The Socceroos are gearing up for their fifth FIFA World Cup appearance since 1974, looking to shock the established once again.
Russia will be the setting this time, as Australia face France, Denmark and Peru in what shapes as a tough group.
Football within Australia has changed vastly in the last 20 years, helped by the A-League’s professionalism as well as the nation’s involvement in Asia, which has increased our reach and exposure.
The steps needed to grow the game though have long been discussed, with the late, great Johnny Warren perhaps the most significant of these voices, as he continually challenged football to grow and progress.
Warren’s vision was at times divisive, but always thought-provoking, as he believed the goal should not be to merely qualify for a World Cup but to win one.
His impact has continued well after his passing in 2004 as well – the Johnny Warren Football Foundation was set up just before his death, with the aim of using the game as a pathway for community engagement and enriching the nation through the global vehicle of football in promoting unity, excellence and inclusion.
What’s more, the A-League’s best player each season is awarded the Johnny Warren Medal.
Adrian Mierzejewski – the reigning Johnny Warren Medallist. (AAP Image/Brendan Esposito)
May 17, which would have been Warren’s 75th birthday, saw the annual Johnny Warren Golf day played for its 15th year at Jamberoo, and I was privileged to be invited to experience Warren’s ongoing legacy and impact.
There were 93 participants, with many of Warren’s 1974 World Cup teammates there to honour and reflect on the times spent with him, both on and off the football field.
One of Warren’s great qualities that was reiterated throughout the day was his ability to lead and inspire people. George Harris, who represented Australia on 28 occasions, described Warren as a “person who gave you encouragement”. Warren was also a fierce competitor who held himself and his teammates to the highest of standards.
After his retirement as a player, he became a leading media personality, most prominently through SBS. His passion and desire to see the round-ball game develop was especially evident in Warren’s interest in youth development.
The inspiration for this was Warren’s deep-rooted respect and love of Brazilian football – where he first visited in 1984. He was immediately influenced by the Brazilian players and the flair and creativity with which they played.
Ultimately, Johnny Warren was a man whose generous and kind spirit left a positive impact on everyone who was lucky enough to meet him, while his legacy has only become more important in these uncertain football times.
We must hold onto the spirit and passion that he exuded for the game he truly loved.
Kafka
Guest
Johnny Warren is the integrity the sport needs and lacks in its vision and administration.
Sebastian Giunta
Roar Rookie
A fantastic read Sebastian. Hoping the current Socceroos can always look back at this country's football heritage to move forward and emulate the 1974 immortals. 'I Told You So'
apaway
Roar Guru
Johnny also had a long-standing segment on Channel 7's Sports World program. the Johnny Warren Fans Page has over 3,000 members and also does a great job connecting newer fans with JW's immense legacy
Romano
Guest
Very good article Sebastian. We won’t let his legacy be forgotten. Thank you for remembering and reminding people of his wonderful legacy ‘I Told You So’
fabian gulino
Roar Rookie
johnny warren is a legend of our game.
fadida
Guest
That's a great post Mid
George Pascalis
Guest
Sebastian
Roar Guru
Thank you for the positive feedback. Completely agree that Johnny Warren’s legacy has been overlooked and disregarded especially within the current football environment.Johnny Warren is still the single most important name within Australian football.
Midfielder
Guest
Nice read very enjoyable. As time passes one thing JW did is being largely ignored and its a real shame. JW is mostly presented via the prism of his excellent work on SBS. Not wanting to in any way diminish both his role on SBS or the influence he had in that role as Captain Kangaroo and the many others things he did on SBS. But JW did big nay huge nay massive amounts of work in the MSM and he was always very well respected. An excellent example of this is back in the 90's when talk back radio was mega huge and had lots of influence 2UE on the AM network where the kings of radio land John Laws was their star. Laws was one of the first national radio personalities to be broadcast nationally and soon a number of other 2UE shows were as well. 2UE had a nightly sports show headed by a excellent radio journalist called Peter Bossley [hope I got his name spelling correct]... anywho the 2UE sports show nightly was for years the most listen too and one of the most influential sports shows in the country. JW was at least a weekly guest very often more and around world cup time and in say slack periods Bossley would invite JW to co-host the show with him. The reach and influence of this sports show was many times greater than the SBS viewership and being of a talk back format especially when JW was co - host he would debate Football on air for the entire show. JW had a unique ability to get on MSM and talk Football, take no rubbish and always get his message across. As time passes the history writers either are unaware or gloss over this aspect of his career... but to me JW had a incredible influence via the MSM and if you were around at the time that was no mean feat. I would go so far as to say JW's MSM work had a bigger influence than his work on SBS but thats just my subjective judgement and in no way down rates what SBS did for him.