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The team that ended Australia’s World Cup drought in 2006 has been labelled the ‘golden generation’. At the time they were, comprised of good players playing in good leagues.
There has been a lot of talk about how far behind the golden generation our current group of players are.
But are they really that far behind?
Below are player profiles, for the starting line-up against Japan, showing our golden generation’s statistics heading into the 2006 World Cup and the current stats of our next generation of players:
Mark Schwarzer
Age: 33
Caps: 37
Club: Middlesbrough
Mitch Langerak
Age: 25
Caps: 2
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Mark Schwarzer was a regular starter for English Premier League club Middlesbrough, while Langerak is the no. 2 keeper at Dortmund.
Langerak has experienced Champions League football at Dortmund and has impressed each time he has been given a start.
Luke Wilkshire
Age: 24
Caps: 8
Club: Bristol City
Shane Lowry
Age: 24
Caps: 0
Club: Milwall
Not much difference between these two and clearly Wilkshire’s career went to a higher level once he was given his chance by Guus Hiddink.
Will Lowry be given the same opportunity?
Lucas Neill
Age: 28
Caps: 25
Club: Blackburn
Rhys Williams
Age: 25
Caps: 11
Club: Middlesbrough
Neill was a regular starter for Blackburn and in the prime of his career in 2006.
Williams captains Middlesbrough in the Championship and starts every week. Touted as a possibility as Neill’s successor, maybe in more ways than one.
Craig Moore
Age: 30
Caps: 33
Club: Newcastle
Curtis Good
Age: 20
Caps: 0
Club: Newcastle
While Moore was a stalwart in the Socceroos line-up, he didn’t always start for Newcastle in the EPL.
Good hasn’t been able to break into an EPL starting line-up for the Magpies but has impressed in League Cup appearances and might not be too far off being given a chance.
Scott Chipperfield
Age: 30
Caps: 46
Club: Basel
Jason Davidson
Age: 22
Caps: 3
Club: Heracles Almelo
Clear difference in the number of caps and age but both are attackers-cum-left fullbacks.
Arguably Davidson is playing in a better quality league. ‘Chippers’ took a while to get to Switzerland, but was clearly a favourite and played regularly in the UCL.
Brett Emerton
Age: 27
Caps: 48
Club: Blackburn
Robbie Kruse
Age: 25
Caps: 25
Club: Bayer Leverkusen
Emerton was a consistent starter for Rovers in the EPL after moving from Holland.
Kruse is yet to get regular starts for Leverkusen but has shown signs he can cut it at Bundesliga level and could get some more time in the UCL this year.
Vince Grella
Age: 26
Caps: 17
Club: Parma
Mile Jedinak
Age: 29
Caps: 41
Club: Crystal Palace
Vinnie Grella was a regular in the Serie A for Parma. Mile Jedinak is captain of Crystal Palace in the EPL and has made a solid start.
Even if Palace get relegated, he could get picked up by another EPL team.
Jason Culina
Age: 25
Caps: 13
Club: PSV Eindhoven
James Holland
Age: 24
Caps: 10
Club: Austria Wien
Both players had experienced Champions League at their respective clubs.
No doubt at this stage, Culina had a better passing range than Holland but regular minutes in the Champions League will help make Holland a better all-around player.
Marco Bresciano
Age: 26
Caps: 24
Club: Parma
Tom Rogic
Age: 20
Caps: 7
Club: Celtic
Bresciano was a regular with Parma in the Serie A, while Rogic continues to struggle to get a game at Celtic.
A move away from the hoops will help Rogic further his game but he’s got at least another three World Cups in him.
Harry Kewell
Age: 27
Caps: 20
Club: Liverpool
Tommy Oar
Age: 21
Caps: 11
Club: Utrecht
Harry was playing at one of the biggest clubs in the world before Germany, but injuries limited his chances of regular starts. Kewell will go down as one of our best ever.
Tommy Oar is now starting for Utrecht and could have that left midfield spot for the next decade.
Mark Viduka
Age: 30
Caps: 33
Club: Middlesbrough
Nikita Rukavytsya
Age: 26
Caps: 11
Club: FSV Frankfurt (on loan)
‘Dukes’ is one of the best strikers to ever pull on a Socceroos shirt, although his one goal every four games for the national team wasn’t the best return.
Rukavytsya is finally getting some game time but he’ll have stiff competition from Matthew Leckie, Eli Babalj, Dylan Tombides and Kerem Bulut for the Socceroos’ striking role over the coming years.
In summary, the golden generation deserve their tag.
In 2006 they were playing at big clubs and in the prime of their career.
One of the most significant things for me is the comparison in the number of caps between the two groups of players.
It just shows how much more football the national team is playing now and how much more willing the current group of players are to play for the national team, something many of the golden generation were criticized for lacking in the past.
Victory for the team of current players is unrealistic for this World Cup, they are far too inexperienced at international level.
But if this group of players can keep playing at their current level, or progress to better clubs and leagues, we could be looking at a new generation of golden players come Russia 2018.
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