And he (Jim Fraser) was Australia's clearly first choice goalkeeper at the time, he would have started every match in West Germany. He was a very good goalkeeper.

hehehe I know, wakes up every morning and regrets though :)

What about old mate that didn't go because his business lost money every time he went away with Australia?

Far out.

I luv the old terms its the way it was and you dealt with it or not were Aussies plain and simple.

Yeah, must have been a real buzz.... massive massive achievement just to get there, let alone compete.... No wogs or convicts for me, they where all Socceroos regardless of where they were born or what "effnik" clubs they played for... thats what SOME people dont understand.... they hide behind their racist misconceptions and think they are being progressive... 

yes mate I agree, can only admire those guys - wogs and some convict/anglos from an outpost far far away they never heard of.......
De Kaiser add in Muller, juggernaughts at the time.
3nil loss against them considering the divide wasn't that bad, bet people expected a whitewash.
Chile was another known back then, to get a draw and Richards was red carded late in the game was another good performance.
East Grem we suffered a OG and they scored later in the 2nd.

Imagine how they felt amongst the WC facilities, the crowds, day to day, talk about mental health and support - they would have said gtfo lol.......

This is when I fell in love with football, watching the 74 Socceroos & these names all became my heroes.
The NSL didn't start till 1977.

hahaha there will ALWAYs be arguments over selections ... Speaking to dad and my uncles, they where just amazed that Australia was playing in the Mundial back then.... 

plumbers and bricklayers squared up to Benckenbauer's Germany FFS... what a miracle... 

hey no point crying over split milk fellas, there will always be this bloke should have been picked.
Damn typical bitter mexicans :)  j/k but as is for most things, whereever HQ is selections or decisions dominate.

And Jimmy Armstrong 68, 72 and 74 Golden boot in VIC. 

Tommy McColl should have been in that squad- if only he hadn't exiled himself to Africa.

Great doco, loved seeing it... Way before my time but speaking to the old soccer fans down here there was a lot of bitterness from VIC and SA clubs about the representation of the Socceroos being 95% NSW based. Brunswick Juve, Melbourne JUST, Georgies and of course South Melb were top state league clubs in the era, not to mention Adelaide Juve, and Hellas in SA yet no national squad call ups???? 

Thanks johns, I've loaded it in ready to view when the time permits, I started it to see IF I needed to change anything but doesn't seem so for me so yer, look forward viewing this later on.

https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/unsere-geschichte/als-die-wm-in-den-norden-kam/ndr/Y3JpZDovL25kci5kZS9wcm9wbGFuXzE5NjIwODY0MV9nYW56ZVNlbmR1bmc

Might need German VPN but a documentary in  WC 74 in the north and it features Manfred Schäfer returning to the old sites with about 6min dedicated to Australia.

Just finished watching it. 

Well done whoever put that together.

Booney true my bad re NSL though I was just shooting off too quickly that even pre NSL how relatively primitive we were.
Talking coach’s omg how brilliant and lucky we had Rale’s passion vision and fight for the squad and game here.
Imo he is right up there and more than Guus when you compare the resources.
Imagine Rale today looking after the Socceroos.
Yes I recall Williams - he was very handy - your right why haven’t we nurtured more of them.
I was getting pretty emotional watching this link for the 2nd time I am getting old/er.

The NSL did not start till 1977 so all these players came from state based competitions which makes it even more incredible what they achieved.Loved Ray Richards.When Santos toured here he marked the great Pele who complimented him after the game saying he played hard but was not trying to kick him off the park as many other players who were full professionals did in that era.

Let's not forget there was an Aboriginal player,Harry Williams,in that squad.He was a LB principally and would have been a good wingback in more recent times.It is a pity that our code has not really spent too much time trying to involve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders-they have wonderful hand-eye and foot-eye coordination.The Moriarty foundation does put an effort in but I am not sure how much funding the organisation gets-probably very little,if any from Federal and State governments

This era doesn’t get any of the recognition it deserves imo.
Semi Pros 
Only 16 NT’s make it back then compared to the coming 48 ! 

Scheinflug was the best Australian player of the early to mid sixties

Thanks MCG will look at this when the time permits.
74 was epic and hurtful at the same time.
My long time Jnr Club Murray Barnes played for and his Roo shirt is framed in the club house.

fun lucnh time yarn

Les Sheiflug a real giant in our game. Part of the 74 team and also the junior coach during the 90s

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nzLg9uN1Mh4&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2F&feature=emb_title