Dubious penalty indeed - but we didn't kick a goal!
"No! Not like this!", were the words I uttered as Totti coolly struck the ball, placing it in the top left corner of the net. It was a dubious penalty indeed, and Italy should not have been awarded it. The socceroos can certainly be forgiven for feeling robbed, and they are clearly not holding back in their expressions of discontent. Not being an authority on the game, and being so emotionally invested in the outcome of Australia's matches, I find it worth while reading match reports from international sources to survey the general opinion of the world at large. If Australian fans want a big thud of reality and perspective on the game, then I suggest reading the BBC match report. In short, the socceroos "lacked ambition".
We would all like to think that had the penalty not been awarded, we would still be in this world cup. Perhaps so. I, however, do not agree with this thinking. Quite simply, if we were truly good enough to progress, then we would have kicked a goal. We had an extra man for most of the second half, and had most of the ball. Italy are renowned for their tight defense, and it is to their credit that Australia were unable to score. Don't get me wrong. We looked good out there, very good in fact, but we also looked pretty harmless without Kewell. Unlike the top countries, we do not currently have the depth of talent to replace someone like Kewell, and rely heavily on our best players giving top notch performances every match to compete. To be completely honest, I am somewhat happy to see us bow out now. Making the round of 16 was well deserved, but in truth, further development is needed if we are to be worthy of greater achievements. To have progressed would have been amazing, but it would also have been a massive over achievement. It would have been seen as more of a freakish event than a deserved place among the football elite. It was not our time to do this, and most certainly, the round of 16 was where we belonged. Let future socceroos teams build on this I say. This time, we achieved the unimaginable. Next time, nothing will be unimaginable.
Well done socceroos!
posted by macca at 10:29 AM
3 Comments:
Russ - get some sleep you old cranky pants :)
Do you think we were a team worthy of the quater finals. My point is that if we were, we would have created more opportunities in the second half, and scored. I should also say that the lack of ambition comment is not my view, that was from the BBC report.
I take your point re: 'unimaginable'. Of course it was entirely conceivable. The fact remains that we were the lowest ranked team in our group (42nd), by a significant margin (next highest was Croatia, ranked 23 I think), and with Brazil in the mix, it all looked pretty hard. I must admit though, every time I watch Australia take on a seemingly supperior opposition, I almost invariably forget this fact as the game progresses, because it simply doesn't translate to what I am seeing on the field. We are a decent side, and I agree that we should not be just congratulating the team for taking on the big boys. Instead we should be asking why we can't be one of them.
A good start would be to stop dwelling on the dubious call of a Spanish referee. Instead, as fans, we should look forward to the future, because everything is in place to do great things. For startes, I want the Asian Cup dammit - we've already beaten the current champions, so surely this is a mere formality ? perhaps not, but I can't wait for our next tilt in a big international tournament - and in a much friendlier time-zone.
6/29/2006 02:55:00 PM
"Sleep? I wish, le Tour starts this weekend."
I know! not to mention a little thing called Wimbledon. Damn this European summer! I can't maintain this for much longer.
6/30/2006 12:18:00 PM
"This says more about Italy ..."
not to mention your formidable grasp on world cup history.
6/30/2006 12:20:00 PM
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