WORLD CUP 2006
Australia
Introduction
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When John Aloisi's penalty smacked into the back of the Uruguayan net last November it engendered a sense of achievement right across Australia.
The word “destiny” had been bandied around for months, with many believing that just getting to Germany was the target. But since then the reality has set in that anything less than a full-blooded effort at the finals could cause a major setback for soccer in Australia.
Sports fans will follow the fortunes of any Australian national team. But if the public feel the team has let the country down, then they – and the media – can turn ugly.
Critically, just as soccer has been reaching new standards domestically with the revamped national championship, the A-League, there is an expectation that the Socceroos will leave Germany with their heads held high. No one expects them to come home with the trophy. All they want are goals – something the fabled 1974 team failed to achieve – a win, and hopefully a place in the second round.
The shoot-out win against Uruguay triggered scenes of joy across Australia. Football madness
has swept the country since, with the airing of TV programmes such as Song For The Socceroos to
find a World Cup anthem. Youth-level player registrations have risen and the A-League drew record crowds and delivered some good quality matches. But the Socceroos must fight to the last at the finals to satiate the demands of the Green and Gold Army, the vociferous supporters who will be out in force in Germany.
Australia do not even pretend that they play pretty football, but the mix of British, Continental and South American styles, with a twist of tough Aussie edge, can be effective. The current team can, in fact, play some sweet football, and showed they had enough stomach for a fight against Uruguay.
There is also the belief that the Socceroos have a trump card in coach Guus Hiddink. The team often used a direct approach in the past, but the Dutchman has shown there are other options in attack. With Aloisi, Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka and rising stars Tim Cahill and Jason Culina, the team will look to develop an attack based around more than athletic intensity. Australia have often had an abundance of solid defenders in the past, but the back line has proved to be a weak link in recent years. Witness the 10 goals leaked during last year’s Confederations Cup. Hiddink has shown he is aware of the problem, mixing up the team in the play-off by using midfielder Scott Chipperfield in defence, and pushing right-back Lucas Neill into midfield.
The Socceroos’ best chance of a win would seem to be in the opening game against Japan. One can only expect defeat against Brazil in the second game; we just hope it’s not the 6-0 shellacking of the 1997 Confederations Cup Final. Against Croatia in the final group game, Australia could field several players with family roots in that country and face three Croatians of Australian background. This match is almost certain to decide the Socceroos’ fate, and it could be one of the great showdowns
in Australian sporting history.
Realistically, the chances of making the second phase don’t look good. But there have been glimpses of what can happen when the stars click, and that’s what the fans are hoping for.
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