Back in 2010, then-Socceroos captain Lucas Neill was asked whether upcoming players in the national ranks could match the longevity of the golden generation Australia had just had.
In response, Neill somewhat bemoaned the flurry of debutants sprouting up at the time.
“People can now say they’re a Socceroo because they have one or two caps,” he said. “But if you want to be considered a Socceroo I think you should be wanting to play every game and to get as many caps as possible.
“We’re using a lot more people in the squads, whereas in years gone by we used the same (squad of) 20 or 25 for every game, but now there could be a pool of up to 50 people.”
Irrespective of his cliquey you’ll-never-be-one-of-the-boys tone, he did have a point.
When Danny Vukovic made his Socceroos debut in the recent friendly against Colombia, he became the 100th player to play for Australia since the 2006 World Cup.
And while Australia has unearthed some true gems since that heady time – Rogic, Mooy, Luongo, to name a few – a surprisingly high amount, however, had their international career cut short just as it started. Not that they knew at the time.
In fact, 21 of the 100 players selected since 2006 have gone on to receive just one cap. A further 15 received just two caps.
Unlike Neill, however, we celebrate any player – even those who earned their cap through a five-minute substitute appearance against Kuwait – who has been good enough to pull on the Socceroos strip.
Melbourne City young gun Daniel Arzani is set to become debutant number 101 (since 2006) and 596 overall when the Socceroos take on the Czech Republic tonight (9pm AEST).
(Photo by Jason Heidrich/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
With a bit of luck, Arzani won’t finish his international career sitting on a solitary cap. For those who have, however, we salute you. Here’s the Socceroos one-cap XI since 2006:
In goals is former Newcastle Jets keeper Mark Birighitti, whose sole cap came against China in 2013 in the not-too-glamorous East Asian Cup. A teenage sensation, Birighitti now plies his trade for NAC Breda in the Eredivisie.
A month after the excitement of the 2006 World Cup campaign, Michael Valkanis made his debut for Australia against Kuwait as most of the regular Socceroos side were preoccupied with their European club sides. He debuted alongside Travis Dodd, Matt McKay and Ryan Griffiths in that game, only to never play again. He slots into centre-half.
Alongside Valkanis is former Melbourne Victory defender Adrian Leijer, who also took advantage of absences when Australia played Singapore in 2008. Without most overseas-based players, former coach Pim Verbeek was forced to give a whopping nine players their first cap in a wet, 0-0 draw.
Matthew Kemp slots in at left-back, as perhaps one of the most surprising players to ever pull on a Socceroos shirt. Much-maligned during periods at Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory, Kemp morphed into a reliable defensive option, and was rewarded with a debut against Kuwait in an Asian Cup qualifier.
In 2010, dynamic wing-back Michael Marrone was plying his craft for Melbourne Heart, of which he was a foundation player. He was called up to a World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia in 2012. Little did he know it would be his one and only chance. He plays at right-back in this side, an honour he will no doubt cherish for years to come.
In central midfield is Billy Celeski – who was given a Socceroos jersey on the same night as former teammate Adrian Leijer (above) – and Fabian Barbiero, who made his international debut against Kuwait alongside Adelaide United teammates Daniel Mullen (another one-cap star) and Robbie Cornthwaite.
(Photo: Paul Barkley/LookPro)
Connor Pain, who debuted at just 19 for Australia, slots into right wing. Shortly after his 2013 debut against Kuwait, Pain put in a hugely impressive shift against Liverpool in front of 95,000 fans at the MCG. Big things were tipped, which haven’t quite eventuated.
On the other side of the pitch is former A-League utility Shannon Cole, who debuted together with Tommy Oar against Indonesia in 2009. A workhorse on the flanks, Cole was given a much-deserved start and played 73 minutes in his first international outing.
Leading the line is a name many reading this may have to Google: Brent McGrath. Who? Yep. Called up by Holger Osieck in 2011, McGarth came on as an injury-time substitute for Brett Holman in Australia’s incredible 2-1 victory against Germany in Monchengladbach. As far as one-off caps go, it’s not a bad one to tell the grandkids.
Rounding out the XI is Nik Mrdja, a talented striker in both the NSL (for Perth Glory) and A-League (for Central Coast). Mrdja was picked for the Socceroos in a friendly against Argentina at the MCG in 2007, coming on with ten minutes to go.
| Position | Player |
| GK | Mark Birighitti |
| RB | Michael Marrone |
| CB | Adrian Leijer |
| CB | Michael Valkanis |
| LB | Matthew Kemp |
| RM | Connor Pain |
| CM | Fabian Barbiero |
| CM | Billy Celeski |
| LM | Shannon Cole |
| ST | Brent McGrath |
| ST | Nik Mrdja |
Subs: Leigh Broxham, Daniel Mullen, Curtis Good, Luke DeVere, Jason Geria (*debutants from the last two years not included).
Full list of one-cap Socceroos since 2006 World Cup (debut opponent and date in brackets)
Michael Valkanis (Kuwait, August 2006)
Nick Mrdja (Argentina, September 2007)
Andrian Leijer (Singapore, March 2008)
Leigh Broxham (Singapore, March 2008)
Billy Celeski (Indonesia, January 2009)
Daniel Mullen (Kuwait, March 2009)
Fabian Barbiero (Kuwait, March 2009)
Matthew Kemp (Kuwait, January 2010)
Shannon Cole (Indonesia, March 2010)
Brent McGrath (Germany, March 2011)
Michael Marrone (Guam, December 2012)
Mark Birighitti (China, July 2013)
Connor Pain (China, July 2013)
Curtis Good (Ecuador, March 2014)
Luke DeVere (Germany, March 2015)
Jason Geria (Greece, June 2016)
Ajdin Hrustic (Brazil, June 2017)
Dylan McGowan(Brazil, June 2017)
Dimi Petratos (Norway, March 2018)
Aleksander Susnjar (Norway, March 2018)
Danny Vukovic (Colombia, March 2018)
Two caps
Travis Dodd
Mark Bridge
Adam Griffiths
David Williams
Dean Heffernan
Paul Reid
Roddy Vargas
Matt Simon
Eli Babalj
Dino Djulbic
Eric Paartalu
Bernie Ibini
James Meredith
Mustafa Amini
Andrew Nabbout
Even though St.Pauli ultimately lost a high-scoring affair, Jackson Irvine was a standout, as well as scoring a late goal.
What if we celebrated all of the achievements big and small, and weeded out those hell-bent on bringing down a game that is doing a hell of a lot right?
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