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

What a present. Up at 4:45am to watch the Socceroos and they WIN. 2-1 to the boys in Green and Gold.

I thought it was a good all round performance by the starting 11 and will go a long way to boost their confidence on Wednesday in Tashkent.

As usual the GGA was there and with good numbers. Being so close to England the London Crew was there in force. I am sure that Lindsay, Longy and the crew are partying hard in Eindhoven right now. I believe there is a recovery session in Amsterdam tomorrow.

Perhaps they will all be looking up the “Liver Cleansing Diet” on Monday.

The next phase of World Cup Qualifying has now started and our first match is Wednesday in Tashkent. There are 50 GGA members heading to the old Silk Road city in Uzbekistan. I am sure it will be a trip that will be talked about for many years to come. Wish I was there.

And to all you Fathers out there, Happy Fathers Day

Tezza

Last night my son and 5 of of his mates were attacked by a group of 30 or so heroes who are apparently from a local gang called the “South Side Soldiers”. A Soldier is a person of honour and valour who defends the civillians of this country. These gutless, brain dead morons are far from soldiers.

My son was lucky and escaped with a few grazes and bruises. His best mate however is in hospital tonight awaiting surgery tomorrow to have plates inserted into his fractured jaw because the low life’s thought it would be fun to lay into him whilst he was laying on the ground.

I hear and read too many stories of how young men die from a single punch. To hear this story this morning and how close my own son could have come to being a statistic is every parents nightmare. Until I actually saw my son which was almost 2 hours after we spoke, my guts were just churning and my head was just processing all the possible scenarios.

No one died in this incident. But young men need to wake up to themselves and realise that punching someone for fun is NOT acceptable.

Grow a head you brain dead morons who think being in some kind of American style gang is cool. My only hope is that if you keep up the violent ways then Karma will catch up and put you in a grave at a young age.

I certainly hope I am not Robinson Crusoe here.

Terry

Football in this country is looking very healthy now. Our national men’s team has started preparation for round 4 of the Asian WC Qualifiers with a 2-2 draw to South Africa in London. There were some good performances and was a game to dust off the cobwebs before Tashkent in 10 days time.

In the past 12 months our National Woman’s team, The Matilda’s, have done themselves and the country proud. They are our most successful Football team ever. The forthcoming National Woman’s League will strengthen the sport here at home and give us fans more opportunity to see these ladies in action. Kickoff for the Westfield W League will be in late October some time.

The A- League kicked off 2 weeks ago with 3 draws and one result. I thought, oh no, what are we in for. Then round 2, and with the exception of the Roar v AUFC 1-1 draw, there were 3 stunning matches netting 16 goals. Now with 2 matches in round 3 we have seen 8 goals already. I am off to Suncorp this afternoon to see the Roar hopefully turn a dominant performance into a win. I will be watching from a corporate box courtesy of a generous supplier. Happy Days.

The National Youth League will kickoff on September 26 which will showcase our talented youth and give them a path to senior football in this country.

The FFA has also announced this week that teams from the Gold Coast and Townsville will enter an expanded A League for season 5. Living on the Gold Coast I am delighted, and will whole heartedly support the new kids on the block. I think Frank Lowy and the FFA have steered football in this country on to a very steady course which will reap benefits for the code here in Australia.

All this and NO reports of disgruntled players breaking contracts and skulking off to France. No alcohol fueled benders or getting shot at in Kings Cross. We even have the good news story of once drug affected Mark Bosnich returning to full time football for the first time in 7 years. Our code is showing the other codes in this country how to behave. It will bring more fans and more corporate support.

These are exciting times for Football in Australia and I am pleased to be amongst.

What do you think?? leave a comment

Cheers

Tezza

Back to the Games themselves.

What was your memorable moment?

We won 14 Gold medals with some sensational performances in there from unexpected quarters like Kayak and Pole Vault. But I really loved the reaction of Sally McLelland as she crossed the line and then that fantastic interview after with Pat Welsh. “Did you see that?” she asked Pat.

Congratulations to all our Olympians, you have done you and your country proud. We look forward to 2012 in London now. The worst part about this is that the Poms will probably beat us by more than 5 Gold being the host nation. Did you see the billboards in London and 1 in Sydney? “Where the Bloody Were You” they screamed. Cheeky bastards. Bring on the Ashes so we can put them back in their place.

Leave a comment so I know what you think.

Cheers

Tezza

On Thursday night the Football tournament started the night before the official opening ceremony. And our Olyroos kicked it off with a match against first timers, Serbia. The score ended up 1-1 which is obviously better than losing.

Tonight we take on defending Olympic champions, Argentina and the heir apparent to Maradonna, Lionel Messi. If we play like we did on Thursday night then it will be no contest and the Argentinians will walk all over us. The make up of this team has been widely criticized by the Australian Football media and Fans alike. However we are there now and must do what we can with what we have.

I thought Adam Federici, Jade North and Mathew Sporanovic were our best players with good performances by Carney in the 2nd half and our goal scorer Ruben Zadkovic. We lacked cohesion and gave the ball away too many times. Nicholas Topor Stanley had a shocker. He was MIA whenever the Serbs attacked.

We will have to be on our game tonight and I hope Arny gets the team and the tactics right. 7pm our time, and hopefully LIVE on 7.

Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.

Cheers

Tezza

(Say that with a Jamaican accent and it will sound heaps better. Anyone remember the Jamaican Bobsled Team?)

I love the Olympics and I love being Australian. It is obvious that my favorite sport is Football, but I do have passion for the Worlds Biggest Sports Carnival.

I could not care less if they are jumping of a plank, swimming in a pool, riding a horse or have pegs on their noses. I will watch as many hours as I can over the next 2 weeks and support every Australian that is wearing the Green and Gold.

It must be the coolest thing to represent your country in anything. But to be part of the Australian Olympic Team must be the ultimate in my view. Our elite Aussie athletes will be part of a 433 strong contingent. What an awesome time they will have in the athletes village, competing and watching fellow athletes compete.

I have done 1 World Cup as a fan and will do many more before my time is up. However I do want to attend the Worlds Biggest Sports Carnival at some stage, to watch the Olyroos and Matilda’s do battle. My memories of Germany 2006 are still fresh in my mind where I had the best time of my life, and I only watched.

The 400+ athletes have already done me proud, the next 2 weeks is just icing on the cake.

I Am, You Are, We Are Australian

There is a Banner down on the left side of this site for “Perth To Paradise”. I have mentioned it before, and young Jack gets another guernsey tonight. In todays Courier Mail there is a great article about Jack and his 4500km journey across Australia which kicks off on September 11 from Perth.

What is special about this article is that Jack has also been Nominated for a “Pride Of Australia” medal. What is that, I hear you say.

The prideofaustralia™ medal honours everyday Australians who do extraordinary things in our communities. They are our unsung heroes whose contribution to the Australian way of life is not widely known or recognised by the general public. Through their achievements, these remarkable Australians inspire us to help make Australia a better place to live.

I know this young man, and he is a champion bloke. Please make a donation to Perth to Paradise, it will make the lives of some young people a little better.

Cheers

Terry

Calling home is something most Football travelers do not do very often, unless you are keeping in touch with your better half who has graciously let you loose in a foreign country. What we do, is call our mates we are travelling with. The thing about that is the call is routed through Australia first because the phone number is an Australian phone Number.

I have found a SIM card where you can save lots of Dollars. And to prove the point I have chosen Australia’s first destination, Uzbekistan, as an example comparing 4 Australian carriers to TravelSIM

Prices are per Minute and in AU$

This works will most handsets and carriers except “3″. You will need to purchase a New SIM Card with a new phone number, and it is Pre Paid. Just top up as you need it. You can onsell it if you do not need it when you get home. You will also need to use it within 6 months or it will be disabled. Just make one phone call when your back home each 6 months. Although, with so many Australian matches overseas you may be lucky enough to keep using the TravelSIM.

Of the 7 countries we will be visiting over the next 18 months, only Qatar is not on the TravelSIM list. There are in excess of 140 countries where is will work.

Here are the rates for the 6 countries we will travel to.

Cheers

Tezza