Fortune has never quite favoured the Socceroos. Going back to the World Cup qualifications of the 1990s to recent competitions, luck never seems to have gone our way, on or off the pitch.
After all the costly referee errors, failed World Cup bids and the infamous witch doctor curse, what better way to propel us higher into international football’s conscious than by winning the Asian Cup on home soil?
This may be easier said than done as we now have to proceed in the tournament the hard way with a quarter-final against an unbeaten China and then a possible semi against our football nemesis Japan. But if you want to be the best you have to beat the best, right?
Coming off an educational World Cup (if you want to call it that), the 2014-15 season has seen Australian football rev up another gear as we looked to improve and rectify our performances and prove the critics wrong.
Over the past few seasons, we have seen Australian football blossom before our eyes as we have established ourselves internationally. The A-League has seen many highly entertaining matches and quality players, and created one hell of an atmosphere. We’ve had record attendances thanks in no small part to blockbuster derbies and nail-biting matches.
We also have two teams without any A-League silverware to their name sitting high atop the ladder, with Perth reliving their former NSL glory days and Ernie Merrick’s Wellington Phoenix in a close second playing some very exciting football.
Western Sydney won the Asian Champions League by beating Al-Hilal at home and then escaping with a draw in front of an extremely hostile environment. Manager Tony Popovic won the AFC coach of the year as well as the manager of the tournament, whole goalkeeper Ante Covic won player of the tournament – all positive signs for both the A-League and Australian football.
On the topic of accolades, Crystal Palace captain Mile Jedinak at one stage this season was ranked the fifth best player in the Premier League and third best in Europe based on the fantasy game developer Oulala, which bases its highly detailed rankings on officialOpta performance statistics. Jedinak also received the AFC player of the year and the PFA award, establishing himself statistically as one of Europe’s elite players.
Mat Ryan also recently received the goalkeeper of the league award in Belgium for the second year, which could lead to bigger and better things for the former Mariner.
Thus we turn to the Asia Cup, where our Socceroos have not only given us an insight into the next generation but shown us how attacking and dominant they can be. After a reality check from South Korea, the Socceroos are expected to make five changes to the side for our quarter-final against an in-form China.
Entering the business end of the tournament we will give it our all, believing we can win the whole damn thing. But 2014-15 has been a remarkable year for Australian football regardless, winning the Asia Cup will be the icing on the cake.
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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?
