Jason DaseyAustraliaâs breakthrough Asian Cup victory means that John Aloisi no longer has the honor of being the hero of the nationâs most famous soccer moment
Australia's breakthrough Asian Cup victory means that John Aloisi no longer has the honor of being the hero of the nation's most famous soccer moment. And the former La Liga striker couldn't be happier.
In November 2005, Aloisi converted the decisive penalty kick against two-time world champions Uruguay that took the Socceroos through to their first World Cup in 32 years.
At the same venue in Sydney last Saturday, Australia defeated South Korea 2-1 in the 2015 Asian Cup final - after James Troisi's extra-time goal - to claim its first piece of major silverware. It created a euphoric atmosphere at the Olympic stadium that hadn't been witnessed since Aloisi's crazed, shirt-waving celebration after he'd booked a place at Germany 2006.
'The similarities are that the whole of Australia was watching and wanting the Socceroos to win and we didn't know which way it was going to go,' Aloisi told ESPN FC over a coffee in Sydney. 'But I have to say that this was probably our greatest achievement because it was for a trophy.'
Aloisi, who is in-between coaching assignments after parting ways with A-League outfit Melbourne Heart (now Melbourne City) at the end of 2013, worked as a TV pundit on the final. He admitted that he was a lot less composed as an observer than when he carried the weight of a nation on his shoulders on the Homebush pitch a decade ago.
'I can't imagine what it would have been like as a supporter watching back in 2005 because I started to get nervous when the final went to extra-time,' he said. 'We were quite lucky in the sense that South Korea dominated for large periods of the 90 minutes before they equalized right at the end. I was very worried. But [coach] Ange [Postecoglou] nailed it when he got his words out just before extra time and then we were the better side. There was only going to be one winner.'
When Australia was still part of the Oceania confederation, it faced off against the fifth-placed team from South American qualifying three times for a World Cup spot. In the 2006 play-off after two legs, the Socceroos and Uruguay were tied at 1-1 before it went to penalties in Sydney.
After Mark Schwarzer made two crucial saves in the shoot-out, Aloisi's left-footed strike past Fabian Carini gave his nation a 4-2 victory on penalties and sent a nation into raptures.
Australia would exceed expectations at Germany 2006, making the round of 16 before falling to a last-minute 1-0 defeat to the eventual champion, Italy. Aloisi played in all four matches in the tournament and scored in the opening 3-1 victory over Japan.
In all, he made 55 international appearances with 27 goals, including another against Japan in the quarterfinals of the 2007 Asian Cup in Hanoi. He remains the only Australian to have played and scored in each of Europe's three big leagues ' the English Premier League [for Portsmouth and Coventry], Serie A (Cremonese) and Spain's La Liga (Alaves and Osasuna).
When an Australia side containing Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka played Brazil in the 2006 World Cup, Aloisi was the only opposing player that Ronaldinho said he knew because of the La Liga link. And for four seasons, his Osasuna manager was recently departed Japan boss, Javier Aguirre, who has suggested that Aloisi try his luck as a coach in Spain.
In many ways, Aloisi's defining career moment and last weekend's lifting of a first major trophy are bookends of an unprecedented period of growth for Australian soccer. It saw the birth of the A-League, entry into the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), three World Cup finals appearances and a new generation of fans moving across from other sports.
'I'm not surprised. We've had a few hiccups along the way but you can see now that the game is in a good space and we're only really starting out,' Aloisi said.
'We've got a new television rights deal coming up so we have to make sure that we put money back into the clubs and to the grassroots level. And the national team will keep on improving. First, they need to get to the 2018 World Cup and then aim to do better than the 2006 side by making the quarterfinals. I wouldn't put it past them.'
During our conversation at a Sydney hotel, a balding, middle-aged man approached 39-year-old Aloisi to ask for a photograph.
'You're my wife's favorite player,' he said, in between iPhone flashes.
Adelaide-born Aloisi played in the 2004 Olympics, three Confederations Cups and scored almost 150 goals in a 20-year senior club career that ended with Melbourne Heart in 2011. But the majority of casual fans still associate him with a single kick that lasted a couple of seconds almost a decade ago.
'You can be remembered for worse things because people always say where they were and what they doing during that moment. Now they'll be saying where they were when Australia won the Asian Cup. It's a good feeling that so many people actually love our game and it's something that can bring all of our country together.'
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Jason Dasey is senior editor of ESPN FC, Indonesia's most popular English language soccer website with a new SE Asia edition and a daily Indonesian language TV show on NET. Twitter: @JasonDasey
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