The Sun-Herald

Football Fantasy Land

This weekend, local football has never had it so good.

Never, ever, ever.

In case those in Sydney hadn't noticed, your two local regional rivals play the A-League Grand Final on Sunday.

One spin on the game pits the age and experience of Central Coast Mariners versus the youth and exuberance of Newcastle Jets.

Throw in the derby factor, an almost full house at the Sydney Football Stadium (frustrated only by stay-away "members") and actual, genuine, live coverage around the world and there's a lot that Football Federation Australia can be happy about.

Sydney FC won something of a booby prize by coming fourth this season. But if this is a booby prize, give me two.

This past week they've been involved in a landmark tournament in Hawaii with Gamba Osaka from Japan and Houston Dynamo and Los Angeles Galaxy from the US.

TV rights holder Fox Sports is so excited by the prospect of Brendan Renaud carving up the Galaxy defence it's showing the Sydney-Los Angeles play-off for third place directly after the Grand Final coverage.

(What do you mean some guy called David Beckham is actually the star attraction in that game and pretty much the only reason why anyone is paying attention? You're ruining my fantasy!)

Not so many years ago, this weekend's football carnival would have been unimaginable, let alone believable.

Today's state-of-play was a futuristic wonderland that a few mates and me would fantasise about over a few beers while watching Marconi beat Northern Spirit at North Sydney Oval.

Ah, the days and nights of Nicola Berti, "Arnie Out!", and being force-fed football - the Glasgow way - during Rangers brief misguided ownership of that club.

Craig Foster, too, has plenty of memories from his stint at Northern Spirit, no doubt.

Back then, in those golden olden days, we also dreamed - and discussed how we would run - a 24-hour TV channel totally dedicated to football.

What do you know? Plans are advanced to launch Fox Soccer Channel, a facsimile of a station in the USA, later this year in Australia.

Stand by for 24-hours of Premier League, A-League, Serie A (maybe), J-League, and Major League Soccer.

Lucky you might even get to watch Rochester Raging Rhinos play Puerto Rico Islanders in the United Soccer League (I said this was going to be 24-hours of football a day, not that it would be quality time).

This weekend's Grand Final also marks the retirement of the legendary Tony Vidmar.

Vidmar, the weeping warrior who burst into tears when Uruguay spanked Australia in 2001, stepped up to take a successful penalty in the 2005 shoot-out, and then missed out on the 2006 World Cup Finals because of a freak heart condition.

An epic story that we don't, when we think about it, know that much about beyond a few potential chapter headings.

Until very recently, Australia has never been very good at telling the story of football.

In the mid-1990s, the administration of Soccer Australia was so disinterested in its past that it threw (literally) years and years of its recorded history into a garbage skip that sat in the car park of the Sydney Football Stadium.

I know this because I climbed in to pull some of it out and boxes now sit in a cupboard.

When researching the first edition of The Away Game eight years ago, I was surprised by the fact I broke new ground in telling the story of Joe Marston's adventures in England in the 1950s.

Yes, every FA Cup Final we'd be told that an Aussie from Annandale played in the 1954 Final but there was little said about his actual experiences.

When Robbie Slater returned to Australia in 1998 after a decade in Europe, I had the opportunity to write his biography.

Robbie talked (he's good at that) while I typed and tried to make his career appear interesting.

It wasn't a hard task.

Slater set the old National Soccer League on fire alongside Graham Arnold at Sydney Croatia before tasting the harsh reality of life in Europe.

Bulldog drank beer and got homesick at Anderlecht, then went to play in France's second division (!) with Lens, before winning the Premier League title with Blackburn Rovers, and experiencing the bizarre secret world of top flight football in England with West Ham United and Southampton.

For a football fan, it's enthralling stuff.

One of the great privileges of this job is the opportunity to sit down with former players like Eddie Krncevic, David Mitchell, Paul Okon, Tony Vidmar's brother Aurelio, Mark Bosnich, and Craig Johnston and hear amazing stories stories about their careers.

Did you hear the one when Eddie Krncevic's car was shot up?

Probably not.

What about Aurelio Vidmar as The Prisoner of Tenerife?

Unlikely.

And how about the time Bozza...

Oh, hang on. Kids sometimes read this.

Frank Farina is the only other player of recent times to publish a biography.

As media, culture, and football changes, it is possible that very few other players will have the opportunity to tell their stories (and we're not talking about dire inane "autobiographies" of 23-year-old Wayne Rooney here).

Without getting sentimental (nor wanting to sound like a grumpy old man), you don't know where you're going until you know where you've been.

Australia's football history, and the stories of its heroes, should be as important as the future.

Let's not forget.