Rob's Blog

Tonight a friendly match between Australia and Paraguay was played in Brisbane. My nephew Dan played Australia against Paraguay on the FIFA Soccer PC game just before kick-off, the result 1-0 to Australia. The actual game was a similar tight affair. The skilful Paraguays played tight football and defended well, with Australia having more attacking opportunities. These ‘friendly’ games never seem to be that friendly – there was lots of tension out there. The South Americans rolled around in pain after every tackle, as expected, and it was good to see the Aussie did not follow their example. It does not need to be done. Australia scored both goals in the game, though unfortunately the second one in the final minutes was into our own goal, the final result 1-1. From the euphoria of the first goal to take the lead, to the own goal robbing us of victory in the last minutes, soccer can be frustrating and disappointing, but I guess that is why we keep coming back.

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Leading up to the Australian Soccer Team’s game against Paraguay this weekend, the captain of the squad Craig Moore was controversially dropped from the team. He did not turn up for a training session as he slept in and missed his plane. In a time of ‘bad boys’ football players, my first thought was that he was out all night partying and drinking. It was not the case; he was probably affected by jetlag more than anything. However, he still needs to be more responsible and get himself to the national squad training session no matter what. It may seem harsh to be dropped for a game for missing one training session, but a standard has to be set, and the rules upheld. It is a hard decision to leave out one of our best players, but right nevertheless. No matter how good the player is, or how good their record has been in the past, I think it was the right thing to do and send the message to the other players and the supporters that this team means business, and everyone has to pull their weight.

Related Pages: Soccer, Craig Moore profile

For many reasons I was supporting Italy in the World Cup Final this morning. Having spent a month in Italy last year, my wife being part Italian, and Italy knocking out Australia early in the tournament all lead me to follow the Azzuri. With the dubious penalty to France in the first half, and Zidane’s head explosion in extra time, Italy deserved to win, though going by the general play France had the upper hand for much of the match. It would not have been a World Cup final with out some controversy. I love to watch football, and I know diving part of the game, though it frustrates me no end to see players get away with faking an injury. I agree with a commentator the other day who suggested that they should introduce video referees who can penalise players after the game for obvious faked fouls. I would also like to see those with an ‘injury’ given a compulsory break of 5 minutes or otherwise substitute another player. For soccer to take off in this country, this is the area of the game they need to clean up.

Related Pages: Soccer, Football World Cup, Italy at the WC

Australia’s dream run at the World Cup of Football has come to an end in a spectacular and frustratingly disappointing manner. Australia were able to hold Italy scoreless for nearly the whole game, until literally the last few seconds of regular time when Italy were awarded a dubious penalty, winning the game 1-0. Who knows what would have happened in extra time and penalty shoot-out if it went that far, though Australia had had more possession and more shots on goal and it seemed to be only a matter of time before they scored. All this was helped by one of the Italian players being sent off early in the second half. Australia failed to capitalize on having an extra man and maybe did not deserve to win the game. In the end, the Aussies must be proud of what they have achieved, and putting up a good battle with Italy they have again demonstrated their potential to the world. I finally bit the bullet and headed into the streets to watch the game live on a large screen in Lygon Street, the Italian area of town, with thousands of others who also braved the cold. After the final whistle had blown, and the reality of what had happened sunk in, the crowd slowly and quietly drifted away, back to their bed - maybe to dream about what might have been.

Related Pages: Soccer, Football World Cup, Italy at the WC, Australia at the WC

Another exciting day for Australia with the Socceroos drawing with Croatia, doing just enough to go through to the second round, to play Italy next week. I couldn’t bring myself to head into Federation Square in the city to watch the game at 5am with the thousands gathered there, though in the end it would have been a great place to enjoy the spectacle. Instead I curled up at home on the couch with the heater on, which was not too bad either. There were a lot of anxious moments, with Australia behind for much of the match. A penalty to Craig Moore and a field goal to Harry Kewell got us through. The team has surpassed all expectations and done a lot for the sport at home. There are plenty more sleepless nights to come.

Related Pages: Soccer, Football World Cup, Croatia at the WC, Australia at the WC, Craig Moore profile, Harry Kewell profile

For breakfast this morning I snacked on a bowl of soccerballs. Not real soccer balls of course. Nestle have brought out a new breakfast cereal, officially licensed by FIFA. The packet says to just add milk to reveal the soccer balls. As the little crunchy balls absorb milk they swell up a little, but I would not consider them looking like soccerballs though. They tasted pretty average, but I am sure better tasting than eating the real thing. For those who live for sport, here is another way to make sport part of your day.

Related Pages: Soccer, Football World Cup, soccer balls