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Fresh from naming Mark Bresciano the Cult Hero of the Century – although I’m not sure how official these titles really are – now we have the chance to vote on our Socceroos Team of the Century.
Bresciano being voted the cult hero over ‘Captain Socceroo’ himself, Johnny Warren, is the most obvious example of recency bias you’ll ever come across.
But we shouldn’t forget that these polls, initiated by Football Australia to celebrate 100 years of the Socceroos, are little more than a spot of fun.
And you’d better believe that here on The Roar we’re going to get in on all the action!
Let’s skip the preamble – here’s my Socceroos Team of the Century in a 4-4-2 formation.
Mark Schwarzer
I’ll start with one caveat: I only selected players I’ve actually seen play. And while Mark Bosnich was probably the first Socceroo I ever idolised, it’s impossible to look past our record cap holder – and the man who helped get us to the 2006 World Cup – as my starting goalkeeper.
Tony Vidmar
Another tough decision at right back, I just loved the way the younger Vidmar overcame adversity to become such a vital player for the national team in his later years. His ice-cold penalty in the shoot-out against Uruguay is one of the great moments in Socceroos history.
Ned Zelic
No player made me fall more in love with football than Ned Zelic. Yes, he only played 30-odd full internationals for Australia. Yes, he had that ridiculous falling out with Frank Farina. But the sublimely talented Zelic is the player who truly cemented my love for the Socceroos.
Craig Moore
As a central defender growing up, I wanted to play like Ned Zelic. The truth is I probably played more like Craig Moore. It was tough to split Moore and the equally ferocious Tony Popovic, but the man who coolly slotted home that penalty in Stuttgart just shaded it for me.
(Ben Radford/Getty Images)
Scott Chipperfield
Is there a more deserving entry than Scott Chipperfield? You don’t spend almost 13 years in the national team unless you’re committed to the cause, and the former part-time bus driver would have honestly driven the Socceroos team bus if it was required of him.
Brett Emerton
A player whose career I followed from day one, the indefatigable Emerton ended up winning 95 caps for the Socceroos and is our fourth-highest capped player of all time. He scored 20 goals too and could usually be relied upon to fire up for the big games.
Paul Okon
Is he a very similar player to Ned Zelic? Yes. Did we see the best of Okon in a Socceroos jersey? Absolutely not. But the man from western Sydney was a genuine world-class talent and if injuries hadn’t blighted his career, may well have been one of the greatest Australian players of all time.
Mark Bresciano
He’ll forever be best remembered for levelling the tie against Uruguay in Homebush, but on his day, Bresciano was one of the most cultured midfielders to ever pull on a Socceroos jersey. He just nudged Aurelio Vidmar in my not-particularly-balanced starting 11.
Harry Kewell
It’s hard to separate Kewell the national team player from the one who routinely terrorised the English Premier League in a Leeds United jersey, but there’s no denying he’s one of the most gifted players to ever pull on a Socceroos jersey. Surely a must-pick in any Team of the Century?
Tim Cahill
A record haul of 50 goals in 108 games for Australia only tells half the story of a player who didn’t even make his debut for the Socceroos until he was 24. It wasn’t until he came off the bench to score those two goals against Japan in Kaiserslautern that he started to cement himself as a big-game player, but no one stepped up more often for the Socceroos than Cahill.
Mark Viduka
Here’s the funny thing about big Dukes – he only scored 11 goals for the Socceroos, and few of those were particularly important. But there is no doubt he was a world-class talent and there can be few players who brought such a frisson of excitement to a national team jersey.
Manager – Ange Postecoglou
Substitutes: Mark Bosnich, Milan Ivanovic, Alex Tobin, Vinnie Grella, John Aloisi.
Alright, now it’s your turn! Don’t forget to pick your Team of the Century on the Socceroos website and let us know who you’ve selected – and why – in the comments.
