Whatever our fate, pride in the jersey must be restored
CRAIG FOSTER
June 20, 2010
By the time you read this, our World Cup destiny will have been, either partly or wholly, decided.
Sitting in Cape Town after a week in which everyone, whether media, coaches or pundits from around the world, has talked about Australia as the lowliest team in the tournament, my prayer is that, irrespective of results, the team restored Australia's football pride.
Not our pride in the boys themselves - this is always undiminished - but in the way we play and in our qualities.
The USA have stolen Australia's thunder with two stirring comeback results, New Zealand played superbly under Ricki Herbert, tactically sound and composed, and others such as Serbia, Switzerland and a fantastic Mexico team have achieved wonderful results to thrill the world.
We want to stay here. This is where Australia belongs. This is a journey that is so profound that the effects last another four years. The tension and passion are extraordinary. As Sports Minister Kate Ellis described this week, the overwhelming impression of being at the World Cup is simply its scale.
This is not just in television viewers and crowds, but in emotion and joy, heartbreak and tears. No other game can ignite the passions like this one, and every few days brings a new horde of supporters into town, cockahoop about their chances, singing and blowing their new vuvuzelas. Ninety minutes later, people exit the stadium in ecstasy or tears, screaming and hollering, cursing the coaches or the gods. There is quite simply nothing like it.
Take the English fans - their arrival brings a different feeling, a heightened security presence and an edgy mood among the opposing fans, but their love and passion for the three lions is simply amazing. How they must be hurting after an awful performance against Algeria, with a vast array of stars unable to operate as a unit. But their fans are demanding, passionate, proud and fiercely loyal, and are an incredible sight.
And what of us?
The first game was devastating not because of the loss - this was always to be accepted - but for the manner. We all have our own views, and football thrives and lives on opinion, but here in South Africa, it was called gutless. One scribe wrote that the players had yellow streaks down their backs. This is why so many former players, including myself, reacted so fiercely, because we all fought tooth and nail for that shirt and for the game back home.
And no one can be granted the right to make decisions that risk trampling on the integrity of Australian football.
The class of 2006 and 2010 have taken the game to a new level, but never forget that the foundation was laid by those in 1969 and 1974, who threw away jobs, and many of whom have very little today. Save for the past 20 years, the several hundred former players pre-1980 worked multiple jobs as they played, lost families because of the load, and walk with a limp today courtesy of poor medical conditions.
And you know what? Not a single one would give back one second. It is a gift and is worth every sacrifice. Every heartache. All the decades of work are nothing compared to the moment one pulls on the Socceroos shirt.
That is what it means to us. And if you saw the beautiful pictures of the North Korean player openly weeping during his national anthem in the match against Brazil, now you know how we all felt. Rare is the player whose eyes did not glisten at every anthem, or cry in his first.
One Brazilian poet called the Selecao the ''motherland in football boots'', meaning that the national football team is the face of the country, the nation on display, and the way they play represents them all.
When USA fight with strong spirit we see every American athlete, and we know they are always fierce competitors. When Brazil finally played a few passages of stunning football, we saw their culture coming through in the players, the urge to entertain, to show off, to celebrate football even as they play.
And so it is for Australia. This was the beauty of four years ago, that we all felt a part of the team, because we instantly recognised how they fought, the pride they showed, and our spirit coming through.
This is, I pray, what happened last night, and that Australia has kept our World Cup dreams alive.
But win, lose or draw, what is most important is that the team defends the honour of the Australian football shirt, the Socceroos jersey, because it is a part of every one of us.
http://www.smh.com.au/world-cup-2010/world-cup-news/whatever-our-fate-pride-in-the-jersey-must-be-restored-20100619-ynu6.html