Verbeek must ally organisation to raw Australian spirit

CRAIG FOSTER
May 30, 2010

If ever there was a demonstration that football is about more than results, it was the Australia-New Zealand friendly. The Socceroos won, undeservingly, and Australia reacted with disappointment because of the way they played.

Every great achievement has its genesis in a primordial driving force. A reason to excel, to do good, to change the world - or prove the world wrong. Pim Verbeek will do well to build on the wounded pride of the Australians in the next few weeks.

The timing was good - the poor performance now behind them and the reaction will have stung the group. Lucas Neill had a steely glint in his eye addressing the media in South Africa a few days later, stating defiantly that the team believes in each other, the coach believes in them and, come what may, the Socceroos will go down fighting.

Advertisement: Story continues belowBravo, Lucas. They're the words of a leader that Australians need to hear. An impassioned statement that our boys, our representatives, will play in the most Australian of ways: with spirit and desire, fierce pride and belief. Results are the priority, but football is about passion and is a cultural expression that provides a window to the soul of a nation. Therefore, a national team must reflect its people.

We are a country that will look you squarely in the eye, shake your hand when saying 'Good luck, mate' at the coin toss, and mean it because we want to beat you fair and square. Then we'll smash you to a pulp, pick you up, dust you off, and say, 'Well played, better luck next time'.

We are fiercely aggressive and proud in sport, and a nation that consistently punches above our weight. And we usually remain humble in triumph or defeat.

Australia doesn't cheat and we don't complain; we just get on with the game and abide by the spirit of the rules. And, god willing, we win. In football, there are two necessary qualities to succeed, in equal measure: the head and the heart.

Australia has traditionally relied too much on the heart, and more calculating teams have taken advantage of that. But nor can we play only the fractions, the millimetres, without the spirit that defined our forebears on the Kokoda Track. This is why when Australia played contrary to our genetic code last Monday night, Australians said, 'We don't play like that'.

The genius of Guus Hiddink was that he harnessed the best of what we are and - allied to a higher level of thought and organisation - allowed our boys to reveal their Aussie soul to the world. And, by extension, ours. Verbeek must do the same.

Every World Cup throws up a team or two that rise above caution to captivate the world, and the Socceroos are also tasked with once again captivating their own nation for the good of Australian football.
http://www.smh.com.au/world-cup-2010/world-cup-news/verbeek-must-ally-organisation-to-raw-australian-spirit-20100529-wmop.html