All Whites have earned a crack at Socceroos
BY MICHAEL COCKERILL
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Opinion
OPINION: Theoretically, with their country a fully fledged member of the Asian confederation, Australians should have been supporting Bahrain in last weekend's World Cup play-off against the champions of Oceania, New Zealand. Truth is, they weren't.
The fairytale of the All Whites captured almost as much imagination this side of the Tasman as it did across the ditch, where the afterglow of a sporting ''miracle'' could, and should, be used to transform the game. The unforgettable scenes in Wellington reminded us of a similar outpouring of emotion at Homebush Bay in 2005 - and we all know what John Aloisi's penalty has since done for football in Australia.
Co-incidentally, 2005 was also the last time the Socceroos and the All Whites met on the field of play. New Zealand have, by a fair distance, been Australia's most regular opponent - that match at Craven Cottage in London was the 62nd meeting with the All Whites, who also played the Socceroos in their first match, at Carisbrook, in Dunedin, in 1922.
With familiarity, of course, there is always the danger of contempt. And since the move into Asia, the Socceroos have, perhaps understandably, felt there were bigger fish to fry. New Zealand have been rebuffed on more than a few occasions when suggesting a 63rd match. With a federation which has often teetered on insolvency, and a team stuck in the quagmire of Oceania's competitive irrelevance, New Zealand has lacked the bargaining power to force Australia to the negotiating table.
Until now. The time for the Socceroos and the All Whites to ''get it on'' has arrived. New Zealand Football has been solvent for the past few years - more so now after the $9 million windfall from qualifying. And winning in Wellington has given the All Whites some priceless box office appeal.
Where, and when, to play the match is an issue. The Socceroos have a blockbuster farewell game scheduled for May 26 at the MCG - perhaps a match at Etihad Stadium the previous weekend could work. The All Whites' plans are in the embryonic stages, but NZF chairman Frank van Hattum says ''there are no financial barriers'' to making sure the team has the best preparation possible for the World Cup. And New Zealand are the only team who have to travel through Australia en route to South Africa.
A possible fly in the ointment is next month's World Cup draw. If Australia and New Zealand are drawn together, rival coaches Ricki Herbert and Pim Verbeek might not want to reveal any secrets. Truth is, there are no secrets between the two teams. Especially when you consider Herbert could be drawing as many as 11 of his players from the A-League - including, hopefully, Wellington Phoenix young gun Costa Barbarouses.
Either way, it shouldn't be about why it can't happen, but about making sure it does happen. ''We'd love to play the Aussies,'' admits van Hattum. ''It's a great time to resume the rivalry in a meaningful way.''
From the moment the Socceroos began drawing away from the All Whites in a competitive sense in the early 1990s, that rivalry began to lose its edge. Sadly, it was a rivalry in name only by the time the last match was played in London almost five years ago.
But the All Whites' success against Bahrain, who have given the Socceroos some difficult moments in the past four years - has changed all that. How much it's changed things no one knows. Perhaps it might even become the catalyst for FIFA to finally redraw the boundaries and split Asia into east and west - with east Asia absorbing Oceania.
What we do know is that the All Whites now deserve some respect. They've earned the right to be taken seriously by the rest of the world. And they've earned another shot at the Socceroos.
- © Fairfax NZ News
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i don't know but it must suck to be ben or dene?
I bit rich from some quarters suggesting the game was a fluke the All Whites were overall dominant. Sure there were chances from the opposition and a great save from Mr Paston but thats football.
Id love to see the lads win a game in south africa to qualyfy for the knockout stage would be amazing but Im not holding my breath. and Id love to see a game against the ozzies with a full blooded team on both sides
i'm really glad new zealand qualified. I'm english living in england but I follow the A-League so knew about football there through wellington phoenix and i would love it if englands group had england, australia, new zealand in it.
maybe nz aren't as good as aus but they have atleast earnt the chance to prove themselves. lets not forget that nz was supposedly not good enough to win the rugby league world cup and look what happened there. nz sports teams are always strong when they the underdog
I think all the doubters need to put everything in perspective. I highly doubt there is one person in NZ who believes that the All Whites will take out the World Cup, in fact it is highly likely we could lose every match. But to think what exposure our players have to international clubs and scouts, not to mention the $10m windfall handed to the NZFF, can only mean good things for the future of the game. It gives players like Barbarouses the chance to possibly get picked up by a Premier League team, where they can invest their seemingly unlimited resources into the development of him as a potential superstar. Let's not forget, players like Drogba were not groomed through the vast wealth of the Ivory Coast coffers but a certain Russin Billionaire
#2 and #4
FLUKE? How can coming out on top after 180 minutes of two intense football matches be a fluke? I don't know what games you were watching (assuming you even did watch them) but they were tightly fought contests betwen two different teams that could have gone either eway. Bahrain were unlucky not to score in the first game and we could have scored maybe 2 or 3 more given the chances we had later in the second game. on balance we deserved to go through as we held them at their home and took our chances at ours.
By the way, while the All Whites have had plenty of losses they've also had some other top results like drawing with Wales, beating Hungary and just been pipped 4-3 by Italy. All flukes? And remember we knocked Australia out in 1982 Qualifiers and also in some of the more recent Confederation Cup qualifiers as well(before they went to Asia) - even through they were alwatys the favourites.
So a game against OZ isn't necesarily going to be a crushing Aussie win - although if they are going to think that then thats fine with me. Its which team turns up on the day and how things pan out. The All Blacks experience of having all the form in the lead up but then having a nightmare on the day should indicate that anything is possible.
@Dene: How did you watch Premier League right after the NZ game? There wasn't any on TV last weekend, not even replays.. The All whites are in great form, that was no fluke, a well deserved win!
Great article and great to see someone thinking about how the game might prosper in this area of the world moving forward. NZ/Oz rivalry should be restored and is perfect opportunity. I like the idea of Asia absorbing Oceania and having an east/west which would offer us, and all the Oceania teams, greater opportunity to develop. This can only be done by getting regular fixtures against stronger teams - like Australia have done - and moving Oceania into Asia is a good starting point for discussion
I agree with #2. The win over Bahrain was a fluke. The quality of NZ football is below par. There is only 1 player that plays in the EPL regularly. Until NZ has more than 1 player playing in the EPL, there won't be any talks about NZ beating OZ sometime this year or the next. But nonetheless congrats to NZ for making it into the 2010 world cup!!!
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Players do not get scouted from the premier league because of the money gained from qualifying for South Africa. ALthough supposed scouts will be at games looking for players... You cannot honestly tell me that Barborouses is good enough for a premier league side. He never will be. If you are good enough for the premier league you are picked up at a young age - Chris Wood for example. Now there is a quality player!