Archive for the 'World Cup' Category
Australia v Qatar
This Wednesday night will be the second of 8 matches for the Socceroos in round 4 of our World Cup Qualification. I have tickets along with my wife and many friends who have travelled to Brisbane to watch.
We will be without Harry, Bresc and Vinnie but I am confident that we have the stocks to put up a good showing at “Brisbane Stadium”. Tim Cahill is back after a long injury break and Craig Moore has come out of retirement.
Tim is one of the most exciting talents to leave our shores for a career in Europe and I am sure he will delight us on Wednesday night. I think he will be slotted in behind a Josh Kennedy and Scott McDonald strike partnership.
Being an old fullback from back in the day, I have always been a huge Moore fan. I am very excited to see him in the squad. I think Pim has a good headache to have. Chris Coyne has played better each time he has put the Gold Shirt on and I am very impressed. With Uruguayan Sebastian Quintana leading the charge for the Qataris I feel we need a solid central defence and Moores experience would certainly be a huge bonus. However the fitness and speed of Quintana might see the need for a Jade North or Mathew Spiranovic to partner Socceroo Captain Lucas Neil in the centre. I am glad it is Pims choice and not mine.
I can’t wait for Wednesday night. It has been nearly 4 months since our last Live match here in Australia. I think there are still some tickets left but hopefully it will be close to being full. Come on you Queenslanders show Australia how good a crowd we are at Supporting the premier International Football team in this country.
Cheers
Tezza
October 14 2008 | Socceroos and World Cup | 2 Comments »
Australia and Asian Football.
Since our acceptance as a Member of the Asian Football Conference and of course our successful sojourn to Germany in 2006, Australian Football both Internationally and Nationally has grown.
We now find ourselves in the 4th and final round of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. From a fans point of view I find this very exciting. I find myself planning my life around when and sometimes where the Socceroos are playing. I have just taken on a new position in a new company, which will take a lot of work and hours to get going. In my interview I pointed out that I would require 2-3 weeks off next June as I wanted to go to Qatar and back to Sydney and Melbourne to watch the final stages of our campaign. It was met with a wry smile, but he understood and I will be going.Maybe not the whole family, but definitely with my lovely wife
But between now and then there are 4 other opportunities for Aussies to follow our team. Starting with Tashkent this Wednesday where there is a good crew of Aussies going. Following Football is not only an opportunity to support a team, but to see some fantastic parts of the World. Since the draw was announced I have told many people (non football) about the Aussies playing in Tashkent, and they have no idea what I am talking about. This is one of the oldest cities in the World and is part of the Old Silk Road trading route between Asia and Europe. It also part of the old Soviet Union and is now an Independent country in Central Asia.
I am really looking forward to hearing the stories from these Asian trekkers when they return. Part of the crew is the biggest Australian Fan of them all. A 70 year old lady who has been travelling to follow the Socceroos since the 1974 World Cup in West Germany.
Our Football future is now in Asia and the trips to come for the fans will be fantastic. Like many fans, I will be planning my next 20 years worth of holidays around Socceroos matches, and there will be many of them.
Remember, for those of us not lucky enough to be in Tashkent.
- Aus East Coast - 1am Thursday Sept 11
- Aus Central - 12:30am Wednesday Sept 10
- Aus West Coast - 11pm Wednesday Sept 10
- London - 4pm Wednesday Sept 10
Cheers
Tezza
September 07 2008 | Socceroos and World Cup | 2 Comments »
How Hard is it to Organise Match Tickets??
In stark contrast that was Dubai last month, the upcoming friendlies against South Africa and the Netherlands, there is Ticket Information available on the FFA website.
FIFA have rules and regs regarding ticketing, of which you have to delve deep within their regulations to find out what they actually are. They have them for individual tournaments from what I can see. In this case the matches are friendlies orgainised by the 2 nations. I assume the host nation would provide the ticketing.
Here is the regulation for ticketing for the 2010 World Cup Preliminary Matches. I would assume that friendlies would follow this fairly closely, with the exception of the free VIP tickets for FIFA.
During the preliminary competition, the relevant host association is
responsible for the ticketing. It shall set aside an appropriate number –
to be fixed by mutual agreement – of complimentary and purchasable
tickets for the visiting association. At least five representatives from the
visiting association shall be seated in the VIP box. The host association
shall, upon request and free of charge, provide FIFA with 10 (ten) VIP
box tickets and up to 40 (forty) category 1 tickets for each match. Such
tickets shall be provided to FIFA at least 30 days before the match.
This should have been a simple rule for the IFA to follow but they did not. Also the FFA should have made sure that the IFA followed the rules. Now we have some friendlies in London, where I assume we are the home team, and in the Netherlands and miraculously there are tickets available a month out.
I have no doubt that dealing with European and other western nations is easier than the middle east, but the FFA’s total lack of information for the Iraq and Qatar matches was ridiculous. They can obviously organise tickets in other parts of the world and FIFA have rules in place to make sure this happens. We have 7 Away matches in 2 tournaments between now and March 2010 plus friendlies. Please FFA, get your act together and help us fans secure tickets. We are the ones who travel the globe and give our boys and girls support in far flung countries such as Uzbekistan. How Hard Can It Be???
To the European based Aussies who can get to one or both of these matches, I am sure you will have a great time. Be proud and “Sing with One Voice”.
Cheers
Terry
INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY
Qantas Socceroos vs South Africa
Tuesday 19 August 2008
Loftus Rd Stadium
London UK
Kick Off 8pm (Local Time)
Ticket Prices
£20.00 - £30.00
Where do we purchase tickets?
Phone – QPR ticket office on 08444 777 007 / 08448 471 659
Web sales - www.qpr.premiumtv.co.uk
Or
Phone – Ticketmaster on 08448 471 659
Web sales - www.ticketmaster.co.uk
INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY
Netherlands vs Qantas Socceroos
Saturday 6 September 2008
Philips Stadium
Eindhoven, Netherlands
Kick Off 8.45pm (Local Time)
Ticket Prices
€17.50 - €40.00
Where do we purchase tickets?
General Ticket sales commence August 9
Web sales - www.ticketbox.nl
(please note this website is in Dutch)
In addition FFA has received an allocation of tickets from the KNVB. Sales details for these tickets will be released here shortly.
July 20 2008 | World Cup | No Comments »
AFC World Cup Qualifier Round 4
Tonight at 7pm our time in Kualar Lumpur, the draw for round 4 of the World Cup Qualifiers took place at AFC house. The final 10 teams were split into 2 groups of 5, with the top 2 teams of each group qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Australia were seeded No.1 and were in Pot 1 with South Korea, the only team we could not be drawn with.
Here are the 2 groups for Round 4
Group A
- Australia
- Japan
- Bahrain
- Uzbekistan
- Qatar
Group B
- Korea Republic
- Iran
- Saudi Arabia
- DPR Korea
- UAE
I think this is the best we could have done. Perhaps swapping Uzbekistan with UAE would be better, but in all seriousness, if we cannot make the World Cup from this group, then we don’t deserve to be there.
Here is the draw for Round 4
- September 6 - Bye
- September 10 - v Uzbekistan - Away
- October 15 - v Qatar - Home
- November 19 - v Bahrain - Away
- February 11 - v Japan - Away
- March 28 - Bye
- April 1 - Uzbekistan - Home
- June 6 - Qatar - Away
- June 10 - Bahrain - Home
- June 17 - Japan - Home
AN away trip to Teshkent in Uzbekistan sounds interesting, although as I have only just started a new job, highly unlikely. Super June 2009 is a definite possibility. 2 weeks holidays will get an away trip to Doha and then back home for Bahrain and Japan. Veronica is going to love another Football trip to celebrate her birthday, and when we beat Japan to finish top of the group it will be all worth it.
Start planning people.
Cheers
Tezza
June 27 2008 | World Cup | 2 Comments »
Australia 0 - China 1
Last night in Sydney the Socceroos lost 1-0 to China in the final match of round 3. Although we lost it had no bearing on our progress to round 4 of WC qualifying.
Meeting up with the AOT and GGA boys and girls was the highlight for me. We met at the Homebush Bay Brewery adjacent to ANZ Stadium where many beers were consumed. A new song was created in honor of “Pim Verbeek” by some of the AOT boys on Saturday Night. Needless to say that “And we’ll all go marching on with Pim Verbeek” is still ringing in my head.
Thanks to all our friends for making it such a great night. We celebrated our passage to the 4th round with more beer after the match. It is obvious to me that we all missed the new binge drinking campaign. Sally Shippard showed up again after the match and she actually remembered me. Mat and Sally were again shooting stuff for their Final Whistle program.
Following the Socceroos around has been a great experience for me and Veronica over the past 2 years, and the friends we have met along the way have made it that much more special.
Well it has been a big weekend and I am tired, so good night boys and girls.
Terry
June 23 2008 | Socceroos and World Cup | 3 Comments »
Australia 3 - Qatar 1
Well, the Socceroos are through to the 4th round of Asian World Cup qualifying. A brace from Brett Emerton and a sealer form Harry has put us through to the next round. A changed formation from Pim certainly paid dividends. However I was still a little worried with our defense at times. Sebastian Quintana was able to penetrate too many times for my liking. He is a quality player and we will come up against more players like him in the next round.
After the ticket dramas of Dubai, the Qatari’s decided to give 800 free tickets away to the Aussies. A great gesture by the Qatari FA, even though tickets would have only been $3 to buy. I know it was much appreciated by the traveling fans. All reports have the locals being very friendly as they were in Dubai.
Next weeks match in Sydney against the Chinese is not important points wise for the Aussies but I would think that losing is not an option for the Aussies who will pull on the Green and Gold that night. A win would cement our position as No 1 in the group and give us confidence going into the next round.
The draw for the next round will take place on June 27 in Kuala Lumpur. We have to play another 4 home and 4 away matches between September 2008 and June 2009.
June 16 2008 | Socceroos and World Cup | No Comments »
We were beaten last night 1-0 and all credit to the Iraqi team for the win.
A gallant Socceroos fought hard in difficult conditions but were beaten by a fantastic goal. I hind sight I am sure Shwartz would agree he was out of position, but he was beaten by an alert Emad Mohammed and all credit to him.
I thought our defence and midfield played well, with Jade North in good form. Chris Coyne had a good debut for the Aussies as did Carl Valeri. My only criticism is that we lacked penetration up front. Harry was very quite because he simply did not receive the ball. The second half was much better for attacking although I thought Harry was getting better when he was replaced.
I personally think a draw would have been the fair result, but that is Football and fairness does not always come in to it.
Ticket Scandal
About 300 Aussies paid the extortionate price of US$100 for a ticket to the match last night. This is something that FIFA and The AFC need to look at and soon. It was obvious to the Aussie fans last night that they were not wanted at the ground, and a deliberate price hike for the fans was how the Iraqi FA wanted to tackle it.
This is the same Iraqi FA that myself and many other Aussies either blogged or posted about how unfair it was that they were banned by FIFA for something their government did. They then repaid our support by RIPPING OUR SUPPORTERS OFF when they had their turn. Don’t expect a fair go when you return to Australia one day IFA, because you DO NOT deserve it.
June 08 2008 | Socceroos and World Cup | No Comments »
Australia v Iraq Wrapup
The match is over and the experts have cast their opinions, the coach and players have had their say. Now its my turn.
The Socceroos walked off Suncorp with 3 points. They achieved their objective. I do agree with the commentators and coach, in that the overall performance was below par. It was mostly in the back line with the Internationally inexperienced pairing of Beauchamp and North in the centre of defence. This is not their fault, Pim had to use the best players at his disposal and in my opinion he made the right choice. There is no doubt in my mind that the experience of Lucas Neil would have vastly improved the defence. But unless his wife has her child early we will be without him next week as well. I think that Emerton had a slow start to the match but eventually got into it. And Carney was solid without being outstanding.
The midfield also were good without being outstanding, I think Bresc was a little hard on himself in the media though. And Vinnie was rock solid as usual.
Scott MacDonald found it hard to get into the match as a lone striker, but i believe there are great things to come form him in the future. And Harry had a solid game to show us and prospective employers he still has much to give. The goal was from a magnificent cross by Emo and Harry’s head on the end of it was quality.
Man of the Match in my opinion had to be Schwartzer. He kept us in the game and made the crucial saves after a leaky defence.
Credit to the Iraqis who never gave up and had the better of the chances.
Our eyes turn to Dubai next Sunday for the return bout. Iraq are on the canvas but not knocked out just yet. They are very capable of beating us next week, so watch out boys.
Cheers
Terry
Let me know what you think, and leave a comment.
June 03 2008 | Socceroos and World Cup | No Comments »
Australia V Iraq
Well if you have been under a rock tonight, Australia beat Iraq 1 - 0. In my expert opinion we were friggin awesome. The only sad point to the day was the abandoned Supporters match. The Toowong FC committee deemed that the ground was too wet to play yesterday and we were scuttled. Anyway, life goes on.
The up side was more drinking time at The Pig N Whistle in Brisbane with the Green and Gold Army. As usual we had a great time. Singing out of key and destroying many Aussie classic songs was just part of the afternoon. Catching up with friends was the highlight.
One mate i caught up with was Mat. I met Mat in Melbourne in February when we played against Qatar. Mat is a Queenslander and very passionate football supporter. I saw Mat running around the pub with a film crew in tow getting us supporters to sing and carry on as we do. Not a big ask. I saw Mat at the bar and asked what he was doing. Turns out he is doing a pilot for Fox Sports on Passionate Socceroos Supporters and asked if he could interview me. Being the bashful guy I am, I immediately said YES.
The other thing I noticed was he seemed to be hanging around Sally Shipard. Now Sally is a Matilda for those of you who do not know. She is one of the best up and coming talents Australian women’s Football has in this country, and one of the youngest to ever represent us at Senior Level.
I head out to the interview and end up being Interviewed by Mat and Sally. How cool is that. I was asked questions relating to Football in general in Australia. Second time this week I have been on TV. Does that make me a media tart? Anyway when I find out more about this show I will let you all know.
More on the game tomorrow.
Cheers
Terry
June 01 2008 | Socceroos and World Cup | 6 Comments »
SANITY PREVAILED
After 5 days of turmoil in the Football World caused by the biggest over reaction since Bob Hawke proclaimed “any boss who sacked a worker taking a sickie was a bum”, The Socceroos will take on The Lions of Babylon on Sunday. and 50,000 plus fans will be there cheering them on, (Mostly Aussies of course).
The lifting of the ban is conditional on a number of issues to be resolved between FIFA, IFA and the Iraqi Government relating to the dismantling of the Iraqi Olympic Committee. At least this will be done diplomatically and not under the cloud of an international ban.
This outcome is almost identical to that proposed by a mate of mine (Chris) on kickoff.com.au the other day. It seemed blatantly obvious to him, and to the rest of us when we read it. Perhaps Sepp has started reading it as well. It is such an obvious solution, but why did FIFA take such a hard line to start with? Because they are politicians and not interested in the welfare of the players or the fans. When a group of people get into power, they seem to loose all sense of reality and make decisions they tell us is the right one for the sport, or the people, or the economy, when in the end, it is just a decision to boost their ego or their party or whatever.
That’s enough of my high horse for the moment.
Cheers
Terry
May 29 2008 | General and World Cup | No Comments »
Next »
