The Sun-Herald

Do The Socceroos Deserve More Respect?

By the time you read this, it's likely Australia will have qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

It's also likely, contrary to the efforts of Football Federation Australia's hardworking spin machine, to be one of the biggest anti-climaxes in our collective sports history.

In 2005, almost four years ago, Sydney caught alight from the electricity generated by John Aloisi's penalty kick.

Similarly, in 2001, Tony Vidmar's tears were shared by much of the country as Uruguay dismantled Frank Farina's Socceroos in Montevideo.

The mood that time was also clouded by the administration of the sport, a disaster area about to be condemned by the Federal Government.

Personally, I was so depressed I stayed in Buenos Aires for a week following that defeat, dreading returning to Sydney.

We won't mention 1997 and Iran. Nor 1993 and Alex Tobin's freak own goal against Argentina.

But Australia will qualify for 2010 in Doha with a point against lowly Qatar, a team that is only still in the competition thanks to a bureaucratic technicality after fielding an ineligible player in an earlier round.

There will be no fireworks, not much dancing in the street, and probably few people to meet the team at Sydney Airport when they arrive on Monday.

Coach Pim Verbeek has had enough and claims that his team deserves more respect for its achievement. Typically, this is the media's fault, which apparently has widely condemned the performances of his side.

"I work with the players, the players know what we are doing, the players know the plan, the players know the difficulties we are facing, (so) for the rest I'm not so interested," Verbeek said.

Australia's impressive results deserve acclaim, he added: "The [players] fly from Europe, they have nine hours time difference, they arrive one day before the Japan game, they have 74,000 people (in the crowd) and they have a 0-0 draw."

"Ninety-nine per cent of the countries in the world would say 'great result' but the Aussies have a different opinion.

"I can understand my players start to get a little bit annoyed about that because then they have to fly back (to Europe) and play in some of the toughest leagues in the world.

"I think a little bit more respect would have (been nice)."

Tim Cahill, staying on message, had similar gripes last week.

"I am sick of it, people who are criticising us in the situation we are in, purely because we are one point away from qualifying for the World Cup," said the Everton midfielder.

Maybe this siege mentality, the us-against-them, is part of Verbeek's psychological motivation for his team. Or perhaps some of the players are more detached from reality than we think.

Because here's the thing: there has been very little actual criticism of the players or the team's performances.

The Socceroos get a very soft ride from a largely uncritical (some might even suggest uneducated) Australian media.

If Verbeek or his players genuinely believe they're being sniped at, then they might want to play for England or Italy or Brazil or Argentina, where a feral national media has every pulse of their national team monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Why? Because in those countries, the national team belongs to the people, the nation. Not the coach or the players or team management or the Federation.

Here are the facts: Verbeek and his players have done a great job to be able to knock on South Africa's front door with games to spare.

Yes, they have created history to qualify for only the third time.

Team performances have been intelligent, tactically smart, and pretty pragmatic. Preparation for matches has been top rate.

Entertaining? For the hardcore, sometimes.

For the casual fan, the great unwashed, the "market" that carries the sport into the mainstream, never.

That's neither good nor bad. It just is.

But now, with the team in the box seat for qualification, Australian fans deserve as much respect, if not more, than the players themselves are asking for.

After all, it's their own money that paid for them to support the team around the world over years of heartache and their own tears that were shed over previous defeats.

The reason we might have a different opinion that other countries, Pim, is that we have a different history.

Verbeek may have replaced glorious failure with pragmatic success and for that we thank him for achieving what you were tasked to do.

But a little lighter on the sense of entitlement and, in this game, you don't get trophies just for showing up.

Or do you?