Unforgettable farewell for Socceroos
They came as individuals, they came as friends, and they came as fans. They came in their hundreds, thousands and were just 4,897 away from breaking the 100,000 mark. As it was, the attendance of 95,103 set a new record for a football match involving an Australian team.
Why? In honour of the Socceroos, who will be making their first appearance at a FIFA World Cup finals for 32 years, having taken part in the 1974 edition of the tournament, where their record of no wins no goals in their three group games left much to be desired.
However, there seems to be a greater sense of confidence, a greater sense of belief in this Australian side, marshalled by the highly-rated Guus Hiddink. The people who gathered at the Melbourne Cricket Ground were in the mood for a party and to give their team a rousing send-off. Their compatriots on the pitch, thanks to Josip Skoko’s 16th-minute strike, duly fulfilled their end of the bargain.
Australia 1-0 Greece report
Before the match, Mark Viduka had asked the fans to dress in gold to show their support for the team. The fans obliged. “Everywhere you looked on the night we qualified against Uruguay in Sydney, it was covered in gold jerseys, scarves and caps,” said Viduka. “It gives the squad a huge boost to see that support and helps creates a strong home ground advantage.”
“Knowing how passionate Melbourne is about sport, it would be great if all the Australian supporters coming to the game against Greece can wear gold and show they’re behind us on the road to Germany.”
Melbourne’s large Greek population joined in the fun too. Their noisy and colourful band of supporters, who were so passionate and noisy during UEFA EURO 2004, did not disappoint. However, those following the current European champions had little to cheer at the final whistle – and not even a goal to boost their spirits.
However, despite the carnival atmosphere for the Aussies, coach Hiddink admitted that he was not fully satisfied with his team’s display. “I would say 70 per cent of our play was excellent but it’s the rest we need to focus on improving.
“I’m not concerned, but it’s very easy to say ‘We’ve beaten the European champions’. We need to put in the training and focus on improvement because games at World Cup level are decided on details. The team knows exactly what position they should be in and what to do. I can shuffle players around and that is nice. But the foundation must be physical strength and that is something we need to work on.
“The first half was good but the second we lost focus, which is a worry. We gave away possession too easily. I’m not forgetting the good bits but you have to improve these areas if you want to be competitive. It was a good win but we are going to have to be tougher when we play Japan.”
Matchwinner Skoko agreed that more needed to be done on the training ground. “I enjoyed the goal but we’ve got a long way to go,” he said. “If you take into consideration the tough programme we’ve had over the last few days, we did OK. There were a few very tired boys out there. We will have to train hard from now on.”
With Japan, Brazil and Croatia waiting for Australia, time will tell if Hiddink’s meticulous and gruelling preparation will pay off, or whether the team will run out of gas. For now, though, Australian public and players are united in the belief that the Socceroos are in very good hands.
Source:Fifaworldcup
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