Socceroos have made a nation proud
It's very rare I comment on current affairs here, but this event just seems worthy. The Socceroos have generated a following that gets large groups of people up in the early hours of the morning to gather around chilly outdoor screens to watch a game taking place on the other side of the world. And in a sport unfamiliar to Aussies. I have never before witnessed such a diversity of people with such a shared passion.
The Socceroos beat their reputation and rose to the World Cup challenge. This wasn't a case of almost good enough - their game play was as good as any in the competition. Millions of Australians recognise their Socceroos by face and by name, and appreciate their place in the team. Everyone involved is worthy of praise for allowing Australians to stand tall, support their team on the world stage and win the respect of soccer's legends.
This morning Australia were beaten by Italy 1-0. Italy created lots of good chances in the first half. Their forwards are lightning quick and can turn any casual possession into an opportunity. Consistently though, the Australian defence was solid and the sheer brilliance of Schwarzer kept them goal-less. Schwarzer's reflexes, vision and skill are awe-inspiring, but the tireless work of Chipperfield was Australia's greatest asset this morning in my mind. Time and time again he skilfully tackled a striker, thwarting an attack before running the ball 50 yards and delivering it to an Australian foot. Then magically he would appear near the goal mouth ready to smash home anything loose.
The first half was an even affair, with Italy having more chances but Australia keeping fine possession. After Italy lost Marterazzi to a straight-up red card in the second half however, they never looked like they were in the game. Australia heard God Huddink's tactical tips and used the one up advantage to swing the ball from wing to wing, stretching the Italians and looking for an opening. Every counter-attack by the Italians, which in the first half had often lead to dangerous moments for Australia, was quickly shut down in the second half as the Socceroos retained possession and worked their attack again.
Mercifully, at the start of the game the referee did not continue the uneven treatment of tackles Australia had seen earlier in the competition, awarding fair free kicks to both sides. Sickeningly, this attitude appeared to breakdown in the second half as Italy were awarded more and more controversial decisions. Nonetheless, both teams on the whole kept their cool, despite some brief heated exchanges, and the most flowing, purposeful and enjoyable soccer took place.
The positional of the Italian defense, and in particular the clever thinking of their keeper saw the Socceroos with only a few actual chances and no conversions. After the Socceroos threw everything at the Italians for the remainder of the second half, notching up a significantly greater possession statistic, the game looked destined for extra time. As the 3 minutes of added time counted down and with 10 seconds to go, Italy made a break down the left hand side with the frightful speed they had demonstrated earlier. The Socceroos were caught out of step and made two unsuccessful challenges before managing to clear the ball. Unfortunately, in a decision that is likely to be analysed for many days to come, the second challenge by Neill was ruled an offence and the referee pointed to the spot. A replay showed that the challenge left the Australian defender on the ground after a missed tackle, while the Italian striker failed to avoid the grounded Socceroo, taking a dramatic dive. After a heartening display of "get up and get on with it" for most of the game by both sides, this was surely one of the harshest decisions of the competition so far.
The penalty was professional dealt with leaving Schwarzer no chance and the game was lost in the 95th minute with a dot shot.
As millions of Australians shake their head in disbelief, the scenes playing over in my head are the confident, skilful, fluid and tightly executed possession and set-up work performed by the Socceroos for the large majority of the game. The Socceroos have without a doubt, proved their worth, disrupted the sleep of countless people and given Aussies something they've always liked. Sporting heroes.