The Socceroos are gearing up for Saturday’s (AEST) blockbuster grudge match against the United States and it’s not the first time they’ve been riding high heading into their second match at a FIFA World Cup.
It was 20 years ago that Australia’s golden generation tackled the might of Brazil, a week after their opening heroics against Japan when Tim Cahill orchestrated the nation’s first ever victory at the tournment.
There was a new sense of hope and belief against the South American giants — five-time champions who boasted legends like Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Kaká and Ronaldinho in their line-up for the meeting in front of 66,000 fans at the Allianz Arena, the home of Bundesliga titans Bayern Munich.
Paro v Crocker | Wednesday June 24 from 7pm AEST | Liam Paro gets his long awaited title shot against IBF welterweight champion, Lewis Crocker. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.
And while it ultimately did not yield them success against Brazil in what would turn out to be the least memorable match of Guus Hiddink’s side’s campaign, the new-found confidence certainly paid off when they met Croatia in the final group game.
That night in Stuttgart — a 2-2 draw that ulitmately sent the Socceroos into the knockout stages — was one of the wildest in World Cup, let alone Australian football, history.
And it still leaves those that were there scratching their heads 20 years later.
In a series of articles looking back on the 2006 World Cup, foxsports.com.au spoke with some of those Australians who were there when the Socceroos ended the nation’s World Cup drought!
PART ONE — ‘Absolute torture’: Inside brutal camp that made ‘06 Socceroos… and how nobody was spared
PART TWO — ‘Never f***ing do this again’: How fuse was lit for ‘06 Socceroos explosion that ‘changed everything’
Every penalty from THAT 2005 shootout | 01:32
‘WE’RE GOING TO GO FOR IT’
Guus Hiddink’s press conference in the lead-up to the Socceroos’ clash with Brazil in Munich was nothing special.
But what he said immediately afterwards was plastered on front and back pages across the country.
“Hiddink did his press conference and didn’t really say much,” then football editor of The Daily Telegraph Tom Smithies recalled to foxsports.com.au.
“But then he called me and (News Corp colleague) Dave Lewis over afterwards.
“We sat down and he started saying ‘we’re going to go for it. We’re going for Brazil’.
“He knew exactly what he was doing. It was going to be in the Sunday Telegraph, which was the biggest selling paper in the country at the time, and the players would read it.
“He said: ‘we’re going to for it. We’re going to attack Brazil. We’re at this World Cup because we belong’.”
Hiddink’s words were not only for the media.
The same message was being spread within the camp, but the legendary Dutch manager knew the impact it would have by being in the papers.
It was the final push his players needed.
“Guus was able to instil a mentality that we can achieve whatever we want,” former Socceroos goalkeeper Ante Covic recalled to foxsports.com.au.
“That team that we had was probably our most stacked team.
“There wasn’t a game that we didn’t attack on the front foot.
“Against Brazil, they won that game, but we gave it to them.”
For those who woke up back home in Australia to a 2-0 scoreline, it didn’t tell the full story.
Adriano gave Brazil the lead four minutes into the second half, but the Australians were perhaps a bit unfortunate.
Ronaldo looked very close to being offside in the build up before providing the assist to Adriano’s strike from the edge of the penalty area.
Fred only added a flattering second goal in the 90th minute and the came with a stroke of luck too as he had a simple tap-in after ball deflecting off the post to him following a Mark Schwarzer save.
It was certainly not easy going for the powerhouse, who were ultimately beaten by France in the quarter-finals.
Australia’s defence was difficult to break down, but the rued even more an inability to capitalise on some good chances.
Mark Bresciano could have given Australia the lead, but the midfielder hesitated as he raced into the penalty area and was stopped by a desperate tackle.
A minute later Mile Sterjovski fired over the bar.
Harry Kewell, who came off the bench, did the same when met with an open net after botched clearance fell at his feet.
Brett Emerton shot just wide.
Kewell sent one over the bar again when attempting a 30-yard lob as Brazilian goalkeeper Dida was off his line.
The AC Milan keeper then saved a Bresciano shot at full stretch.
Mark Viduka agonisingly missed a header wide and another shot hit the crossbar late.
The Australians certainly had their chances, but despite the disappointment of the result, they received a boost from the other game in Group F.
Japan and Croatia played out a scoreless draw.
With a superior goal difference, Australia needed a win or a draw against Croatia to advance to the Round of 16.
But they risked being without their Liverpool superstar Kewell.
After the final whistle, he engaged in a heated, finger-pointing altercation with German referee Markus Merk, who had blown 25 fouls against Australia and only nine against Brazil.
The incident led FIFA to cite Kewell for professional misconduct and threaten to suspend him.
Pulisic in doubt for Socceroos clash | 04:27
‘SMOKING CIGARS WITH THE COACH’
It was fitting that Australia’s do-or-die World Cup clash would come against a country with which the Socceroos shared such a close relationship.
The Croatian communities in Melbourne and Sydney had been key players in the old National Soccer League.
In the 2006 squad, Mark Viduka and Jason Culina were both products of the Melbourne Knights (formerly named Melbourne Croatia).
Culina started his senior career with Sydney United (another Croatian club), who also boasted Tim Cahill, Tony Popovic, Mile Sterjovski and Zeljko Kalac as their alumni in Hiddink’s squad.
There was also Australian influence in the Croatian camp.
Josip Simunic was born in Canberra.
The centre back started his youth career at Croatia Deakin in the nation’s capital before spending time with Viduka at the Australian Institute of Sport and later starting his senior career at Melbourne Knights.
But Simunic made the call in 2001 to represent Croatia – his parents were Bosnian Croats – after making his name at club level in the Bundesliga.
The ties between the two countries ran deep.
It is why in the lead up there was so much interest in the Croatian team back home in Australia.
Croatia had failed to make it out of the group in Korea and Japan four years earlier, but they finished third in France in 1998.
There was a lot of respect for the Croatians in Australia and Socceroos fans wanted to know exactly what they were dealing with.
So, then-football editor of The Daily Telegraph Tom Smithies sent his colleague David Davutovic to Croatian training for a few days in the build-up.
Davutovic, who is now Football Australia’s Director — Media Communications, was a young reporter with News Corp at the time but was perfect for the task as he spoke Croatian and boasted contacts within Croatian football, partly thanks to his own heritage.
But no one could have expected how close he would get to the team.
“When the Croatian team came to Stuttgart to play that game against the Socceroos, they came on the train,” Smithies recalled to foxsports.com.au.
“We were waiting on the platform to try and get some quotes or some photos, but the German police were pushing us back.
“They came off the train and right in the middle of the team is David Davutovic and he was chatting away with them.
“He got some great stories and I think he might have been smoking cigars with the coach at one point.”
USA’s war of words continue with Aussies | 01:03
‘HE HAD A NIGHTMARE’
Not unlike last Sunday when Tony Popovic’s starting XI was revealed, Australians were shocked when the team to face Croatia came out.
Kewell had escaped suspension, so the nation was relieved to see the Liverpool star’s name on the team sheet.
But no one could believe the first name on it.
For the most important match in the Socceroos’ history to date, Guus Hiddink decided to bench Mark Schwarzer.
One of the heroes of the Uruguay penalty shootout was out. AC Milan shot stopper Zeljko Kalac was in.
Unfortunately for Hiddink, it did not work as well as Popovic’s decision to play Patrick Beach instead of regular Socceroos captain Mat Ryan.
Kalac, standing at 202cm tall, is the tallest player to have ever represented the Socceroos.
He is a man mountain and that was one of the key aspects to Hiddink’s thinking to ditching Schwarzer.
“Kalac is really tall and Croatia had some really tall players,” Smithies recalled.
“He also spoke Croatian and they thought he’d be able to understand what they were saying to each other when they had set piece plans.
“He had a nightmare that day. Conceded one goal to a mistake and almost conceded another to a mistake.
“But generally, Hiddink didn’t make too many mistakes in his career.”
Australia got off the worst possible start with Darijo Srna scoring a sensational free-kick in just the third minute.
Only needing a draw to advance, the Socceroos were chasing the game from nearly the outset.
But Hiddink’s men responded as Craig Moore calmly slotted a penalty in the 39th minute to ensure the scores would be level heading into half-time.
It was Australia’s first goal in the first half of a World Cup game and many were surprised that Moore was the one to take it after a Croatian handball in the box.
Post-game, the defender joked that he had the honour because he was the oldest volunteer.
Although, he set the record straight in an interview with SBS in 2020.
“I was taking the penalty and Viduka missed a couple leading in if you can remember?” Moore recalled.
“My thought process was, it’s a World Cup. Imagine you can score a goal in a World Cup?
“That’s something unbelievable but I’m like ‘there are better players than me that have missed penalties in the history of football so just get up.’
“The only little bit of doubt, which wasn’t really there was, I wasn’t having a great game but to get up, to make good contact with the ball most importantly and don’t focus or think about anything else.
“I managed to do that, the goalkeeper goes down nice and early, which probably makes it look a better penalty then what it was and then it was relief – not that I had scored but we’re back in this.”
When the teams walked out for the second half, that was when the fun truly began.
Socceroos make a statement vs Turkey! | 01:29
‘IT WAS ABSOLUTELY MENTAL’
Anytime you watch the replay of Australia’s clash with Croatia at the 2006 World Cup, you could pick up something new.
At the ground at the time, it was near impossible to keep up with the various storyline unfolding.
“It was so hard to keep a track of what was going on because so many narratives were going on,” Smithies recalled.
“Croatia scored from a free kick then Craig Moore scored the penalty.
“Viduka was clearly held down by Josep Simunic, who grew up at the AIS and knew Viduka really well.
“Somehow Graham Poll, the referee didn’t give a penalty. If we had VAR back then, that’s a stone-cold penalty.
“But then Harry Kewell’s equaliser may have been ruled out by VAR for offside.
“Kalac made the mistake for the second Croatia goal. Harry got the equaliser. Simunic got the third yellow card.
“It was absolutely mental.”
There is a lot to unpack from that wild second half.
Hiddink had egg all over his face as Kalac, who is an assistant to Graham Arnold with Iraq at the current World Cup, produced a howler.
Niko Kovac’s shot from outside the box should have been a regular save for the goalkeeper.
But the ball bounced off his gloves, over his body as he fell, and rolled into the net.
Australian hearts sank.
Many feared that the Socceroos’ World Cup dream was over in staggering fashion.
There was still more than half an hour left on the clock, however, and there were plenty more twists and turns to come.
Australia found its response when Mark Bresciano’s cross sailed over the head of John Aloisi and fell to Kewell at the far post.
After taking a touch, Kewell blasted his right foot shot into the back of the net and Australia were level once again.
Commentator Simon Hill said it best: “Australia’s golden boy has come up with a golden goal! It just had to be Harry!”
The noise inside the stadium was deafening.
Kewell sprinted down the far sideline and jumped for joy.
“The ball came across so I took it with my left and hit it with my right,” Kewell recalled to the Socceroos website in 2020.
“Seeing that ball go into the back of the net, you can see the relief on my face because I had just scored on the biggest stage of football.
“That’s exciting, not many people get the opportunity to score and as it turned out, the goal was the one that sent us through to the last 16, which we were never expected to make.”
Kewell’s goal came in the 79th minute, leaving the Socceroos with a nervy finish.
Three red cards were shown by the time the final whistle blew.
Dario Simic was the first to be sent off and Emerton suffered the same fate two minutes later to leave both teams with ten men for the dying minutes.
Chaos really ensued after the final whistle, however, as Simunic was shown a red card after receiving his third yellow card.
The Australian-born Croatian confronted Poll after the game ended and received a booking.
But moments earlier when Simunic received a second yellow in the 90th minute, Poll somehow forgot to send him off.
The English referee later said that Simunic’s strong Australian accent had caused confusion him and he wrote down the name of Australia’s #3 Craig Moore instead when recording the second booking.
It was an astonishing error that led to Poll never officiating a World Cup match again.
He was not alone in not realising the mistake, however.
Socceroos squad member Archie Thompson was too nervous on the sidelines that he did not realise what had taken place.
It was a wild ending that stunned the world, but in the end, the Australians did not care.
There was jubilation in the stands and the players soaked in the atmosphere with a lap of honour that is burned into their memories forever.
“I think how many fans were there in Stuttgart was just insane,” Thompson recalled to foxsports.com.au.
“The way that we got through with that goal was amazing.
“To be honest, I don’t think I knew what we actually needed.
“I was like ‘have we done it?’.
“Walking around the pitch knowing we’d gone through to the next phase was just next level.
“I think AC/DC was playing. It was a special moment.”
There was no rest for the wicked, however.
Smithies and his colleagues in the media had to frantically rearrange their travel arrangements.
They all had flights back to Australia booked for the following day as their employers had expected a group stage exit.
Meanwhile, Hiddink made the players train the next afternoon.
There would be no resting on their laurels as heavyweights Italy awaited.
#Adessonews seleziona nella rete articoli di particolare interesse.
Se vuoi leggere l’articolo completo clicca sul seguente link
Source link
