In the early hours of Tuesday morning I witnessed one of the best games that I have had the pleasure of watching. Australian Socceroos came back from what seemed to be a hopeless situation when they trailed the Japanese champions 1-0 since the 26th minute with only 8 minutes to go. As if taken from the pages of World Cup fairy tale book, Tim Cahill, the wonder boy of Australian Soccer equalised from a loose ball in front of the Japanese goal. I jumped out of my seat, punching my fists into the air. It was a tremendous feeling, Australia scoring a maiden goal at the world stage. In the following minutes the fairy tale ending continued.
The socceroos was revitalised by this equaliser had an added spring in their step as they increased the tempo and launched a barrage of attacks towards the Japanese goal. Aloisi the hero from November against Uruguay laid off the ball to Cahill just outside the penalty box and with a couple of seconds to prepare kicked a goal that will be forever etched in my memory. I yelled out, Yessssssssss! I’m pretty sure my flatmate woke up but was too lazy to get up and see what was going on.
At that moment I have never been more proud to call Australia home and to be an Australian. I am one to admit that I have not been a soccer fan due to the limited exposure in Australia but this is all about to change. Aloisi’s goal in injury time just put the icing on the cake on a match that will forever be remembered and talked about in years to come. Australian football is to be recognised, in the tradition of the never say die attitude Australia came back from the jaws of certain defeat to lift the entire nation. In those 8 minutes the Socceroos showed that Australia is truly one of the greatest sporting nations on Earth, I don’t think that anyone will debate that.
When I woke up this morning I immediately tuned to the latest news for a recap of last nights events and it is something that I would sit down and watch over and over again. I get chills watching the highlights of that match. I wish the Socceroos all the best and call on all Australians to support your nation at the world stage, be proud of Australian Soccer and most importantly show your passion for being an Australian.
Recent Comments