned Zelic.
And the man tasked with the challenge of marking Maradona was Paul Wade – the tough-as-teak captain who’d been in and out of the starting side for months.
In the end, Wade had his number. Or just about. Shortly before half-time, Maradona finally shook off his dogged marker and fired in a cross for Abel Balbo to stoop and head home.
But roared on by the partisan home crowd, the Socceroos responded almost immediately.
When Aurelio Vidmar fired home a cross from his brother Tony, the architecturally impressive but functionally useless roof was almost blown off the stadium.
A 1-1 draw was a sensational result for the Socceroos. But could they get the job done in Buenos Aires?
No.
When Gabriel Batistuta’s cross looped off the outstretched leg of Alex Tobin and sailed over Zabica in the Australian goal – Bosnich and Zelic were both injured for the return clash – you could almost hear a million hearts breaking back in Australia.
But the tie did at least prove one thing. It proved that Australians could play.
And you can bet that when the Socceroos ran out against Uruguay some 12 years later, they would have spared a thought for the team of ’93, and the night Australia kept a star-studded Argentina at bay.
As we count down the greatest moments in Socceroos history, we want you to tell us what your favourites are. Have your say in the picker below!
Check out the rest of the countdown:
10. Australia’s performances – and Tim Cahill’s goal – in 2014
9. When we almost qualified for USA 94
8. Charlie Yankos’ stunning free-kick against Argentina
7. Beating France and Brazil in 2001
6. England 3, Australia 1: Beating the Poms in their own backyard
5. Knocking Croatia out of Germany in the craziest game in Australian history
4. Australia’s historic 3-1 win over Japan in Kaiserslautern
3. Making our debut on the world stage in 1974
2. Winning the Asian Cup in Australia
1. John Aloisi’s penalty
The Australian men’s football team is sure to produce some more memorable moments in Russia this year. Catch all the action in the best way possible by coming together with your friends and family and watching it on an epic big screen Samsung QLED TV. Explore the big-screen range.
Haven’t seen your friends lately? Send them a personal message from Tim Cahill with TIMVITE and get ready to watch the big games.