Matthew Hall
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Steal It When You Can
For the Socceroos, how things change.
On a sunny afternoon in Kaiserslautern, Germany, in 2006, Australia unfairly lost a World Cup football match.
That game, a sudden death knockout with Italy to find a World Cup quarter-finalist, has gone down in Australian sporting history as a great injustice.
I was in the stadium that day as Francesco Totti, an Italian player writing his own personal tale of redemption as he lined up his last minute penalty kick, scored the ruthless, desperate, unjust winning goal.
Totti, returning from injury, became a hero. Around me, Italians cheered, hugged, kissed, and cried. And these people were members of the professional working media.
Australia had lost. Italy had won. The underdog Socceroos had been the measure of - and at times better of - the eventual World Cup winner.
But who cares?
One of the excruciating pleasures of football above many other sports is that domination can count for nothing.
It's often argued that possession is nine-tenths of the law - so it is in football. It's the tiny ten per cent that counts and so it was in Kaiserslautern.
Italy was down to 10 men but Australia failed time again to score what probably should, and would, have been a match-winning goal.
Italy, though, were resilient, made fewer mistakes, and had one brutally cruel chance. They made it, took it, and won.
So champions are made.
Last week in Manama, Australia were truly woeful against Bahrain.
Faced with something of a minor selection crisis, coach Pim Verbeek opted for at least two players who on other days should not have got within a shout of the Australia dressing room.
Chris Coyne, who plays in England's THIRD division, and David Carney, who currently can't get a game in England's SECOND division, were not quite up to the task against a desperate Bahrain side that had been in camp for several weeks rather than Australia's several hours.
Still, last week, they were the best that we'd got.
Bahrain might have had more possession and created more goal-scoring chances but - here's the important part - they didn't score.
Simply - they weren't good enough.
Bahrain striker Jaycee John Okwunwanne, yet another African import into the Middle East, attracted some media attention before the game for his alleged wily ways but on the big day failed to do his job - score just one goal and make the difference.
He had several clear cut chances to win the match.
He failed. Bahrain lost.
Boo hoo.
On the flipside, Australia was, indeed, woeful.
But when Mark Bresciano was allowed a sneak of goal late, late, late, in the game, he did his job.
Bresciano was offered a gift but still had work to do as the clock ticked down.
He was faster, stronger, fitter, and held a cooler head than his opponents.
One chance. He scored. Australia win.
Hooray.
This is the drama of campaign we've long craved. Remember American Samoa? Here's a reminder. Give me a bad game over Bahrain over that 2001 mismatch any day, week, or year.
Beating Bahrain was cruel? Kind of. Fair? Probably not.
Welcome to life.
Welcome to the World Cup.
For those who know about these things, follow me on Twitter here.
COMMENTS
Like I said to my non footballing mates when Italy knocked us out.....welcome to planet football
- by Vando on November 23, 2008 at 08:17 AM
I was behind the goal in K'Town thinking how I was going to find tix for the next game .... if you think dare think beyond what game your in you get crucified. I was in Melbourne 1997 and was almost on the plane to France but was screaming for Milan Ivanovic at the 60 minute ... without a spine you struggle don't underestimate the loss of Grella and Moore. Verbeek has been blessed with results but we know in this game things tend to level out but he needs to pick players that are playing. I'm heading to Japan but after this result I'm nervous and I just hope he does look local as we virtually play in the same time zone. Would Archie Thompson offer more than Kennedy last game I think so , would Jedinak let the Bahrain'es run around the midfield like they were on a holiday after his first crunching tackle I don't think so. We need to pick players who will die for our shirt .... I think some of these current players need to look at Mark Schwarzer for inspiration. And for gods sake don't pick David Carney if we are playing anywhere in the Middle East he just does not adjust.
- by marko on November 23, 2008 at 09:07 AM
Oh dear, I love the socceroos, but you have to let go of the Italy game. As far "injustices" go in football (if you have even call what happened an injustice) it is way, WAY down the totem pole.
- by julian on November 23, 2008 at 11:09 AM
Hi Matthew, I agree with you. I was thinking about that match between Italy and Australia when I was reading your blog. I remember feeling upset for the Socceroos and particularly for Lucas Neill. Football is like life you have to take a chance sometimes, you have to learn and you have to make mistakes and you have to learn from your mistakes and you have to move on. I have been a Socceroo fan for over 20 years and I was so proud to see my country in the World Cup. In 2006, on the day of the World Cup final between France and Italy, my sister and I arrived in Milan to travel around Italy and then on to Greece. Every where we went people commented on the huge injustice to the Socceroos. I always believe where one door closes another opens. There is always hope. Credit to Marco Bresciano for scoring that very, very, very late goal against Bahrain he took a chance and scored. The Socceroos need to regroup, figure out with Pim Verbeek what they did wrong, work on it and to be focussed for their next five matches and to continue to work as a team. Nothing would make me prouder, as a Socceroo supporter than to see the Socceroos at the World Cup in 2010 in South Africa.
- by Sophia on November 23, 2008 at 12:06 PM
its about time we get a bit of luck...how many times have we dominated and suffered that last gasp loss...look at most of the top nations in the world germany and italy are classic axamples where when they don'y play well they still manage to sneak away with a a win ala the last world cup when italy got off the hook against us...the positive is that we didnt play well and still won...in a long campaign such as this u need that sort of luck...but beaware u can afford that against bahrain but japan will be a different story....
- by alex on November 23, 2008 at 12:39 PM
The success of Champions often comes down to a last minute goal or bounce of the ball. We forget that we got to Germany on a penalty kick. If we look at the world cup itself, we beat Japan in the first match in the final 7 minutes. At 1-1, the Japanese were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty off a Tim Cahill indiscretion in the Australian six yard box. So people, just to state that this is not the first time and will certainly not be the last.
As for Mark Bresciano - a living legend.
- by Andrew Licata on November 23, 2008 at 12:59 PM
we played rubbish and still won the game. hope this doesn't artificially inflate the egos of the team. Read Fozzies rant on SMH.
- by Michael Jones on November 23, 2008 at 02:45 PM
After Italy won I looked at my fellow supporters, all shock and dismay. It wasn't the losing, it was the way we lost. Just heartbreaking. I remember thinking, 'Australia, welcome to the World Cup.' This is how Bahrain would be feeling, and how Australia will probably feel again until we win a World Cup, whenever that may be!!! You're absolutely right in your comments Mr Hall.
- by Josh Renshaw on November 23, 2008 at 07:02 PM
I did not see the Bahrain game but to struggle to score against them when we are supposedly the strongest team in Asia is poor, poor, poor. Japan will rip us apart if we do not lift our game. C'mon Pim..... time to produce.
- by red for life on November 23, 2008 at 09:23 PM
One of the great mysteries of the great game is that the big sides can play woefully and still, more often than not, pull off a win. (Italy's a case in point.)
I think it's very promising (and I mean this in all seriousness) that Australia has seemed to have reached that level where they can have a shocker and still come out ahead.
- by Brad on November 23, 2008 at 10:03 PM
Mathew
How right are you? Absolutely!! Football is the round ball and it spins around unlike the oval shaped ball where it is so predictable. The round football is not predictable at all.
You take your chances well and you win. You don't take your chances good enough and will loose? Maybe someone should remind our Carig Foster about his article on SUnday 23 11 08 regarding professional football and the World Cup. I am `dragging' him into the picture because he had played professionally in Europe and he is too one eyed in his comments.
- by albert khoo on November 24, 2008 at 07:56 AM
In general I agree. 'Tis a funny old game.
But I can't agree with your comments about Chris Coyne. He was rock solid against the Uzbeks and the Dutch, and worked well with Lucas Neil. I thought he was unlucky not to get a run against Qatar.
Sure he had a bad game against Bahrain. But so did Cahill.
- by ChrisC on November 24, 2008 at 09:22 AM
In the last World Cup, one of the things I remember the most was Australia's shooting. They always seem to either miss the goal or hit it straight at the goal keeper. Hence they could play well in a game but struggled to convert their chances.
That is one of the biggest improvements I've seen in this campaign. The ability to shoot into the part of the goal where the keeper isn't! Bahrain seem to be in a similar situation, the finishing letting them down. And it doesn't matter how much you dominate a game if you can't finish.
We've found that in the past, they've found it here. To that extent it isn't so much cruel, as them, as you say, simply not being good enough to score a goal.
And as for Coine and Carney, what's with talking about them like they simply aren't good enough after one bad game. How short is the memory.
Through many games in the last 18 months, Carney's been one of the best players on the field. He went from being a regular and one of the better players in his English Second Division side, to not playing after a new manager took over who he clearly didn't see eye to eye with, (and probably a little stupidly then went on to say to the media what a bad manager he is!) and he is clearly down on match practice of late which is showing.
Hopefully he'll get a transfer come January to somewhere he can fit in well, and then we can see the best of him again.
- by Chris on November 24, 2008 at 09:31 AM
Fozzies point that previous Australian teams would have played better than this team did against Bahrain is totally correct. But I think he misses the point that Tim Cahill was making. That is, no previous Socceroos team - playing as badly as this team did - would have had any chance of winning.
This is an enormous step forward by the Socceroos - notwithstanding the fact that they played abysmally and can't afford to play like this against Japan.
- by Mladen Kovac on November 24, 2008 at 09:44 AM
I always worry when commentators predict a win as they did for Aust vs Bahrain!
- by Peter Bedo on November 24, 2008 at 11:13 AM
ehh look call the loss to italy what you will. Great injustice, robbery, cheating, harsh, bad beat, unfair...whatever.
It happens in all sports. Bad beats happen in all sports. Just the way it is.
To the italian fans, we are over it...if you guys had of lost under the same circumstances....omg....the travesty....prob would have hounded FIFA for a rematch. Whatever....congrats to you guys, but we have suckd it up as a nation and got on with it. If we refer to it from time to time, its only to remember what a bad beat it was, and that it was.
they say what goes around, comes around....hope we meet again in the 2010...
we may just come around.
keep it going boys
to SA2010!!!!
- by metman on November 24, 2008 at 12:23 PM
"I think it's very promising (and I mean this in all seriousness) that Australia has seemed to have reached that level where they can have a shocker and still come out ahead."
@Brad: How is having a shocker promising? I don't buy in to this attitude of strong teams being able to pull of wins while still playing badly. If not for A) the inaccuracy of our opponents shots on goal and B) a mistake by our opponent in a crucial part of the park, then we would have lost that game, probably by more than 1 goal even. Neither of those things were a direct result of anything we did, we just got lucky.
As an aside: As for the game against Italy, we may have been unlucky in the final minute of the game, but we were extremely fortunate during the rest of the match. Luca Toni had some chances that on any other day would have been certain goals.
Being a quality team and getting lucky do not go hand in hand. Any team can get lucky, a quality team does not need luck.
- by John on November 24, 2008 at 01:50 PM
I was at the game in Manama I agree that it was one of Australia's poorest appearances in a long time. But a good team is one that can win even when they are playing poorly.
There were very few Australians at the game - there are lots of expats in the region. Where were they?
- by Tom on November 24, 2008 at 07:28 PM
It's good that they won.
An ugly win beats the hell out of a pretty loss (or something along these lines).
- by Yakoshiba on November 25, 2008 at 08:11 AM
These 2 matches cannot be compared fairly. In 2006, Italy was the better team. They had more chances of scoring than Australia, and as you said, they were reduced to 10 men. The penalty was justified, Neil should have known better. On the flip side, Bahrain was the better team. Bresciano and the Australian team were in no way more professional that Bahrain. Their win can only be described as a fluke.
- by Diana on November 25, 2008 at 09:58 AM
Tom, I was there too and about 400 others (a fair turn out) spread around that big away bay - yes I thought there would have been more expats (esp after the support in Doha and Dubai) but with than incessant local Bahraini music played loud throughout the game on PA system any chants would have been hard to be heard even with 2,000 fans.
Agree that good teams can have poor games and still win when it counts - a sign we have really moved on with a winning mentality.
- by Pablo on November 30, 2008 at 03:17 PM
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It was on a sunny afternoon in Kaiserslautern... Other than that, you are absolutely right.
Haha. FIXED.