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Can you see it? That film of sweat on the brows of everyone you
see. Dripping perspiration, faces glowing like a porn star. Yes,
A-League fever has gripped the country like the Asian Bird 'Flu.
Well, maybe that's an exaggeration. But it was a humdinger of
a start for the new national soc- ... I mean, football league
last weekend when 70,206 souls ventured to see the first four
games of the competition. More than 20,000 turned out to two of
the matches: 21,725 fans turned out at Suncorp Stadium to watch
Queensland beat the New Zealand Knights, while at Aussie Stadium
in Sydney 25,208 fans saw Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory play
a 1-all draw. Every game was tight, exciting stuff: the largest
margin was two goals.
Football's life is on the line in this country, it's neck on the
block. It edged it back from the blade an inch or so on the weekend.
The round-ball game in this country has had many false dawns.
But this sun doesn't look like waning, if the opening round of
the A-League was any indication. It will only get better, too.
The National Basketball League starts this weekend, sources have
told Inside Sport. It's barely rated a whimper on the
public's radar. The A-League looks to have it beat before the
major winter codes have finished.
But let's keep it real. Let's understand that for all the success
of the first round of the A-League, nothing means more to football
in this country than the Socceroos. They play the first leg of
a two-match World Cup elimination series against the Soloman Islands
on Saturday night. Three days later they play the return leg in
the furnace of Honiara. Let's be clear: this is when Australia's
football future starts. Right now. A strong domestic competition
is crucial. But to truly capture the hearts and minds of the public,
anything short of an Australian side competing for the Holy Grail
- the World Cup - in Germany next year will be unacceptable.
New coach Guus Hiddink has been thrown in at the deep end. Australia
will get over the Solomans, you'd expect, bringing it all down
to a showdown with the fifth-placed South American team in November.
But perhaps leading players Lucas Neill and Marco Bresciano showed
their hands - and Australia's dilemma (again) when they said this
week that they hoped to smash the Soloman Islands so Hiddink could
give them a break from the second leg in Honiara, allowing them
to return to their respective English Premier League teams. The
Socceroos will need to be far more united than that if they are
to finally break into the World Cup finals. Hopefully Hiddink
will not let it happen.
Many in world football is writing off Australia's chances of qualifying
for the World Cup; they are deemed no chance against whichever
that fifth-placed South American team is. "We've been confident
in the past, for example against Uruguay, and we've failed,"
Neill said. "Now hardly anybody expects us to qualify for
Germany. That's not a bad thing."
Should they be right, however, let's not kid ourselves: the success
of the A-League will amount to precious little.
What do you think? Are we stuffed? Click
your way to our Comebacks
page and tell us. You could win a Shimano 2000 Fishing
Reel worth $80.00
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