AUSTRALIA! FINALLY WE ARE THROUGH TO THE WORLD-CUP!

Toss and turn. An unblinking, awe struck silence filled my bedroom last night, as flashes of green and gold dangled in my mind, I could not sleep. Finally, after 30+ years, Australia has gone through to the 2020 World Cup. I’m so proud of the effort, and enormously happy for the team. Why? Well, firstly I grew up in Australia and secondly, I grew up playing alongside and training with alot of the guys who played last night. Young Jason Culina, and guys like Tony Popovic and Zeljko Kalac, whom were all apart of the Sydney United youth and senior teams of 1995 through to 1997, and whom I admire greatly for their hard work and dedication throughout their soccer career, finally they will experience the glory of the World Cup!

More specifically, my utmost admiration for Mark Schwarzer. He epitomises great goalkeeping. Mark totally dominated his 18 yard box, and at times was shaky, but proved his fantastic ability during the penalty shoot-out. I could only imagine the churn in the pit of his stomach, but his exterior was cool and he had a steely resolve that showed when he needed it the most, truly brilliant. The Soccer-Roos have a long haul ahead of them, but it will be fantastic to see the boys shake it up with the world’s best. Overall, it was a brilliant game and it means so much, at so many levels. As Australia opens a new stage with the A-League and our emerging presence within Asia, it can only mean a fantastic window of opportunity for young players developing their game at the grass roots level, but it also leaves a fantastic legacy for future generations as we reminisce on legends such as Johnny Warren, and our new breed leads Australia to a World Cup, that was too long coming. Johnny is definitely smiling at the boys from up above.