When he says it’s the game that the migrants play he is referring to the post ww2 wave of immigration that saw a lot of Greeks, Italians, yugoslavians etc move to australia and they brought football culture with them.
When he says “the game the migrants play” he means post-war migrants (Greeks, Italians, Eastern Europeans). Football until the 2000s was primarily associated with/organised around migrant communities. So in Melbourne you had: Melbourne Knights (Croatian), South Melbourne (Greek), Heidelberg (Macedonian) etc
Joseph J “The Heidelberg United Alexander Soccer Club was founded in 1958 by Greek immigrants from Florina, Macedonia...Their successful gathering attracted mostly Florinians” I didn’t mean Macedonia in the north Macedonian sense.
I've been involved in a lot of soccer-based international online communities through FM and most hardcore fans of the game enjoy that all our national teams have nicknames.
Pretty well all our national sports teams have names. No one would say we don't take Rugby seriously when we call them the Wallabies. Even England has the Lions. One of the few times I think Rob is talking out his arse.
Every Australian team has its own nickname. Aside from the Socceroos and Matilda’s, we have the opals, boomers, wallabies, Kangaroos, Diamonds, Dolphins, Kookaburras, Hockeyroos etc. To us it doesn’t cheapen them or make them less, it’s just something we do.
@@tommyandrewd their nickname is the "baggy greens" but it is rarely used due to the fact that a green cap in cricket is not totally unique to Australia, like the blackcap is unique to the New Zealand team
Sport success is built on tribal loyalties. Whether it’s AFL or Rugby league, Aussies are extremely loyal to their clubs. These big soccer games are more events than sustainable supporters. Same as when Rugby State of Origin or Boxing Day Test at the MCG. I love multiple sports but I couldn’t tell you the name of one current Socceroo.
The same here. I try to go to at least one Union international each year with my sister. I just don't follow it closely enough anymore to know any of the players.
A lot of Aussie’s can’t get into soccer due to the low scoring compared to AFL and Rugby. Also the way players take a gentle push and go down with 6 rolls and screaming like they’ve been shot.
As an Aussie, the high scoring of AFL and Rugby is the more boring side of those sports. The play acting in soccer is because it is a far bigger sport where things matter more.
@@timmarks8941 Yep. When your grandma is freezing the opponents team list before the match and your mother is chanting curses you have to win the competition played by the whole world. Little old sport in Australia is insignificant in comparison ;)
Having the nicknames of roo or matilda means a lot to Australians. It's signifies our "fighting/batling" spirit. Our Never give up mentality so don't knock it.
So when I came over to Melbourne from the UK, my first primary school fight and I no joke got KOd for it, I wanted to play football and my mates started teaching me AFL I said at the young age of 10 “what’s the point in AFL you can use hands and feet, there’s no skill, no wonder it’s known all over the world as aerial ping pong” next thing I know it’s the end of recess and I got a thumping headache and a swollen black eye 😂
One of the greatest scenes in Australian Soccer was when Liverpool came to visit. 95,000 people at the MCG to watch Liverpool play in a friendly against Melbourne City. All that could be seen was RED. 95,000 people singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. Even as a pomme who lived & worked in Liverpool was a sight that could not help but move you.
Lots of Aussies just think it’s a soft game. Dudes flopping on the ground trying to trick the referee. Holding parts of their bodies that didn’t even get hit. Rolling around like they’ve just been shot. When your national games are AFL and rugby, football looked weak. Why it struggled for traction.
See the problem is you goofs think that every single player is like this. You barely see shit like that but of course you know netter you guys are football experts that have never kicked a ball
Basically every Aussie international team has a nickname. Wallabies, the Diamonds, the Boomers, Kookaburras etc. Don't see why Socceroos or Matildas is any different.
Played soccer for 10 years as a kid, fantastic game to play. Local league was third rate and dominated by post WWII migrants who seemed to bring their old school grievances to Australia. Another reason soccer hasn't taken off is the perception it is a 'weak' game physically. Australians absolute hate the diving and the way players look like they have been shot. We lost in the qtr finals in 2006 to a blatant dive by the Italians and everybody saw soccer for what it is, just a game with little score and cheats going down like their leg has been cut off when not even touched. The A league has going backwards and again is a third rate competition. Real football supporters get up early or stay up to midnight or 1.00 am to watch Premier League. And you are wrong that soccer is the only sport with atmosphere. Most don't see singing songs atmosphere, more like nothing is going on, on the pitch which is often the case. An Aussie Rules game has the most atmosphere of any game I have ever been to (and I have been to international soccer matches, International Rugby and League matches and Boxing Day tests). The action, high marks, physical courage and scoring making soccer live in Australia look second rate.
Also how you can say a penalty shootout is exciting is weird. If a game is so flawed that can't be resolved in normal or extra time, there is something seriously wrong. Might as well go straight to penalties in most big games. So ridiculously boring.
@@RobReacts1 really sorry I jinxed the English speaking about penalties. To me Italy has not won on merit, you might as well toss a coin or do scissor paper rocks to decided who is champion.
The problem association football has in Australia is the same one that both rugby codes face in the UK. In the UK association football is so huge as a national cultural entity that neither league nor union can compete in terms of fan numbers or media interest and consequently finance. In Aus, Rugby League in NSW & Queensland and Aussie Rules in other states have the same deep rooted cultural base as football in the UK and that doesn't leave much space for another sport to grow. It is pretty unlikely that association football will grow much beyond occupying the same niche role in Aus that the rugby codes do in the UK in my opinion. The advantage association football has is that it is truly global in a way that not many other sports are and this can/has helped its growth in Australia.
@@RobReacts1 national team success definitely helps. But having other well established sports with huge fan bases and media backing puts a limit on things - Rugby Union in England has always been well supported at international level (as Aussie association football now is) - but even after England won the union world cup, average crowds for their top tier domestic competition rarely reach 15,000 (well below even 2nd tier football). Association football in UK and NRL & AFL in Aus are just so deeply rooted that they don't leave space for other sports to compete with them. Aussie Rules doesn't seem to be at too much of a disadvantage in not being able to stage international matches (excluding international rules). They just get on with being the dominant football code in none rugby league areas of Australia.
I miss Johnny and Les. The boy from Oz & the boy from Hungary showed this country what a sport can do and unite us like no other. They broke down many racists in this country. True patriots. True gentlemen.
I am Australian. My dad was born in Europe and loves the game. The earliest match I remember was the qualifier against Iran. I started to cry when I saw my dad crying. I woke up early to watch the 2001 match against Uruguay and going to school that day was so hard after we lost. In 2005, we watched it together and I don't think I've bit off more fingernails. We cried together again, but this time tears of joy. This meant so much to so many people in the country. Sport in one of the few things in the world that brings people across a nation together.
Btw Iran has a population of 81 million, their GDP is 19th in the world, their most popular sport is Football. They’ve won the Asian cup 3 times. Ever player in their national team plays in a European League. They’re a powerful team, not top 10 powerful, but they were always a threat.
I played football ( soccer ) all my life. However i struggle to watch it unless its a big game or Australia is playing. Aussie rules ( footy ) i can easily sit a watch .
I tried to get into AFL and the NRL. I noticed how bored I got very quickly. My love for football is unfathomable. The skill, excitement and atmosphere is unmatched.
@@numynumevs I’ve played it and it’s one of the easiest sports I’ve played. The most challenging of sports I’ve played is golf, tennis, table tennis, karate, athletics, swimming and football.
We love the name " Matildas " . You actually hit the nail on the head with your comments about it but that is exactly why we love it . It carries that , very Australian , understated humor , which we love so much . It's not meant to belittle the sport or anything , it's to remind us who we are .
@@newbris oh come on "Socceroos" ? you don't think that's a humourus , jokey name ? You think that the people who decided on that name did it without a sly grin . ok .
The names such as the Matildas actually makes it more significant and iconic for us. Nothing belittling in it, rather, what it means to be Australian. Consider this, Waltzing Matilda is as Australian as it gets, if we didnt have a national anthem already, Waltzing Matilda would be it...hence, the Matildas.
As an Australian I can’t take soccer seriously. When I see players diving and being awarded unjust free kicks: it degrades the game. Work on stamping that out of the game and I might be more incline to watch it and take it seriously.
As a non immigrant Aussie who loved football and was teased by my mates at times for it, Australia qualifying for a world cup meant alot. And it triggered a rise in popularity that's still on a steady increase. Very important and memorable night in our sporting history.
A lifetime AFL fan here, I was only 4 at the time of that game but would’ve loved to have seen it live. While I’m not a proper football fan I do think it’s amazing sport, especially for its global success. However, I think nearly every proper AFL fan will take the belief that our game is the greatest to the grave. I honestly get a little scared sometimes that AFL could be overwhelmed by football in Australia in the future. Perhaps other AFL fans feel the same leading to resentment towards football.
The part that's missing from this story is our fate once we got to Germany. We got out of the group by the skin of our teeth and matched it with eventual winners Italy for 85 minutes only to be beaten by a guy taking a dive in the box giving Italy a penalty. ...and there lies the problem. Australians will watch, even love our Socceroos but whilever a game as important as that can be decided by a guy taking a dive, Soccer/Football will never be the number one sport of the masses.
Yeah in Australia football/soccer fans call it football and non football fans call it soccer but when I’m talking to people that don’t like football I call it soccer it kills me 😂
For me personally at least, (bear in mind I'm in Sydney), football is football, rugby league is footy or league, rugby union is union or rugby, and Aussie rules is aussie rules (or cross-country volleyball when I'm being silly).
@@peterelworthy4601 yeah it depends on where you’re in Australia. I’m from Melbourne so afl is footy and in Victoria not that many people know the difference between league and union so we call it all rugby ( yeah I know its wrong 😂)
@@anthonyf3680 Yeah, I can see why those not familiar with either rugby code don't know the difference between the two. It's interesting that "AFL" has in some ways become the generic term for the whole game, regardless of whether it's describing an actual AFL game or any other Aussie Rules game from a comp that isn't the AFL.
Happy to say that Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill, Mark Schwarzer, John Aloisi, Mark Bresciano and the rest became household names over night thanks to that match. There's no way Cahill could walk down the main street of Melbourne and not be recognised now.
I flew in from Melbourne for this match with my brother and cousin. Was lucky to get tickets for this game and remains one of the greatest nights of my life. I barely remember the night after celebrating when we got back to Sydney except chugging down a jug with some randoms and recalling I somehow made it back to my hostel safely in my correct bed with my wallet and phone. This match was everything to me as a football fan.
Johnny Warren once said that wanting to play football for Australia was like wanting to Ski for Saudi Arabia . That was from an Australian Football player , such was the state of the sport at the time . ( circa 1970s )
All of our international teams have similar names. Socceroos, Matilda's, jillaroos, hockeyroos, kangaroos, wallabies, it goes on and on haha I personally love the names
football will never replace AFL in Aussie minds, but its status has really gone up since the world cup and the introduction o fthe A League. Aussies love the name Soccoroos and Matilda's, they're not derogatory they are names that recognise their Aussie identities. A lot of parents are challenging their kids into soccor because they see it as a safer sport than AFL.
I was at the Olympic Stadium that night our team qualified. I couldn’t watch the penalty shootout. I couldn’t bare another disappointment after attending almost every WC qualifier since the late 1980s. You can imagine my enthusiasm and disbelief with qualification! We were so pumped! We stayed at the stadium for a good hour afterwards. We didn’t want the night to end. It was like winning the WC and we only qualified! Don’t ask me what I’d do if we ever win the WC! I don’t believe we will in my lifetime but can you imagine if we did!?!
Everyone in Aus calls their own preferred code " football " . Rugby League fans call it football , AFL - football , Rugby - football , I once had an argument with a bloke in a bar about how bad / good the " Bulldogs " were playing in " Football " for about quarter of an hour before we realised we were talking about different sports . That is partly why Soccer is called Soccer , Rugby League is " League " , Rugby Union is " Union " or " Rugby " and AFL is " Rules " or AFL .
In the early days of state league soccer the violence between fans put many Aussies off the game at AFL and Rugby games fans from opposing teams for the most part could sit next to each other without any problems, then as the overseas game got TV time the endless diving (as you covered 4 months ago) went against the grain here also flares being thrown around didn't go down well with authorities. I believe the Matilda's took the name from the song Waltzing Matilda almost the national anthem in Australia.
I loved the wrap of that video of us qualifying in 2005. I remember exactly where I was on this night, I was at home alone. I am Australian (born in Australia) with Italian parents. I grew up playing soccer (I will call it that) for 30 years, played with Vidmar in his younger year in Under 16's. I supported Adelaide City (Juventus, Adelaide's version) due to the strong Italian community, and there was also West Adelaide Hellas (Greek Community), there were others, but the other ethnic communities were not as strong. It was a great rivalry with City V West. When they took the ethnic related fabric of the club that grew the league to what it was, I stopped going and lost interest and started to invest my interests in AFL. I could see what the A-League were trying to do, but I wasn't happy that a clubs like West Adelaide and Adelaide City, not even a hint of history ) colours of the clubs to bring into the new league, banished from the Australian Soccer scene making way for the new production teams creating new souls and passion. A lot of Adelaide City supporters struggled to back to watch the A-League as it was manufactured. At that time, soccer was competing with the AFL who were worried about that game, because it could possibly effect it by capturing AFL supporters to jump onboard the pre A-League and that it would increase its footprint in the Australian media outlets. 60% of AFL supporters were hoping for Australia to lose so that it would keep our football code quiet for another 4 years. When Aloisi scored that famous penalty, it changed the sporting landscape in Australia, not only on the football stands and amateur soccer grounds but also in the media. Every media wanted to know the ins and outs of every Australian soccer palyer on that day. That win was a like 7.3 on the Richter Scale in the Australian sporting landscape. I cant speak for anyone else, but 50% of my emotion that I released on that day for me was the satisfaction to stick it up those who trashed the sport back then when I was playing and at that time. 50% was pure emotion of getting to the world cup. I still get goose bumps and tears, not for the "Socceroo's" but for Johnny Warren, I always think if him watching that game. I've watched every World Cup with my dad since 1972, with Italy as the country to support with out Australia competing in all until 2006. Now with Australia in and I am much older and wiser and knowing that I am a proud Aussie, watching Australia play Italy in 2006, was a hard game to watch. I didn't know who to support. If Australia would have defeated Italy in that game, Australian soccer would have helped greatly to build the sport down under. If you were not of British background back in the 60's and 70's, your're an immigrant... I know, we are all immigrants. Its a racists issue. Love your work Rob and your analysis of Australian Soccer and the World Game in general.
Wogball was always a game for kids growing up. I played 10 seasons of it as a kid, and enjoyed playing it, but the game the whole family would be sit down to watch on a Friday night was always Rugby League. Soccer was considered a non-contact sport by my parents, so they were happy to have us play as opposed to Junior League where you would get stomped by 6' tall 14 year old Islanders.
The reason it never took over in Aus is because we didn't have a strong league so foreign leagues took all of our best talent which meant we couldn't have a popular league. But in saying that we needed players to play and have success in the Euro leagues to come back so that we could have a strong national team. That was the perfect storm when all of the famous EPL guys plus a sprinkling of talent from the newly formed A league that took us to the quarter finals in our first WC in 30 years.
I’m getting more into “football” or soccer lately because of the euros atm, but breing from Melbourne AFL is my passion, and basketball after it so soccer really is on the back burner for a lot of us. We are full of migrants but you’re forced to immerse yourself in the strong unique culture of Australia that many favour other sports
Thoroughly enjoyed this football loving Englishman commentating on Australian culture. He is spot on. His intimate knowledge of our national thinking is absolutely correct. Well done, Sir.
Theres a few reasons we dont love soccer like other sports. Theres the historical racism, the lack of 'traditional entertainment' with the possibility of 0-0 draws. But most of all Australia like winners, we weren't good at soccer and kept failing so people didnt get around them.
This BS that Australians love “winners” is pure rubbish. It’s the media who don’t want to give any credit to the sport. Many Australians like football and many other sports. Football is more “real life”. There can be a winner, a loser, no winners, no losers, unfair aspects, luck, etc. That’s life and the game is beautiful.
@@josephj6521 Every sport has all those aspects. Australia likes winners...sorry to say its well know. We often turn a blind eye to a wanker-winner. Why do you think Aussies dont love Soccer then? When the rest of the world does?
We Struggled with the away games, most of our players are based in Europe so going straight to the Middle East or a Humid South east Asian country is tough. I was at the 1997 M.C.G Qualifier, Ive never herd the national anthem sung so loudly by so many people, and when Harry Kewell kicked that first goal the roar was insane. We go 2-0 up the crowd was singing and loving life, but that fool broke the mood and then the way it all ended soured what had been an incredible night.
As in all sports, it comes down to money and sponsorship, which was and is still channeled into AFL . It took along time, and I’m sure our success in 2005 helped
As soccer continues to eat up Australian territory, it can only be at the cost of our native game. For that reason I hope that soccer remains as a third tier code in Australia.
I used too. The old National Soccer League was a joke for so long in Australia. There was just no funding or real strong development in Australia. AFL is such a dominant sport. Rugby League is so popular. It really took the World Cup Qualification to change it all.
You are so wrong about the names, every senior team that represents Aus. on the world stage has a nickname and we love them, it's an Aussie thing, we shorten names in everyday language and these names are the same thing.
I'm an Aussie and I hate socceroos. It's embarrassing in international football. It doesn't matter with the other sports because only a few countries care.
In 2005 Cahill and Aloisi were bench players. In the current Australian team they'd be the best players on the pitch. It's really gone backwards since that 2006 World Cup when got to the round of 16 and we were only knocked out by Italy (the eventual winner) in the final minute thanks to a dubious penalty.
I played football as a young kid in regional Australia. It was just as popular as other sports, in fact at school everyone played football at lunchtime (you weren't allowed to play contact sports like the rugby codes or Aussie rules). But I've always enjoyed playing football rather than watching it. I'm a huge sports fan, but I just find it really hard to enjoy watching football on TV. It can get a little (apologies) boring, sometimes. I don't support any domestic team, either in the A League or other European leagues. It's easier to get behind the Socceroos, though, because they represent us all. I do enjoy cheering them on, especially with the added stakes of the WC.
I find it interesting that 'football' means different things in different parts of the world - most of the world it's association football, USA and Canada it's grid iron football. Then there is Australia where it means different things in different parts of the country - Rugby League in NSW & Qld & Aussie Rules in other areas.
November 16 2005 was the day of my final exam in my final year of school. I did my exam, went to a mates with about 15 other blokes to watch the game. When we won, we went to city and got royally mullered!
I'm a English born kiwi (grew up in NZ) living in Australia ,I grew up watching and playing the great game I remember watching that game I remember watching the kiwis get to the world cup too. But I remember the 2 penalties shoot outs England lost it was hart breaking. I followed Arsenal for many years I started watching and supporting them back the year it was Arsenal v West ham in the F A cup Final were the hammers won. I loved Pat Jennings, Glen hoddle, Tony Adam's, Ian Wright and all the rest it was a great shame England didn't do better back then England had some of the best ever players but they always chose there club over England.
Let's not forget that AUS qualified for the World Cup in 1973. Now that was a team of unknowns from a soccer wasteland. I was in Europe at the time, and the europeans could not believe AUS playing well against Poland, until the Poles called their best players into the stadium for the second half. Literally, they had fielded their second team. That is how unknown AUS was at the time.
I remember watching the game live in adelaide I have never screamed so loud in my life when that penalty wemt ib. I m a Afl fan plus liverpool member. I cant explain that moment. i love soccer, but was the best sporting moment i have ever seen.
I watched my first ever soccer game like 3 years ago I just can’t do it ! It’s just when I watch AFL the skill the courage the mateship the speed of the game is just next level It’s just so exciting I But then when it comes too the Australian teams around oz I’ll go for my country
Yeah I'm the same. Just can't watch much AFL, find it so boring in comparison to football. I guess when we know and love a sport we understand it properly. I also find the Australia only nature of AFL so boring. The world plays football and you learn about the whole world as a fan. Expands your horizons.
AFL is skillful? Seriously? I played it a handful of times and I was told I was very good and I didn’t grow up with it. Easy game to play but boring. Most contests are over by half time. Scoring into a goal as high as the sky isn’t difficult. I don’t see the excitement I’m sorry.
@@newbris the world need to understand how boring soccer is 😅. Hey watch it I don’t care But 2 minutes into an AFL game you can get 2-3 goals The pressure and intensity of AFL is next level but people think that’s boring 😂 what’s soccer then what’s worse then boring ? Anyone
@@themoviehobbit355 I’ve never seen an AFL RUclips clip, report or made any comments to enlighten AFL followers how easy and boring it’s to score a goal, holding a ball with your hands, 30m into the air with no chance of anyone stopping the shot for the exception of divine intervention. Why the football haters keep making derogatory comments all over the place? Dunno. 🙄
I always been an AFL supporter, 65 years and counting - but every 4 years or so I took an interest in how the national soccer team was faring. I don't claim to understand "the beautiful game", but there are aspects of it I do not like, such as - biased refereeing, taking a dive, where a player receives a slight touch in a "tackle" and drops to the ground as if shot, especially near the goal. In Aussie football that player would be jeered by players and the crowd. Another thing that gets me going is the off-side rule, who understands it? The only reason Italy won in 2006 is because a player took a dive to prevent the Australians winning that match, which would have knocked them out!
It does take alot of Aussies heaps of time and effort to get into a "european" brand of football that isn't aussie rules. My Mum was a perfect example. Loyal St Kilda supporter all her life, like her Mum, and wasn't into "wogball" until I tried for years to get her to a game. I finally got her to an A-League Melbourne Derby game, which City won, and after experiencing the atmosphere of the crowd singing, chanting and going nuts all game, the elation of goals in a tight, low scoring game (the opposite of AFL), she finally got into soccer. Takes Aussies alot, but they do get into it eventually. The LIVE experience helps.
I grew up in the 80's in a small country town (village for the English?). Every Saturday morning in winter I would play football for about 90 minutes, then walk 50 metres to the other field and have rugby training. There were always at least twice as many playing football as rugby. But only once or twice a year did we travel to another town to play football, the game just wasn't organised that way in rural Australia. Whilst every second week on a Sunday, we would be driving anywhere from an hour to 3 hours to play in mini rugby competitions. For decades football has had by far the highest rate participation rate of what we consider the four "football" codes in Australia (rugby league, rugby union, AFL, and of course football) in both adults and children. But the structure of the game just wasn't set up to capitalise on it very well for a long time. Hopefully a lot of that has changed in the 2000's.
Football is a second tier sport in Australia, Cricket and both rugby's are the sports here, soccer fought a tough battle in Australia but eventually came good.
I believe when they say 'Migrants' they are mainly referring to post WWII migrants. After the war there was a massive migration to Australia from Eastern Europe, in particular from Greece & Italy. Of course even in the late 40s, Aussie Rules was a well established sport even back then, it already had at least 50 years of history by that stage.
I was there you couldn't hear the person next to you the singing and cheering from the start through half time then 30 mins after the game was incredible.This was the closest feeling to actually Being at a major European stadium seeing Real -Barsa or Celtic - Rangers final.The reason it was suppressed in Australia is because it was a threat to the established sports that the T.V stations and news papers invested a fortune covering and the competition for advertising revenue.The media did everything possible to kill the game.Imagine the talent that the team would have if our top AFL,ARL and union players were part of the talent to choose from.We would be one of the leading national teams on the planet.The game relied on only a small percentage of the population mostly from the post WW2 ethic community and Aussies mostly with recent English roots that produced some incredible players but you can't compete against countries that have around 100 million + population with a small percentage of 25million when the most talented kids are encouraged to play league AFL or union.
I have tried really hard to like Soccer. One side of my family is an English migrant family, all my uncles go for either Sunderland or Newcastle (the family is from Durham). My grandad played at quite a high level according to my uncles. My grandad had a cousin who played for a professional Scottish club, he once scored against Celtic. I picked a club, I followed it for years, I would get up early in the morning to watch games. But the diving just drove me absolutely bonkers. Diving is so so soft, just keep your feet! There would have to be a huge cultural overhaul in this regard for me to start watching again. If I were in a country where it was the main sport, I am sure that I would enjoy it - as I love live games, culture of sport and atmosphere.
2005: when we started to like soccer. 2006: eliminated in the softest way possible, we remembered why we hate it. It's a dead sport in Aus now. I always wonder if it would be bigger if that 05/06 wave didn't crash out the way it did. Too many dives, low scoring, slow paced..
We could've been big in the sport but let's be honest the FFA have fucked it with the A-League diminishing in terms of support season after season and slowly sapping away what makes the sport unique as a fan spectacle. There is hope in the younger generation though. Younger fans here don't have the negative stigma of football pushed on them by the older generation so much, and are happily fans of Aussie Rules, Rugby and Football all at the same time.
I can remember this day so well. I'd had my final ever uni exam and then went to the pub my housemate was a bouncer at. For some reason there were only about 20 people in the pub as every other pub in town was also showing the game. When Aloisi's goal went in any alcohol left in our glasses ended up on the roof, walls or floor from celebrating so much. The owner of the pub then shouted us drinks for the rest of the night. A very memorable night!
The Oceania group needs to merge with the Asian group for World Cup Qualification. Simply because unless if you were Australia or New Zealand, nobody else in that group would ever play any team outside of their own Qualification Group in order to get a chance to improve or get stronger.
That’s what the player and the coach meant - it’s a migrant sport played by migrants in Australia and their persistence is what made it rise to the top.
As an Australian football fan these comments are disappointing. It does reflect alot of what the video says about Australian's views on football but there are still definitely still a lot of passionate football fans in Australia.
The entire country gets behind the national team during the World Cup. Everyone knows how big Football is around the world. Aussie Rules fan here and the World Cup has always had interest before Australia qualified, I remember watching France winning over Brazil in 1998 and supported South Korea’s run to the semi finals of 2002. But it’s much more exciting once your own country is involved, this qualifying game was incredible and our first game of the 2006 World Cup against Japan, our first win at the World Cup 3-1 scoring 3 goals in the last 10 minutes was incredible. (You need to react to that video) 2006 is called the golden era in Australian football, with Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka, Tim Cahill, Mark Swchartzer ect.. practically the entire team were playing in the big 4 European leagues at the time, the current team just doesn’t seem to have any big names. The name soccer is dropping off and Football is becoming more common. Domesticity though the A-league just doesn’t have the interest that the AFL or NRL does. Melbourne City just beat Sydney FC in the A-League Grand Final 2 weeks ago and you could walk around Melbourne and you would even know the game was on. Personally can’t see Football/Soccer out growing Aussie Rules in our lifetime but it’s great to see Australia consistently making world Cups now
Have you heard of a virus called COVID and Melbourne city are known for not having many if it was victory and no COVID you would hear about it and it will never be bigger than Afl nrl but has plenty of time to get up there but it will take time the A-League being lower now doesn’t mean it’s dead
@@lozloz7418 COVID hasn’t stopped the AFL being all over the media, and if a small AFL team makes the Grand Final it’s still massive news. I’m a Victory fan as well, also a Melbourne Storm fan in the NRL. Both barely get attention and only their fans are interested. AFL everyone is interested regardless of which teams.
I grew up an absolute one eyed afl fan, this game and the 2006 world cup made me interested in football, after that I got obsessed with watching Tim Cahill every week and I have become a fanatical one eyed everton fan ever since. For me our game against Japan at the 06 world cup is just as iconic, will never forget both nights.
Since that day, more Aussies have got behind our Socceroos with every passing World Cup or Asia Cup, which we won in 2015. Since 05', we have qualified for every World Cup since and the fanbase around our national side has gotten stronger.
The white Anglo Australians don't consider themselves migrants, only the other euro or Asian settlers here are considered migrants. I was at the game. It was one of the best days of my sporting life. I then followed up by going to Germany for the world cup
If we Aussies wanted to be a big player on the world scene in soccer, we'd need to convert the indigenous Australians from AFL and to a lesser extent League. Whilst we and the poms share a lot of sporting passion, Aussie Rules is obviously one difference, don't underestimate the size of basketball in Australia. From 2005-2016 3 NBA number 1 picks were born in Melbourne. The women's team has been no.2 in the world forever & the men are currently ranked no.3 in the world.
You could go into Australia and develop a Erling Haaland or Kevin De Bruyne or Mbappe but Australian Rules seems to be the only code that takes initiative and develops athletes into footballers.
Australia is so saturated in so many sports and with a small population in a large country you just dont get the atmosphere and football culture you have in Europe. Iran is actually a solid team, 2nd Ranked Asian team after Japan. I think one day Aussies will eventually call 'Soccer' football. Even all the local amateur Sunday football clubs us FC. Football is growing in our young country we are always growing.
Australians call your football soccer and football is AFL/rugby If you ever ask someone to buy a soccer ball everyone knows a what it is If you say football everyone will buy an AFL. Have a look At the crowd numbers that we all attend in a year AFL is huge in Australia
@@themoviehobbit355 he never said it’s not he said one day it it will get bigger than what it is now and it depends who you talk regarding what people call it
Its changed a lot here, it’s pretty popular now. But it’s not going to out do AFL/NRL but it’s probably third in terms of popularity. There’s a huge European community in Aus so football was always going to have a decent level of interest. A League attendances are pretty strong. Premier league is popular here most sports fan have a football team they follow.
Where I grew up (in Australia), Football was as well liked & attended as other sports, I'm surprised to hear some of this. The fact we had the local club right next to the highschool probably helped.
It was Schwarzer that got us through that match, even Viduka missed his penalty shot WTF (normally I would say that if your keeper is the best player on the team you are in trouble because he can make sure you don't lose but he can't win the match for you, but on this occasion it worked).
I think it's more that football fans in Australia refer to it as football if they are speaking to non Australians . And call it soccer to fellow Australians .
I grew up playing soccer, went to some Perth Glory games, watched the Socceroos' play for years. But, soccer doesn't have a place in most Aussie's heart's like AFL does. I honestly think if Australia was better at soccer and dominated we would of taken it more seriously from the start.
People who grow up playing and following sports such as Ice Hockey, NFL, AFL, and the Rugby codes find it difficult to embrace soccer. Very often, the actions of soccer players contradict some of the core values that we hold dear - courage & resilience, fairness & honesty. Any hopes of Australia becoming a ‘footballing nation’ effectively died during our 2006 World Cup match against Italy, when Fabio Grosso’s childish theatrics were rewarded with a penalty kick. For so many Aussies, that was the moment of confirmation that ‘this is not the sport for us’. If football truly wants to advance into non-traditional markets, it must stop incentivising the childish behaviours of deceit, weakness, complaining & pettiness.
Not a football fan really but have no qualms against it whatsoever. I still remember where I was for this game and the following games in the world cup. This game and the following world cup felt to me that it really transcended whether you were a fan or not, it was about backing in Australia.
I don't care what the media wants to tell us, it's Soccer in Australia. What is football depends on what state you live in, Rugby league in NSW or QLD, Aussie Rules in all other states. Calling soccer football is confusing
When he says it’s the game that the migrants play he is referring to the post ww2 wave of immigration that saw a lot of Greeks, Italians, yugoslavians etc move to australia and they brought football culture with them.
When he says “the game the migrants play” he means post-war migrants (Greeks, Italians, Eastern Europeans). Football until the 2000s was primarily associated with/organised around migrant communities. So in Melbourne you had: Melbourne Knights (Croatian), South Melbourne (Greek), Heidelberg (Macedonian) etc
Correction: Heidelberg was Greek.
Joseph J “The Heidelberg United Alexander Soccer Club was founded in 1958 by Greek immigrants from Florina, Macedonia...Their successful gathering attracted mostly Florinians”
I didn’t mean Macedonia in the north Macedonian sense.
@@goldboy150 thanks for the explanation. I didn’t realize that. That’s a cool piece of history. Cheers. 👍
The reason they are called the matildas is because of an old Australian song called waltzing Matilda that many people say is our true national anthem.
Yes! To us it is an amazing name, I never thought it would be perceived differently overseas, I guess they don’t know about Waltzing Matilda 🤷♀️
I've been involved in a lot of soccer-based international online communities through FM and most hardcore fans of the game enjoy that all our national teams have nicknames.
Pretty well all our national sports teams have names. No one would say we don't take Rugby seriously when we call them the Wallabies. Even England has the Lions. One of the few times I think Rob is talking out his arse.
Excuse me
It is
About a bloke who stole sheep, yeah great. Why not we started as convicts and Ned Kelly and chopper Reid were heroes,that’s rubbish
Every Australian team has its own nickname. Aside from the Socceroos and Matilda’s, we have the opals, boomers, wallabies, Kangaroos, Diamonds, Dolphins, Kookaburras, Hockeyroos etc. To us it doesn’t cheapen them or make them less, it’s just something we do.
The cricket team doesn’t have a nickname.
@@tommyandrewd their nickname is the "baggy greens" but it is rarely used due to the fact that a green cap in cricket is not totally unique to Australia, like the blackcap is unique to the New Zealand team
@@tommyandrewd The women’s cricket team are the Southern Stars.
I think it might be more the soccer part he doesn’t like.
In a world sport like football, socceroos just sounds lame.
Sport success is built on tribal loyalties. Whether it’s AFL or Rugby league, Aussies are extremely loyal to their clubs. These big soccer games are more events than sustainable supporters. Same as when Rugby State of Origin or Boxing Day Test at the MCG. I love multiple sports but I couldn’t tell you the name of one current Socceroo.
The same here. I try to go to at least one Union international each year with my sister. I just don't follow it closely enough anymore to know any of the players.
I was still on a 2 month bender from the Sydney Swans breaking their 72 year premiership drought.
A lot of Aussie’s can’t get into soccer due to the low scoring compared to AFL and Rugby. Also the way players take a gentle push and go down with 6 rolls and screaming like they’ve been shot.
But bud...it's the mum's don't want to see poor Johnny getting hurt...I'm with you , I love my rugby league , but mum's don't
As an Aussie, the high scoring of AFL and Rugby is the more boring side of those sports. The play acting in soccer is because it is a far bigger sport where things matter more.
@@newbris “things matter more” lol
@@timmarks8941 Yep. When your grandma is freezing the opponents team list before the match and your mother is chanting curses you have to win the competition played by the whole world. Little old sport in Australia is insignificant in comparison ;)
@@michaellivesey4354 Spot on..I'm a soccer fan/young player...because my mum wouldn't let me play AFL.
Having the nicknames of roo or matilda means a lot to Australians. It's signifies our "fighting/batling" spirit. Our Never give up mentality so don't knock it.
So when I came over to Melbourne from the UK, my first primary school fight and I no joke got KOd for it, I wanted to play football and my mates started teaching me AFL I said at the young age of 10 “what’s the point in AFL you can use hands and feet, there’s no skill, no wonder it’s known all over the world as aerial ping pong” next thing I know it’s the end of recess and I got a thumping headache and a swollen black eye 😂
One of the greatest scenes in Australian Soccer was when Liverpool came to visit. 95,000 people at the MCG to watch Liverpool play in a friendly against Melbourne City. All that could be seen was RED. 95,000 people singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. Even as a pomme who lived & worked in Liverpool was a sight that could not help but move you.
Was there that night after 32 years of disappointment...jumped on plane for Germany for the WC...greatest moment in my sporting life.
Thats awesome!
Lots of Aussies just think it’s a soft game. Dudes flopping on the ground trying to trick the referee. Holding parts of their bodies that didn’t even get hit. Rolling around like they’ve just been shot. When your national games are AFL and rugby, football looked weak. Why it struggled for traction.
See the problem is you goofs think that every single player is like this. You barely see shit like that but of course you know netter you guys are football experts that have never kicked a ball
Basically every Aussie international team has a nickname. Wallabies, the Diamonds, the Boomers, Kookaburras etc. Don't see why Socceroos or Matildas is any different.
New Zealand and South Africa do the same too, don't they? Springboks and All Blacks, Bafana Bafana etc.? I thought all countries did it?
Aussies are proud of these names
So true it’s just who we are
I find the name Socceroos oh so embarrassing.
@@johncarr878 you'd prefer footballoos?
Played soccer for 10 years as a kid, fantastic game to play. Local league was third rate and dominated by post WWII migrants who seemed to bring their old school grievances to Australia.
Another reason soccer hasn't taken off is the perception it is a 'weak' game physically. Australians absolute hate the diving and the way players look like they have been shot. We lost in the qtr finals in 2006 to a blatant dive by the Italians and everybody saw soccer for what it is, just a game with little score and cheats going down like their leg has been cut off when not even touched.
The A league has going backwards and again is a third rate competition. Real football supporters get up early or stay up to midnight or 1.00 am to watch Premier League.
And you are wrong that soccer is the only sport with atmosphere. Most don't see singing songs atmosphere, more like nothing is going on, on the pitch which is often the case. An Aussie Rules game has the most atmosphere of any game I have ever been to (and I have been to international soccer matches, International Rugby and League matches and Boxing Day tests). The action, high marks, physical courage and scoring making soccer live in Australia look second rate.
Also how you can say a penalty shootout is exciting is weird. If a game is so flawed that can't be resolved in normal or extra time, there is something seriously wrong. Might as well go straight to penalties in most big games. So ridiculously boring.
Penalties are exciting because either team can win, its all about the pressure!
@@RobReacts1 really sorry I jinxed the English speaking about penalties. To me Italy has not won on merit, you might as well toss a coin or do scissor paper rocks to decided who is champion.
Your spot on mate afl has easily the best atmosphere
The problem association football has in Australia is the same one that both rugby codes face in the UK.
In the UK association football is so huge as a national cultural entity that neither league nor union can compete in terms of fan numbers or media interest and consequently finance.
In Aus, Rugby League in NSW & Queensland and Aussie Rules in other states have the same deep rooted cultural base as football in the UK and that doesn't leave much space for another sport to grow.
It is pretty unlikely that association football will grow much beyond occupying the same niche role in Aus that the rugby codes do in the UK in my opinion.
The advantage association football has is that it is truly global in a way that not many other sports are and this can/has helped its growth in Australia.
I think it is down to how the national team does on the world stage as well, like this video shows. The better you do the more interest
@@RobReacts1 national team success definitely helps.
But having other well established sports with huge fan bases and media backing puts a limit on things - Rugby Union in England has always been well supported at international level (as Aussie association football now is) - but even after England won the union world cup, average crowds for their top tier domestic competition rarely reach 15,000 (well below even 2nd tier football).
Association football in UK and NRL & AFL in Aus are just so deeply rooted that they don't leave space for other sports to compete with them.
Aussie Rules doesn't seem to be at too much of a disadvantage in not being able to stage international matches (excluding international rules). They just get on with being the dominant football code in none rugby league areas of Australia.
Les Murray was the one that called soccer/football The beautiful game, former SBS the word game host. RIP les
I miss Johnny and Les. The boy from Oz & the boy from Hungary showed this country what a sport can do and unite us like no other. They broke down many racists in this country. True patriots. True gentlemen.
I am Australian. My dad was born in Europe and loves the game. The earliest match I remember was the qualifier against Iran. I started to cry when I saw my dad crying. I woke up early to watch the 2001 match against Uruguay and going to school that day was so hard after we lost.
In 2005, we watched it together and I don't think I've bit off more fingernails. We cried together again, but this time tears of joy. This meant so much to so many people in the country.
Sport in one of the few things in the world that brings people across a nation together.
Btw Iran has a population of 81 million, their GDP is 19th in the world, their most popular sport is Football. They’ve won the Asian cup 3 times. Ever player in their national team plays in a European League. They’re a powerful team, not top 10 powerful, but they were always a threat.
It’s definitely grown over the years and when it comes to the World Cup, the whole country supports the team so some great progress has been made.
I played football ( soccer ) all my life.
However i struggle to watch it unless its a big game or Australia is playing. Aussie rules ( footy ) i can easily sit a watch .
I tried to get into AFL and the NRL. I noticed how bored I got very quickly. My love for football is unfathomable. The skill, excitement and atmosphere is unmatched.
You'd be surprised how skillful aussie rules is... not that easy to kick a footy.
@@numynumevs I’ve played it and it’s one of the easiest sports I’ve played. The most challenging of sports I’ve played is golf, tennis, table tennis, karate, athletics, swimming and football.
Swimming 😂
@@numynumevs the Olympics are next week so enjoy the swimming.
We love the name " Matildas " . You actually hit the nail on the head with your comments about it but that is exactly why we love it . It carries that , very Australian , understated humor , which we love so much . It's not meant to belittle the sport or anything , it's to remind us who we are .
I don't find any understated humour in Socceroos. It's awful.
@@newbris oh come on "Socceroos" ? you don't think that's a humourus , jokey name ? You think that the people who decided on that name did it without a sly grin . ok .
@@mikeythehat6693 I’ll grant you it’s a joke name.
The names such as the Matildas actually makes it more significant and iconic for us. Nothing belittling in it, rather, what it means to be Australian. Consider this, Waltzing Matilda is as Australian as it gets, if we didnt have a national anthem already, Waltzing Matilda would be it...hence, the Matildas.
Exactly more a term of endearment, love our nicknames
Socceroos needs to go in the bin.
As an Australian I can’t take soccer seriously. When I see players diving and being awarded unjust free kicks: it degrades the game. Work on stamping that out of the game and I might be more incline to watch it and take it seriously.
As i said, football has its issues. Ie, the diving, but not all players do it.
As a non immigrant Aussie who loved football and was teased by my mates at times for it, Australia qualifying for a world cup meant alot. And it triggered a rise in popularity that's still on a steady increase. Very important and memorable night in our sporting history.
A lifetime AFL fan here, I was only 4 at the time of that game but would’ve loved to have seen it live. While I’m not a proper football fan I do think it’s amazing sport, especially for its global success. However, I think nearly every proper AFL fan will take the belief that our game is the greatest to the grave. I honestly get a little scared sometimes that AFL could be overwhelmed by football in Australia in the future. Perhaps other AFL fans feel the same leading to resentment towards football.
I was at home watching it on TV while I should have been sleeping. Was & still is such an inspirational moment for us
The part that's missing from this story is our fate once we got to Germany. We got out of the group by the skin of our teeth and matched it with eventual winners Italy for 85 minutes only to be beaten by a guy taking a dive in the box giving Italy a penalty.
...and there lies the problem. Australians will watch, even love our Socceroos but whilever a game as important as that can be decided by a guy taking a dive, Soccer/Football will never be the number one sport of the masses.
VAR may help with that but it's going to take a long time to change the perception.
Hit the nail on the head.
Exactly one little fuck up and your written off it’s like murdering someone and your whole nationality is branded as murderers
Yeah in Australia football/soccer fans call it football and non football fans call it soccer but when I’m talking to people that don’t like football I call it soccer it kills me 😂
And if u go to a-league and local football games everyone there calls it football
For me personally at least, (bear in mind I'm in Sydney), football is football, rugby league is footy or league, rugby union is union or rugby, and Aussie rules is aussie rules (or cross-country volleyball when I'm being silly).
@@peterelworthy4601 yeah it depends on where you’re in Australia. I’m from Melbourne so afl is footy and in Victoria not that many people know the difference between league and union so we call it all rugby ( yeah I know its wrong 😂)
@@anthonyf3680 Yeah, I can see why those not familiar with either rugby code don't know the difference between the two. It's interesting that "AFL" has in some ways become the generic term for the whole game, regardless of whether it's describing an actual AFL game or any other Aussie Rules game from a comp that isn't the AFL.
@@peterelworthy4601 no one in Melbourne calls the game afl it’s just footy down here afl is a Sydney thing
Happy to say that Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill, Mark Schwarzer, John Aloisi, Mark Bresciano and the rest became household names over night thanks to that match. There's no way Cahill could walk down the main street of Melbourne and not be recognised now.
I flew in from Melbourne for this match with my brother and cousin. Was lucky to get tickets for this game and remains one of the greatest nights of my life. I barely remember the night after celebrating when we got back to Sydney except chugging down a jug with some randoms and recalling I somehow made it back to my hostel safely in my correct bed with my wallet and phone.
This match was everything to me as a football fan.
Johnny Warren once said that wanting to play football for Australia was like wanting to Ski for Saudi Arabia . That was from an Australian Football player , such was the state of the sport at the time . ( circa 1970s )
All of our international teams have similar names. Socceroos, Matilda's, jillaroos, hockeyroos, kangaroos, wallabies, it goes on and on haha I personally love the names
Basketball team is called the boomers unfortunately haha it's a slang term for a male kangaroo
@@ryanboscoe9670 the women's basketball team is the Opals, the netball team is the Diamonds.
football will never replace AFL in Aussie minds, but its status has really gone up since the world cup and the introduction o fthe A League. Aussies love the name Soccoroos and Matilda's, they're not derogatory they are names that recognise their Aussie identities. A lot of parents are challenging their kids into soccor because they see it as a safer sport than AFL.
I was at the Olympic Stadium that night our team qualified. I couldn’t watch the penalty shootout. I couldn’t bare another disappointment after attending almost every WC qualifier since the late 1980s. You can imagine my enthusiasm and disbelief with qualification! We were so pumped! We stayed at the stadium for a good hour afterwards. We didn’t want the night to end. It was like winning the WC and we only qualified!
Don’t ask me what I’d do if we ever win the WC! I don’t believe we will in my lifetime but can you imagine if we did!?!
Everyone in Aus calls their own preferred code " football " . Rugby League fans call it football , AFL - football , Rugby - football , I once had an argument with a bloke in a bar about how bad / good the " Bulldogs " were playing in " Football " for about quarter of an hour before we realised we were talking about different sports . That is partly why Soccer is called Soccer , Rugby League is " League " , Rugby Union is " Union " or " Rugby " and AFL is " Rules " or AFL .
In the early days of state league soccer the violence between fans put many Aussies off the game at AFL and Rugby games fans from opposing teams for the most part could sit next to each other without any problems, then as the overseas game got TV time the endless diving (as you covered 4 months ago) went against the grain here also flares being thrown around didn't go down well with authorities.
I believe the Matilda's took the name from the song Waltzing Matilda almost the national anthem in Australia.
I agree with your point that our name doesn't make us sound as serious as we would like to be taken
I loved the wrap of that video of us qualifying in 2005.
I remember exactly where I was on this night, I was at home alone. I am Australian (born in Australia) with Italian parents. I grew up playing soccer (I will call it that) for 30 years, played with Vidmar in his younger year in Under 16's. I supported Adelaide City (Juventus, Adelaide's version) due to the strong Italian community, and there was also West Adelaide Hellas (Greek Community), there were others, but the other ethnic communities were not as strong. It was a great rivalry with City V West. When they took the ethnic related fabric of the club that grew the league to what it was, I stopped going and lost interest and started to invest my interests in AFL. I could see what the A-League were trying to do, but I wasn't happy that a clubs like West Adelaide and Adelaide City, not even a hint of history ) colours of the clubs to bring into the new league, banished from the Australian Soccer scene making way for the new production teams creating new souls and passion. A lot of Adelaide City supporters struggled to back to watch the A-League as it was manufactured.
At that time, soccer was competing with the AFL who were worried about that game, because it could possibly effect it by capturing AFL supporters to jump onboard the pre A-League and that it would increase its footprint in the Australian media outlets. 60% of AFL supporters were hoping for Australia to lose so that it would keep our football code quiet for another 4 years. When Aloisi scored that famous penalty, it changed the sporting landscape in Australia, not only on the football stands and amateur soccer grounds but also in the media. Every media wanted to know the ins and outs of every Australian soccer palyer on that day. That win was a like 7.3 on the Richter Scale in the Australian sporting landscape.
I cant speak for anyone else, but 50% of my emotion that I released on that day for me was the satisfaction to stick it up those who trashed the sport back then when I was playing and at that time. 50% was pure emotion of getting to the world cup. I still get goose bumps and tears, not for the "Socceroo's" but for Johnny Warren, I always think if him watching that game.
I've watched every World Cup with my dad since 1972, with Italy as the country to support with out Australia competing in all until 2006. Now with Australia in and I am much older and wiser and knowing that I am a proud Aussie, watching Australia play Italy in 2006, was a hard game to watch. I didn't know who to support. If Australia would have defeated Italy in that game, Australian soccer would have helped greatly to build the sport down under.
If you were not of British background back in the 60's and 70's, your're an immigrant... I know, we are all immigrants. Its a racists issue.
Love your work Rob and your analysis of Australian Soccer and the World Game in general.
Wogball was always a game for kids growing up. I played 10 seasons of it as a kid, and enjoyed playing it, but the game the whole family would be sit down to watch on a Friday night was always Rugby League. Soccer was considered a non-contact sport by my parents, so they were happy to have us play as opposed to Junior League where you would get stomped by 6' tall 14 year old Islanders.
If a Australian team doesn't have a nickname it doesn't exist
The reason it never took over in Aus is because we didn't have a strong league so foreign leagues took all of our best talent which meant we couldn't have a popular league. But in saying that we needed players to play and have success in the Euro leagues to come back so that we could have a strong national team. That was the perfect storm when all of the famous EPL guys plus a sprinkling of talent from the newly formed A league that took us to the quarter finals in our first WC in 30 years.
I’m getting more into “football” or soccer lately because of the euros atm, but breing from Melbourne AFL is my passion, and basketball after it so soccer really is on the back burner for a lot of us. We are full of migrants but you’re forced to immerse yourself in the strong unique culture of Australia that many favour other sports
Thoroughly enjoyed this football loving Englishman commentating on Australian culture. He is spot on. His intimate knowledge of our national thinking is absolutely correct. Well done, Sir.
I will take that 😁
An AFL goal after the siren easily matches the excitement of a soccer goal!!!
Theres a few reasons we dont love soccer like other sports.
Theres the historical racism, the lack of 'traditional entertainment' with the possibility of 0-0 draws.
But most of all Australia like winners, we weren't good at soccer and kept failing so people didnt get around them.
This BS that Australians love “winners” is pure rubbish. It’s the media who don’t want to give any credit to the sport. Many Australians like football and many other sports. Football is more “real life”. There can be a winner, a loser, no winners, no losers, unfair aspects, luck, etc. That’s life and the game is beautiful.
@@josephj6521 Every sport has all those aspects. Australia likes winners...sorry to say its well know. We often turn a blind eye to a wanker-winner.
Why do you think Aussies dont love Soccer then? When the rest of the world does?
We Struggled with the away games, most of our players are based in Europe so going straight to the Middle East or a Humid South east Asian country is tough. I was at the 1997 M.C.G Qualifier, Ive never herd the national anthem sung so loudly by so many people, and when Harry Kewell kicked that first goal the roar was insane. We go 2-0 up the crowd was singing and loving life, but that fool broke the mood and then the way it all ended soured what had been an incredible night.
Socceroos is childish but the name The Matildas holds genuine cultural relevance
Anglo Saxon Australians don’t consider them selves as Migrants. I can understand why this might sound strange to someone from England.
Problem is I’ll watch my local A League club but I cant watch any other teams. Where as I can watch any game of Aussie Rules.
As in all sports, it comes down to money and sponsorship, which was and is still channeled into AFL . It took along time, and I’m sure our success in 2005 helped
As soccer continues to eat up Australian territory, it can only be at the cost of our native game.
For that reason I hope that soccer remains as a third tier code in Australia.
I used too. The old National Soccer League was a joke for so long in Australia. There was just no funding or real strong development in Australia. AFL is such a dominant sport. Rugby League is so popular. It really took the World Cup Qualification to change it all.
You are so wrong about the names, every senior team that represents Aus. on the world stage has a nickname and we love them, it's an Aussie thing, we shorten names in everyday language and these names are the same thing.
I'm an Aussie and I hate socceroos. It's embarrassing in international football. It doesn't matter with the other sports because only a few countries care.
We love giving our mates nicknames and this is just an extension of that.
In 2005 Cahill and Aloisi were bench players. In the current Australian team they'd be the best players on the pitch. It's really gone backwards since that 2006 World Cup when got to the round of 16 and we were only knocked out by Italy (the eventual winner) in the final minute thanks to a dubious penalty.
Yes you do when you kick a goal to win after the siren in the AFL is unbelievable
I played football as a young kid in regional Australia. It was just as popular as other sports, in fact at school everyone played football at lunchtime (you weren't allowed to play contact sports like the rugby codes or Aussie rules). But I've always enjoyed playing football rather than watching it.
I'm a huge sports fan, but I just find it really hard to enjoy watching football on TV. It can get a little (apologies) boring, sometimes. I don't support any domestic team, either in the A League or other European leagues. It's easier to get behind the Socceroos, though, because they represent us all. I do enjoy cheering them on, especially with the added stakes of the WC.
I find it interesting that 'football' means different things in different parts of the world - most of the world it's association football, USA and Canada it's grid iron football. Then there is Australia where it means different things in different parts of the country - Rugby League in NSW & Qld & Aussie Rules in other areas.
Because it initially meant games that were played on your feet as opposed to on horses.
November 16 2005 was the day of my final exam in my final year of school. I did my exam, went to a mates with about 15 other blokes to watch the game. When we won, we went to city and got royally mullered!
I'm a English born kiwi (grew up in NZ) living in Australia ,I grew up watching and playing the great game I remember watching that game I remember watching the kiwis get to the world cup too. But I remember the 2 penalties shoot outs England lost it was hart breaking. I followed Arsenal for many years I started watching and supporting them back the year it was Arsenal v West ham in the F A cup Final were the hammers won. I loved Pat Jennings, Glen hoddle, Tony Adam's, Ian Wright and all the rest it was a great shame England didn't do better back then England had some of the best ever players but they always chose there club over England.
Let's not forget that AUS qualified for the World Cup in 1973. Now that was a team of unknowns from a soccer wasteland. I was in Europe at the time, and the europeans could not believe AUS playing well against Poland, until the Poles called their best players into the stadium for the second half. Literally, they had fielded their second team. That is how unknown AUS was at the time.
I remember watching the game live in adelaide I have never screamed so loud in my life when that penalty wemt ib. I m a Afl fan plus liverpool member. I cant explain that moment. i love soccer, but was the best sporting moment i have ever seen.
I still haven't decided whether I call it football or soccer, I think it depends on what social group I'm with
I was in my lounge room on the edge of my seat screaming at the tv surrounded by my family. One of the happiest day of my life.
I watched my first ever soccer game like 3 years ago
I just can’t do it !
It’s just when I watch AFL the skill the courage the mateship the speed of the game is just next level
It’s just so exciting I
But then when it comes too the Australian teams around oz
I’ll go for my country
Yeah I'm the same. Just can't watch much AFL, find it so boring in comparison to football. I guess when we know and love a sport we understand it properly. I also find the Australia only nature of AFL so boring. The world plays football and you learn about the whole world as a fan. Expands your horizons.
AFL is skillful? Seriously? I played it a handful of times and I was told I was very good and I didn’t grow up with it. Easy game to play but boring. Most contests are over by half time. Scoring into a goal as high as the sky isn’t difficult. I don’t see the excitement I’m sorry.
@@josephj6521 easy game 😂 you must of played in auskids 🤦♂️
@@newbris the world need to understand how boring soccer is 😅. Hey watch it I don’t care
But 2 minutes into an AFL game you can get 2-3 goals
The pressure and intensity of AFL is next level but people think that’s boring
😂 what’s soccer then what’s worse then boring ? Anyone
@@themoviehobbit355 I’ve never seen an AFL RUclips clip, report or made any comments to enlighten AFL followers how easy and boring it’s to score a goal, holding a ball with your hands, 30m into the air with no chance of anyone stopping the shot for the exception of divine intervention. Why the football haters keep making derogatory comments all over the place? Dunno. 🙄
I always been an AFL supporter, 65 years and counting - but every 4 years or so I took an interest in how the national soccer team was faring. I don't claim to understand "the beautiful game", but there are aspects of it I do not like, such as - biased refereeing, taking a dive, where a player receives a slight touch in a "tackle" and drops to the ground as if shot, especially near the goal. In Aussie football that player would be jeered by players and the crowd. Another thing that gets me going is the off-side rule, who understands it? The only reason Italy won in 2006 is because a player took a dive to prevent the Australians winning that match, which would have knocked them out!
It does take alot of Aussies heaps of time and effort to get into a "european" brand of football that isn't aussie rules. My Mum was a perfect example. Loyal St Kilda supporter all her life, like her Mum, and wasn't into "wogball" until I tried for years to get her to a game. I finally got her to an A-League Melbourne Derby game, which City won, and after experiencing the atmosphere of the crowd singing, chanting and going nuts all game, the elation of goals in a tight, low scoring game (the opposite of AFL), she finally got into soccer. Takes Aussies alot, but they do get into it eventually. The LIVE experience helps.
I grew up in the 80's in a small country town (village for the English?). Every Saturday morning in winter I would play football for about 90 minutes, then walk 50 metres to the other field and have rugby training. There were always at least twice as many playing football as rugby. But only once or twice a year did we travel to another town to play football, the game just wasn't organised that way in rural Australia. Whilst every second week on a Sunday, we would be driving anywhere from an hour to 3 hours to play in mini rugby competitions.
For decades football has had by far the highest rate participation rate of what we consider the four "football" codes in Australia (rugby league, rugby union, AFL, and of course football) in both adults and children. But the structure of the game just wasn't set up to capitalise on it very well for a long time. Hopefully a lot of that has changed in the 2000's.
Football is a second tier sport in Australia, Cricket and both rugby's are the sports here, soccer fought a tough battle in Australia but eventually came good.
I believe when they say 'Migrants' they are mainly referring to post WWII migrants. After the war there was a massive migration to Australia from Eastern Europe, in particular from Greece & Italy. Of course even in the late 40s, Aussie Rules was a well established sport even back then, it already had at least 50 years of history by that stage.
The only reason it’s ever called soccer is because we have four separate football codes: Australian Rules, Rugby League, Rugby Union and Soccer.
I had lived in Ireland at the time, found out when the news came over the radio in the kitchen. I had to listen again to make sure it was correct.
I was there you couldn't hear the person next to you the singing and cheering from the start through half time then 30 mins after the game was incredible.This was the closest feeling to actually Being at a major European stadium seeing Real -Barsa or Celtic - Rangers final.The reason it was suppressed in Australia is because it was a threat to the established sports that the T.V stations and news papers invested a fortune covering and the competition for advertising revenue.The media did everything possible to kill the game.Imagine the talent that the team would have if our top AFL,ARL and union players were part of the talent to choose from.We would be one of the leading national teams on the planet.The game relied on only a small percentage of the population mostly from the post WW2 ethic community and Aussies mostly with recent English roots that produced some incredible players but you can't compete against countries that have around 100 million + population with a small percentage of 25million when the most talented kids are encouraged to play league AFL or union.
I have tried really hard to like Soccer. One side of my family is an English migrant family, all my uncles go for either Sunderland or Newcastle (the family is from Durham). My grandad played at quite a high level according to my uncles. My grandad had a cousin who played for a professional Scottish club, he once scored against Celtic. I picked a club, I followed it for years, I would get up early in the morning to watch games. But the diving just drove me absolutely bonkers. Diving is so so soft, just keep your feet! There would have to be a huge cultural overhaul in this regard for me to start watching again. If I were in a country where it was the main sport, I am sure that I would enjoy it - as I love live games, culture of sport and atmosphere.
Yep was at my parents place, with my father and mum who was kinda watching. Had my aussie scarf
2005: when we started to like soccer.
2006: eliminated in the softest way possible, we remembered why we hate it. It's a dead sport in Aus now. I always wonder if it would be bigger if that 05/06 wave didn't crash out the way it did. Too many dives, low scoring, slow paced..
During this time a lot EPL teams wouldn't release players, some players would pretend to have an injury so that didn't have to play for the socceroos
I was in my lounge room in my Melbourne with tears running down my face. One of the biggest days in Football in this country
We could've been big in the sport but let's be honest the FFA have fucked it with the A-League diminishing in terms of support season after season and slowly sapping away what makes the sport unique as a fan spectacle. There is hope in the younger generation though. Younger fans here don't have the negative stigma of football pushed on them by the older generation so much, and are happily fans of Aussie Rules, Rugby and Football all at the same time.
I can remember this day so well. I'd had my final ever uni exam and then went to the pub my housemate was a bouncer at.
For some reason there were only about 20 people in the pub as every other pub in town was also showing the game.
When Aloisi's goal went in any alcohol left in our glasses ended up on the roof, walls or floor from celebrating so much.
The owner of the pub then shouted us drinks for the rest of the night. A very memorable night!
The Oceania group needs to merge with the Asian group for World Cup Qualification.
Simply because unless if you were Australia or New Zealand, nobody else in that group would ever play any team outside of their own Qualification Group in order to get a chance to improve or get stronger.
That’s what the player and the coach meant - it’s a migrant sport played by migrants in Australia and their persistence is what made it rise to the top.
As an Australian football fan these comments are disappointing. It does reflect alot of what the video says about Australian's views on football but there are still definitely still a lot of passionate football fans in Australia.
The entire country gets behind the national team during the World Cup. Everyone knows how big Football is around the world.
Aussie Rules fan here and the World Cup has always had interest before Australia qualified, I remember watching France winning over Brazil in 1998 and supported South Korea’s run to the semi finals of 2002.
But it’s much more exciting once your own country is involved, this qualifying game was incredible and our first game of the 2006 World Cup against Japan, our first win at the World Cup 3-1 scoring 3 goals in the last 10 minutes was incredible. (You need to react to that video)
2006 is called the golden era in Australian football, with Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka, Tim Cahill, Mark Swchartzer ect.. practically the entire team were playing in the big 4 European leagues at the time, the current team just doesn’t seem to have any big names.
The name soccer is dropping off and Football is becoming more common. Domesticity though the A-league just doesn’t have the interest that the AFL or NRL does. Melbourne City just beat Sydney FC in the A-League Grand Final 2 weeks ago and you could walk around Melbourne and you would even know the game was on.
Personally can’t see Football/Soccer out growing Aussie Rules in our lifetime but it’s great to see Australia consistently making world Cups now
Have you heard of a virus called COVID and Melbourne city are known for not having many if it was victory and no COVID you would hear about it and it will never be bigger than Afl nrl but has plenty of time to get up there but it will take time the A-League being lower now doesn’t mean it’s dead
@@lozloz7418 COVID hasn’t stopped the AFL being all over the media, and if a small AFL team makes the Grand Final it’s still massive news. I’m a Victory fan as well, also a Melbourne Storm fan in the NRL. Both barely get attention and only their fans are interested. AFL everyone is interested regardless of which teams.
I grew up an absolute one eyed afl fan, this game and the 2006 world cup made me interested in football, after that I got obsessed with watching Tim Cahill every week and I have become a fanatical one eyed everton fan ever since. For me our game against Japan at the 06 world cup is just as iconic, will never forget both nights.
Since that day, more Aussies have got behind our Socceroos with every passing World Cup or Asia Cup, which we won in 2015. Since 05', we have qualified for every World Cup since and the fanbase around our national side has gotten stronger.
The white Anglo Australians don't consider themselves migrants, only the other euro or Asian settlers here are considered migrants.
I was at the game. It was one of the best days of my sporting life. I then followed up by going to Germany for the world cup
I was at home with my whole family and all my family friends… I was 7 and I’ve never seen everyone run around a living room quite so much
If we Aussies wanted to be a big player on the world scene in soccer, we'd need to convert the indigenous Australians from AFL and to a lesser extent League.
Whilst we and the poms share a lot of sporting passion, Aussie Rules is obviously one difference, don't underestimate the size of basketball in Australia. From 2005-2016 3 NBA number 1 picks were born in Melbourne. The women's team has been no.2 in the world forever & the men are currently ranked no.3 in the world.
You could go into Australia and develop a Erling Haaland or Kevin De Bruyne or Mbappe but Australian Rules seems to be the only code that takes initiative and develops athletes into footballers.
I was at the game. We were down the end where the penalties were taken. The atmosphere was indescribable. It was the greatest night of my life
Australia is so saturated in so many sports and with a small population in a large country you just dont get the atmosphere and football culture you have in Europe.
Iran is actually a solid team, 2nd Ranked Asian team after Japan.
I think one day Aussies will eventually call 'Soccer' football. Even all the local amateur Sunday football clubs us FC. Football is growing in our young country we are always growing.
Australians call your football soccer and football is AFL/rugby
If you ever ask someone to buy a soccer ball everyone knows a what it is
If you say football everyone will buy an AFL. Have a look At the crowd numbers that we all attend in a year
AFL is huge in Australia
@@themoviehobbit355 he never said it’s not he said one day it it will get bigger than what it is now and it depends who you talk regarding what people call it
Its changed a lot here, it’s pretty popular now. But it’s not going to out do AFL/NRL but it’s probably third in terms of popularity. There’s a huge European community in Aus so football was always going to have a decent level of interest. A League attendances are pretty strong. Premier league is popular here most sports fan have a football team they follow.
I think it’s overtaken the NRL but AFL is hard to catch here
Where I grew up (in Australia), Football was as well liked & attended as other sports, I'm surprised to hear some of this. The fact we had the local club right next to the highschool probably helped.
Soccer was getting big but now dying. The a league crowds have dropped considerably
It was Schwarzer that got us through that match, even Viduka missed his penalty shot WTF (normally I would say that if your keeper is the best player on the team you are in trouble because he can make sure you don't lose but he can't win the match for you, but on this occasion it worked).
I think it's more that football fans in Australia refer to it as football if they are speaking to non Australians . And call it soccer to fellow Australians .
Greek and Italian, Croatian Australians , etc etc! football clubs in the 70’s was great time!
I grew up playing soccer, went to some Perth Glory games, watched the Socceroos' play for years. But, soccer doesn't have a place in most Aussie's heart's like AFL does. I honestly think if Australia was better at soccer and dominated we would of taken it more seriously from the start.
People who grow up playing and following sports such as Ice Hockey, NFL, AFL, and the Rugby codes find it difficult to embrace soccer. Very often, the actions of soccer players contradict some of the core values that we hold dear - courage & resilience, fairness & honesty.
Any hopes of Australia becoming a ‘footballing nation’ effectively died during our 2006 World Cup match against Italy, when Fabio Grosso’s childish theatrics were rewarded with a penalty kick. For so many Aussies, that was the moment of confirmation that ‘this is not the sport for us’.
If football truly wants to advance into non-traditional markets, it must stop incentivising the childish behaviours of deceit, weakness, complaining & pettiness.
100% Agree
Not a football fan really but have no qualms against it whatsoever. I still remember where I was for this game and the following games in the world cup. This game and the following world cup felt to me that it really transcended whether you were a fan or not, it was about backing in Australia.
I don't care what the media wants to tell us, it's Soccer in Australia. What is football depends on what state you live in, Rugby league in NSW or QLD, Aussie Rules in all other states. Calling soccer football is confusing
It's the acting of players for a penalty