2 years to the day

[roostersgal4eva]

Football lost its finest

Johnny Warren MBE OAM Died 2004, Australian footballer

Warren grew up in the southern Sydney suburb of Botany. He was a junior at Botany Methodists, and received his first taste of representative football when selected for the Protestant Churches state team at age 10.

Warren was a key member of the first Australian team to qualify for the World Cup finals. The Socceroos competed at the 1974 World Cup in Group A with West Germany, East Germany and Chile. Warren played in the 2-0 loss to East Germany, where he suffered a foot injury which ruled him out of Australia’s two remaining World Cup games. Australia's sole point came from a 0-0 draw with Chile.

After playing 62 internationals for Australia, Warren retired from the national team.

After smoking heavily for most of his life, in 2003 Warren publicly announced that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. Several months later FIFA president Sepp Blatter presented a frail Warren with the FIFA Centennial Order of Merit for his services to the game in Australia.

His last public appearance was made during the launch of the new Australian domestic football league, branded the A-League, which replaced the previous National football League.

Weeks before death, Warren was asked what he wanted his sporting legacy to be - his answer "I Told You So", a phrase which has become a catch-cry in Australian football and during the 2006 World Cup appeared on the scoreboard in the backdrop of the SBS World Cup studio.

He died of respiratory complications related to his cancer on 6 November 2004, at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney. He was awarded a full state funeral, the first to be held for a sportsman.

for those who followed the round ball code, he will be missed

He was Football's version of Ted Witten or Peter Brock

he wanted soccer to be known as football and only he predicted the outstanding sucess of the A-League

RIP!

 

[CoZi36]

RIP Warren. Where the A-League is today is amazing. That they even had to transfer the Victory matches to Telstra Dome from Olympic Park. Great work from the public.

 

[Hollow Knight]

While I have no love for the game of soccer and believe the A-League should be run out of town, you've gotta respect Warren for his passion and commitment to the game he loved.

 

[lion_gooner]

im glad he actually called it its proper name football not "soccer"

 

[blangerang]

You're right it it is called Football...in Europe not Australia

 

[roostersgal4eva]

I cried when I heard the news. A good analagy for those who not football orentated is Ted Whitten

Seeying the sucess of the a-league and the socceroos finally making the World Cup was his vision, his hope and his dream. He now is seeing it from the best seat in the house