text1


*THE WEEK IN FOOTBALL* What's happening around the world By Tony Malone (20/11/05)


	On Wednesday evening, like millions of other people around the country, myself and my dog, Genji (who, as you all know, follows football very closely), sat down to watch the Socceroos attempt to qualify for next year's World Cup. In the days leading up to the match, the national interest in the game was evident; articles appeared every day in all of the newspapers, and not all of them were confined to the sports section. Television news programmes were also full of stories about the Socceroos' chances of getting past Uruguay. In the past, the round-ball game has not been able to gain the support of the majority of ordinary Australians; in fact, football supporters were often subject to ridicule at the hands of fans of sports such as AFL and Rugby League. However, for the first time, it seemed that everyone was interested and, more importantly, actually wanted to watch the game. As the Australian players strode on to the Telstra Stadium turf, you could see that they felt the support (and the pressure) of the 82,000 fans inside and the millions elsewhere throughout the country. It seemed, at least for the first fifteen minutes, as if it was all a bit too much for the team, and they struggled to come to terms with an experienced Uruguay team which knew exactly what it needed to do. Eventually, the team began to settle, and, when it became apparent that the Uruguayans were content to play with only one striker, manager Guus Hiddinck made a brave early substitution which was to have a major influence on the outcome. Central defender Tony Popovic made way for Harry Kewell, the golden boy of Australian football over the past few years. Almost immediately, Kewell played a major part in the attack which led to Marco Bresciano's goal; 1-0 to the Socceroos, 1-1 on aggregate. The second half began similarly to the first, with Uruguay creating two good chances after slack defending by the Australians. However, the hosts gradually took control of the game, dominating most of the second period with brilliant posession football and dazzling wing play from Kewell. It was easy to see the difference that Hiddinck had made in the few short months since taking over the job. No more goals came, and we all know what happened in the penalty shoot-out. John Aloisi's well-taken spot kick ended the thirty-two year wait for World Cup qualification, sparking huge parties at places such as Federation Square in Melbourne and the Domain in Sydney, where thousands of supporters had gathered to watch the match on large screens. As the supporters in sky-blue left the stadium disconsolately, the fans in green and gold danced and sang as the song "Down Under" was played on the stadium loudspeakers. The importance of Wednesday's win cannot be over-estimated. The $8 million which the FFA will receive from FIFA is just the tip of the iceberg; already, clubs in Victoria are being swamped by applications from the next generation of Vidukas and Emertons, and some commentators have already predicted that football could one day replace AFL and Rugby League as the top football code. All this is just speculation, as are predictions as to how Australia will fare at next year's final, but the more immediate effects of Wednesday's spectacle are a little easier to relate. After the stress of 120 minutes plus penalties, I was suffering from cramp in my legs and needed to rehydrate before going to bed. And Genji? I don't know how he celebrated, but he was definitely a very tired little dog on Thursday morning. See you next time: From Tony

		*Now try our IELTS-style questions!!!*

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws