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T
he use of the term ‘soccer ’ emphasises its
diminution in Australia. Despite the hegemony
of football outside of Australia and the
USA, typically the moniker “footy” is reserved
for the dominant code, so the designation
serves to show how old-school, mainstream
Australia can defy the prof ile of the world’s
leading sport.
There is an argument that winning the Asian
Cup could press Australians to start calling the
sport ‘ football ’, consigning ‘soccer ’ to the past.
With the f lagging of league -with its constant
scandals- the World Game’s rise in Australia
seems unstoppable.
Mass coverage from overseas reveals the
glamour of La Liga or the English Premier League. The
global giants of football are constantly in search of
new markets, so while it might be the clubs marketing
their own brands during summer tours, they are
also showcasing and legitimising football. So there
is pressure from outside the country to embrace the
sport.
But for the development of the sport to become
institutionalised, the inspiration has to come from
inside the country.
There is something very Australian about supporting
a winner while scorning a loser. Results matter, but so
does the way they are
achieved. Australians
require their teams
not just to win, but to
win in style.
There have been past
successes, and many
false dawns. Too
often, the Socceroos
have enjoyed their
greatest moments
as
underdog s ,
whose pluck and grit
and teamwork made them soar above their technical
limitations. Until the win over South Korea in Sydney,
the most iconic moment in Australian football history
was Lucas Neill ’s trip in the knock out stage of the 2006
World Cup. This seems to sum up the pre-Asian Cup
Australia. Having battled to get past the group stage,
only to have some of middle Australians’ suspicions
about the sport conf irmed when Fabio Grosso collapsed
over Neill ’s leg. The foreigner was a cynical cheat, the
Australian a clumsy dupe. The spell was broken when
the penalty was converted.
THI S I S WHY THE
AS IAN CUP WIN COULD
CHANGE EVERYTHING
FOR FOOTBALL IN
AUSTRAL IA . . . PEOPLE
HAVE A MORE OPEN
MIND ABOUT FOOTBALL
THAN IN THE PAST .
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ISSUE 20 | MARCH 2015 |
27