Ecstasy, then Agony

Well I will start with the great night against Croatia before I get onto what happened last night.

The Croatia match was something to behold for Australian sport. It had it all. The come from behind result (twice), the fierce patriotism that has been a highlight of the supporters, and of course, the celebrations afterwards.

It was a night like no other. Having witnessed many sporting triumphs, including Collingwood winning the 1990 flag, seeing my cousin win the League in Austria for the first time in 40 odd years with Sturm Graz, as well and many great cricketing wins, this game paled them all.

The crowd never really gave up, though at times our resolve was tested, especially when Kalac let in "that goal". But the lads never gave up, and the reward came when Harry slotted in the equaliser to send us through. The celebrations were huge. We hung around the ground for about an hour, singing and chanting, before heading back to the player’s hotel for a chance to get a glimpse of the lads.

However, they decided to head back to their training site, so we were left to sip a few frosties with Les Murray and Craig Foster, so it was not all bad. After a while we headed to the fan site for more celebrations, then home at about 3.30am, in preparation for the long flight home.

Which brings us to the match last night. What happened?

If you look back at the isolated refereeing incidents that have plagued us this tournament, you would say we have been robbed. The nudge on Schwarzer against Japan, the 25 to 8 free kick count against Brazil, the 3 yellow cards to Suminic against Croatia, and of course, the one to top them all, the dive by Grosso to win the game for Italy.

Yes, if we were to ponder on these facts, you would think that there is someone out there a little afraid of the Aussies within FIFA. With the stench of corruption surrounding the Italians, this theory takes further credence. I thought that heading off to bed this morning. However, on pondering what has happened over the course of the match, I can now see the bigger picture.

Sure we were robbed in that 94th minute, however, a lot happened before that point where we can say we did not do enough. We had 59% of the ball. 59%! That is unbelievable. However, we did not create one clear chance.

Viduka was one dimensional, as he was against Croatia, and surely his time with the national side is done. Bresciano had a nightmare on the wing, and it was his error that created the scoring chance that created the penalty. And why did Guus not make a sub until the 82nd minute. When he did, Aloisi was like a breathe of fresh air, however, it was too little, too late. Obviously he was playing for injury time to bring on the subs and swamp the Italians, however, this has now proven again to be an error by the great man.

I could continue on about the negatives, however, there are far more positives to be taken from the result.

We showed the world we could match it with the best. There is now no doubt that Australia is a formidable force in world football. We were not disgraced, and will be stronger for the experience. Our results will also attract a better coach going forward. This can only be good for the game, and now heading into Asia, the world is at our feet.

I am proud to have been a small part of the World Cup campaign, and I know I will fondly look back on the experience in many years to come. With regard to the blog, I will continue to make postings on here throughout the remainder of this tournament and from time to time after that. I will also use it in the lead in to South Africa, which I have little doubt the Aussies will again be a force within it. Hopefully I can be there to cheer the lads on again.

It All Boils Down To This......

Well what a trip it has been. Since our last entry at the Aussie Training Camp, we have since had a few big days.

The day of the training was great. We went along with about 5,000 others to watch the lads train. It was amazing to see so many come out in force to support the lads. Being training though, it got boring pretty quickly so we decided to head back into town to see what it had to offer. We found a nice restaurant and had a nice italian meal and some lagers to wash it down.The train ride back was a blast, with the disco carriage going completely off again and we drank the train dry. The trip was lengthened a bit and we didn't get home til midnight because some idiot pulled the emergency stop break so we had to stop in the middle of nowhere.

The next day we boarded the bus to Stuttgart, via Dachau concentration camp - a very sobering and sombre expreience but something which was important to visit.

Stuttgart is a lovely city with a great vibe - especially when Germany won their game. All the streets were blocked off with mad German fans waving their flags and showing national pride not seen since World War 2. We had a big night in town that night in the fan site watching the England-Sweden match. Gav was a bit sad when one of his heroes, Michael Owen went down, but the match was great and the fans loved it.

The next day we went on a guided tour of the city then settled into a nice bar for the afternoon. We then headed to the fan site and watch the Portugal-Mexico match which was a lot better than the more anticpiated Argentina-Holland game. We watched the latter in the hotel as we wanted to save ourselves for today, the big day!

On the streets at the moment, it is mayhem. I will try and take some pics to put on here when we get home to give you an idea of how crazy it is. The Croat fans are extremely confident and give the Socceroos no respect at all. One can only hope that their team has the same attitude, as this will play right into our hands. Both Bec and I have put temporary Australia flag tattoos on our cheeks and are looking very patriotic.

Whatever happens in the next 12 hours, will undoubtedbly be something we will never forget. Gav is pumped at the moment, and very nervous.

Anyway, the next post will be from back in Australia. So good luck to all, and GO AUSSIES!!!!!!!

Greetings from Oehringen

I am writing from Oehringen, home town of the Socceroos while they are in Germany.

It was a three hour train ride here, and we will be off to watch the lads train in an hour or so, therefore I will have to keep this brief.

Yesterday was both great and awful. On the great side was the Footy Show, arriving at the game, the way the boys played, and the spectacle of the event. On the negative side was the referee, the result, the crowded trains and the Footy Show going way too long for people needing to get to the match.

On the match itself, most would have seen the game, however, some insider comments would be that the Brazialian fans were dead silent until they scored. As they say, you only sing when your winning. However, the Aussies kept going, even when they scored. Our seats were brilliant. Right behind the goals, 11 rows back at the end we attacked to in the second half.

Anyway, I have to get going to have a bite to eat before we head to training. We will make a more detailed entry if we can when we get to Stuttgart. All the best, and Go Socceroos!!

Berlin and Frankfurt

Well here we are in Berlin. Our last day in Frankfurt was spent at the Fanfest on the river. You can see some of the photos there. We watched the Korea versus Togo match which was good as the Koreans were really getting into it.

We then headed home, and Bernie, Gavan and another Aussie we met on the tram decided to stop into this quiet milkbar-like bar for a quiet ale. 1 Euro for their premium beer made us think that this could be a place to settle in. But when the locals started buying us beer, schnapps and everything else you could think of, it just went nuts. Gav played darts with the locals and won, while Bernie and Gav exchanged shirts and caps to top off a huge day.

The next day was spent in transit to Berlin. It was really a debacle, and the less said on this day the better. We did finish off the day in the hotel watching the games that night with Germany winning 1-0.

We then spent yesterday on a city tour. Walked about 20kms, so we were buggered!! Finished off the day at the fanfest which was good then off to an Irish Bar to watch England make it through as well as Sweden.

We are now here for our last day in Berlin before heading off to Munich for the match of the century. Might check out the zoo today, and then there is a pub crawl afterwards which should be good.

Okay, we will catch you all later!

Article in the Age

Hi all,

I have managed to quickly pop into a cafe in Berlin, but cannot write much as the group is about to leave. Will post a larger entry later on.

However, thought it would be interesting to look at the article written about our day against Japan in the Age. Click on the link above.

I will get back to your emails again shortly. Berlin is going off here today though, so it should be interesting.

All the best,

Gav and Bec

The Day Of Our Lives

Well what can you say that can desrcribe the past 24 hours? Whatever we write here will not do any justice to what we all agree (outside our wedding day) was the best day of our lives.

The day began bright and early, leaving the hotel at 6.15am. A short walk to the station and we boarded the local train to meet up with the "Aussie Express" which was a 20 carriage long train to take us to Kaiserslautern. You could sense it was going to be a huge day with the platform waiting for the train was a sea of gold and everyone was singing and dancing.

The front carriage had been converted into a huge Aussie disco and the music was piped through the entire train with splashings of Cold Chisel, John Farnham and Men at Work.... just the tonic to fire up the crowd. We cracked our first beer at 9 oclock, more to settle the nerves than anything else.

When we arrived at our destination at about 11am, there was enough time to really soak up the carnival atmosphere in town, where there would have been around 100,000 people crowding the streets and just really enjoying the Aussie banter. There were plenty of Japanese fans around, however, they did not really make much noise as we were pretty much running amok.

We met up with Cousin Frankie who had managed to get tickets to the match through one of our other cousins, and he is rapt that he now has tickets to the other two matches. He had driven in the night before and bumped into an old soccer buddy, with whom he ended up staying with that night. We sat down for lunch with them in a beautiful square just outside the main fan site.

The time then came to head to the ground. The stadium itself was a short walk through beautiful parkland, but way too many steps for such a hot day!! We had seats behind the Aussies goal for the first half, but things really did not go our way. The crowd was getting pretty anxious, and when that bloody ref let the Japaense goal stand, you could sense that things might have gotten a bit ugly if we did not bounce back.

Of course we did, and let me tell you, that final 10 minutes of maddness was something that we will never forget. The first goal sent us into dilerium, but the next two had people hugging, kissing and crying (I actually shed a tear before the match started just like a big girl!!) It was a truly overwhelming event.

We were also lucky enough to be filming when we put in the third goal. The video of it is simply amazing. I will make sure I post it on the internet when we get home, because it is something that words really cannot describe.

On the way out Bec got interviewed by the BBC. Not sure if anyone at home would have seen it, but no doubt many of our British friends would have. We also bumped into George Negus on the way out, and we got him to kiss our Boonie Doll. This became a bit of a ritual as the day progressed with German, Japenese and Australian fans alike all wanting to kiss our very own Buddha doll.

Anyway, we then headed back to town and to be honest, the party was not as intense as it was pregame. I think it was because of the emotions involved, everyone was simply exhausted. We managed to find a quaint Italian restaurant and had a pizza and yet another Beer. We then parked ourselves in a nice park and chatted with the many Aussies around.

The train ride home went pretty quickly and we shared a cabin with the same blokes on the way up and had a few more celebratory ales. The night finished back in the hotel bar. I shared a chat with Frank Farina who is staying there and asked him how he felt knowing that it could have been him. He was pretty diplomatic about it, saying he was happy for the boys and it was not about him. He comes across as a pretty decent sort of bloke, but I still reckon there would have been a little bit of "what-ifs" in his head.

So here we are now in Frankfurt. We are here for another day before we head off to Munich via Berlin for a few days. We will go to the Frankfurt fan site to watch the Brazil/Croatia match and just relax the day away.

We cannot wait to hear all the stories from back home, but we are pretty sure none will come close to our day yesterday!!

We Have Arrived

After a long and ardous trip we have finally arrived in Frankfurt after a nice stop over in Hong Kong (this sentence has taken me 5 minutes to type...bloody German keyboards!!!!)

We stopped in Hong Kong for about 5 hours and took the opportunity to go into town and watch the dazzling laser show on Victoria Harbour. We then went to a pub in the airport to watch the England/Paraguay match. It was rivetting, and we almost missed the flight because of it!!

So we then arrive in Frankfurt and picked up our tickets and apparel. The clothes are not too bad, and will undoubtedly get an airing during our stay. We also bit the bullet and bought tickets to the Footy Show that they had on sale. 55 Euros seemed a bit rich, and it was probably an impulse buy, but Bec has always wanted to go to the footy show, so I guess it will be okay. It is at midday, while the match is at 6pm, so plenty of time to get turped up beforehand.

Franfurt is pretty quiet at the moment, though there are Aussies, Poms and Koreans everywhere. Have not seen many from Paraguay though.We also bumped into a group of Russians at the airport and they called us over and offered us a nip of vodka (at 5am, I was a bit reluctant). However, it went down a treat... the first of many beverages for the next 12 days.

So now we are off to get something to eat, as we have not eaten since breakfast which was about 4am! Then it is a meeting session with the group and an all inclusive party in town later on. Train leaves for the match tomorrow at 7.30am, so we will be taking it easy though. Apparently there are 2,400 people going to be onboard 2 exclusive trains. It is going to be madness!!

Onto our thoughts for the game, I think we are a very strong chance. What more can you say? Until next time, Prost!

Last Entry Before it Begins

Well, I have done pretty much all I can do at work now, so I guess this will be the final entry before we head off. Just for your information, we have set up a separate Blog for our photo's just to make things neater. We will post the photo of the day here if we can, otherwise, our favorites will be loaded into the separate Blog.

This can be accessed by clicking the link on the right hand side.

I just got news from Cousin Frankie that he has a ticket for the Japan game. So that means everyone is in. This is sensational news.

I am about to go and have some farewell beers with my "Nembas" mates, although Watty has pulled the pin. Very ordinary, though Robbo is making a guest appearance, which will keep everyone entertained.

Bec is in a panic at the moment about what to pack and wear. I have told her, so long as everything you pack is either green or gold, then you should not have any problems.

Anyway, go Aussies and we look forward to bringing you news next time from Germany (or at least Hong Kong if we get bored in transit!!)

And Now For The Big Dance

With just over a day or so to go before we head off on the trip of a lifetime, the excitement is really starting to set in.

I got up this morning to watch the game against Lichenstein, and would have to say that I would have rather stayed in bed. The Aussies were well done on their game, however, I am not too concerned about this given it was a nothing match and most would have just be happy to have come through unscathed.

What was of concern was the fact that our defence still looks very vunerable. Time will tell, however, if we are to go out in the early stages of the tournament, I think it will be due to an error in the back line. Let's all hope one of the players does not become a household name due to a blunder.

A huge positive out of the match was the performance of Josh Kennedy. He is a towering figure and very impressive. I think he may have something to say if and when he gets brought on due to that height and goal sense. Also great to see was Harry Kewell and Tim Cahill get through a good hitout. A full strength side is a must if we are to progress, as our second string players look ordinary at best (eg Lazaridis!!)

On a personal note, the bags are starting to get packed. Plenty of green and gold in there. Aussie stickers all over the suitcases and we have even bought temporary tattoos to put on. It is going to be a blast. Keep watching this site over the next two weeks for photos, and if time some descriptions of what we (ie myself and my wife Rebecca) have been up to. We might try and post some images even from Hong Kong at our stopover if we can find somewhere to load them up.

Kewell playing against Leichtenstein

Great news to hear that my favorite Socceroo, Harry Kewell, will be lining up against Leichtenstein tonight.

I guess if it were I picking the side however, I would probably be playing our most valuable player off the bench rather than playing out the entire match. I have a feeling Guus will also go down this path.

While I am sure we would be competitive without Harry in the side, he is far too valuable to our ability to turn around a match or to grab a match by the scruff of the next to risk him in this game. He is a match winner, and one of the few genuine match winners we have in the side. Personally, the only other player I would rate as someone who could win a match for us through a top line performance would be Mark Viduka. And I have commented on how many times Dukes has done so for the Socceroos (ie not very many) and as such, Harry's contribution to our chances of progressing is vital.

So I say, let him play for sure as he needs match fitness, however, let us just be careful given how valuable he is to our ultimate World Cup dream.

Frank and Holland

Well I emailed my cousin Frank yesterday and I got a response today. He made it to the Holland match and said it was one of the greatest experiences of his life. Quoting from his actual email he said;

"the ground was packed with 55,000 Dutch and fifteen hundred Aussies; they were going off for an hour before the game; but once the game started; all you could hear was these 1,500 mad Aussies; the atmosphere was amazing; when you consider there was so little of us packed in behind the goals; but now I've experienced what its really like to go to the football; as the Dutch are so passionate; for a friendly it was one of the best games I've been to; "

Now this is what I am talking about. For someone like Frank to say this who has been to many of Australia's major sporting events just gets you pretty pumped up for what we are about to fly in to.

I have been warming up my voice so that I can be in full song in Germany, though I have a bit of a sore throat today which is of great concern. If I come down with something prior to heading off it will be shattering. I have pumped in a few Panadols today as will be sucking on the Strepsils to stave off this cold. Fingers crossed.

As for the boys, well the aftermath of the game sees them brimming with confidence. I am looking forward to see how they will go, with Harry Kewell likely to play this Thursday morning. Should be good!

Aussies Prove We Can Match It With The Best

Last night's match against Holland has proven to me that we are now able to match it with the best in the world, and this includes the great Brazil.

The fact that we were able to draw against a full strength Dutch outfit 1-1, is testimony in itself, however, the fact that we started pretty slowly and that the Dutch side had a vast majority of the ball as well as us playing out the game with 10 men after Luke Wiltshire was sent off, further strengthens the argument we can make the second round of the cup.

Although the Dutch had created the majority of chances, and we were being kept in it by some sensational goalkeeping by Mark Schwarzer, we could have considered ourselves a little unlucky to not be on level terms at half time when Mark Viduka's head on goal was brilliantly saved.

The second half we lifted a cog and Dukes deservedly received a penalty. Of concern was his missed the conversion again (perhaps it is time Dukes stood down from penalty duties after missing against Uruguay as well?), however it was great to see Tim Cahill come onto the field and with his first touch, slot in the rebounding ball.

Harry Kewell was also missing, and there is little doubt his influence in the midfield will provide a huge boost to the side.

Things are looking good for the lads, and with 5 days to go until I depart, I cannot wait!!

One Week to Go, I'm Excited!!

Well it is one week to go until I head off for Germany, and needless to say the anticipation is growing by the minute.

We head off on Saturday 10 June at 7.30am and head into Frankfurt via Hong Kong. It will mean an early start obviously, however, with the opening match being played that night, I think I will do the hard yards and sit up and watch it, after all, it is not everyday you are heading off to "be part of it".

It is also good news on the team front, having read in the paper today that Harry Kewell is a good chance to be right for the final warm up match against Lichenstein (is that how you spell it??)

While I have been a critic of some of our star players like Viduka, Harry is someone who I believe is the most important "star" of the group. He has the ability to change a game in an instant, and can be that bit of magic we will need to get over the likes of Japan and Croatia.

While I am on the subject of "Dukes", I have to admit, he has impressed me since becoming captain, and I am inclined to believe that if he is at the top of his game come June 12, then he could very well assume this mantle from our Harry. Time will tell, however, it is going to be an interesting week leading up to the Japan game.

Pondering on the Dutch match this weekend, I cannot wait to watch this as I reckon it will be a pretty good indicator as to where we are at. Also, it will be a great opportunity for the fans over there to get a real taste as to what we are in for over the next month. No doubt I will be in contact with Cousin Frankie after the match to find out what it was like, and I will report all that is said on here after I have spoken with him.

Until then, Prost!