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One Fantastic Goal: A Complete History of Football in Australia
In late 2005 83,000 football fans hugged and danced and cheered in one moment of shared ecstasy. John Aloisi's goal had secured a place for Australia in the World Cup for only the second time in history. Since the 1960s the goal had always been the same - qualify for the World Cup. Apart from qualification in 1974 this has proved elusive with the national team dramatically falling at the final hurdle, time and time again.
But there is much more to this story for it reaches way back to 1880 when a team of boys from the Kings School turned out at Parramatta Common, west of Sydney, to play a team of older men known as the Wanderers. After modest beginnings in colonial Australia the game took a roller-coaster ride finally culminating in its recent resurgence with the establishment of a top-flight national competition, a huge squad of locals starring in overseas competitions and World Cup qualification.
One Fantastic Goal is the only comprehensive history that has ever been put together on football (soccer) in Australia, warts and all. It is not always a pretty story with opportunistic administrators often corrupt or incompetent, or both. But a true coming of age is at hand for Australian Football and the path to this newfound maturity is a fascinating and eventful tale of struggle, heartache and sweet success.
But there is much more to this story for it reaches way back to 1880 when a team of boys from the Kings School turned out at Parramatta Common, west of Sydney, to play a team of older men known as the Wanderers. After modest beginnings in colonial Australia the game took a roller-coaster ride finally culminating in its recent resurgence with the establishment of a top-flight national competition, a huge squad of locals starring in overseas competitions and World Cup qualification.
One Fantastic Goal is the only comprehensive history that has ever been put together on football (soccer) in Australia, warts and all. It is not always a pretty story with opportunistic administrators often corrupt or incompetent, or both. But a true coming of age is at hand for Australian Football and the path to this newfound maturity is a fascinating and eventful tale of struggle, heartache and sweet success.
320 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 13, 2016
My Rating:
6.5 out of 10
Who’s it for?
Anyone seeking in-depth knowledge about the history of the game in Australia.
Review
I've taken our position in football in this country for granted. I knew so little about the hard work that has progressed us to where we are today. Thanks to Trevor Thompson and his book, I am a little more versed in the game I love. Why is history important? It shows the paths we have taken, highlighting the good and bad. A study of history allows us to forge better paths for the future. It can also make you pause and reflect on how grateful we should be to those who battled for where we are today.
At times the book can be a little hard to get through. If you’re not interested in specific players, matches and clubs of Australian football’s past then you may start to get vibes of being back in school reading through a book that you’re not that keen on. The book is broken down into three sections, which make it necessary for the author to cover the same ground quite a few times. I’m quite slow to catch on to things, so for me this wasn’t a problem. Maybe if all books were like this I’d retain more information!
The best way to summarise how I feel is by quoting a section of Les Murray’s forward to the book:
“…few in this country, or in any other country, realize just how old the Australian game is and what a rich and colourful history it has.”
Some interesting tidbits
• The first recorded game in Australia took place in 1880
• The missing Ashes trophy. Australia and New Zealand had an Ashes trophy forged in 1923. Its whereabouts today is unknown. P44 – NZ and Australia use to play each other:
• Australia won its first international tournament in 1967. It was called the Vietnam National Day tournament and was hosted in Saigon in 1967. From the book “Participation in the Saigon tournament was part of a government backed policy of flying the flag in wartime Vietnam and the sounds of battle could be heard during matches at Saigon’s Cong Hua Stadium.
• When Australia beat South Korea to win the above tournament it was the first mention of our nickname ‘Socceroos’. This was coined by the News Limited journalist Tony Horstead.
• Australia won the first ever FIFA golden goal game. This was in 1993 when we hosted the World Youth Championship. The win was against Uruguay in the quarter finals.
• Australia is the only country in the world, which has had to travel to every continent to play in qualifying matches.
• 1923 was the first time the Australian football team stood to attention for a pre-match rendition of Advance Australia Fair. It was against a touring China. The band then had an awkward few moments while they considered what to play for the visitors before launching in to a hearty version of For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow.
6.5 out of 10
Who’s it for?
Anyone seeking in-depth knowledge about the history of the game in Australia.
Review
I've taken our position in football in this country for granted. I knew so little about the hard work that has progressed us to where we are today. Thanks to Trevor Thompson and his book, I am a little more versed in the game I love. Why is history important? It shows the paths we have taken, highlighting the good and bad. A study of history allows us to forge better paths for the future. It can also make you pause and reflect on how grateful we should be to those who battled for where we are today.
At times the book can be a little hard to get through. If you’re not interested in specific players, matches and clubs of Australian football’s past then you may start to get vibes of being back in school reading through a book that you’re not that keen on. The book is broken down into three sections, which make it necessary for the author to cover the same ground quite a few times. I’m quite slow to catch on to things, so for me this wasn’t a problem. Maybe if all books were like this I’d retain more information!
The best way to summarise how I feel is by quoting a section of Les Murray’s forward to the book:
“…few in this country, or in any other country, realize just how old the Australian game is and what a rich and colourful history it has.”
Some interesting tidbits
• The first recorded game in Australia took place in 1880
• The missing Ashes trophy. Australia and New Zealand had an Ashes trophy forged in 1923. Its whereabouts today is unknown. P44 – NZ and Australia use to play each other:
• Australia won its first international tournament in 1967. It was called the Vietnam National Day tournament and was hosted in Saigon in 1967. From the book “Participation in the Saigon tournament was part of a government backed policy of flying the flag in wartime Vietnam and the sounds of battle could be heard during matches at Saigon’s Cong Hua Stadium.
• When Australia beat South Korea to win the above tournament it was the first mention of our nickname ‘Socceroos’. This was coined by the News Limited journalist Tony Horstead.
• Australia won the first ever FIFA golden goal game. This was in 1993 when we hosted the World Youth Championship. The win was against Uruguay in the quarter finals.
• Australia is the only country in the world, which has had to travel to every continent to play in qualifying matches.
• 1923 was the first time the Australian football team stood to attention for a pre-match rendition of Advance Australia Fair. It was against a touring China. The band then had an awkward few moments while they considered what to play for the visitors before launching in to a hearty version of For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow.
Displaying 1 of 1 review