Socceroos 2015 ASIAN CUP FINAL DISCUSSION THREAD

[Munga]

When was the last time a team ranked outside 100 won a major trophy?

 

[GreekLunatic]

I think Greece 2004

 

[Flapjacks]

So who remembers when Ange started in the a-league and was getting potted for cracking heads at the Roar (Miller, Moore & co). How long ago does that feel now!

Charlie Miller, good times. Great call as well, he was getting potted left, right and centre at the time

 

[hey shorty]

Foster probably feels like a moron ange achieved what van beek and orsieck couldn't achieve with this side

He was right about Ange then though, he is a much better coach now than he was then, which is expected.

Agree with a national trophy tour, would be nice to see it although given the nature of football we might not get to see the players. Maybe Cahill can do a farewell tour ??

 

[94_Eagles]

Nah Essenscum are

Had Paul Kelly last night so watched the first half from a sushi bar on the Parade. Had to leave after Luongo's goal so missed the whole 2nd half

Paul Kelly and co. were bloody amazing though

Whatever helps you sleep at night

 

[GreekLunatic]

Look at ange record 2 championships as a player 4 as coach and now a major national team honour

 

[94_Eagles]

Look at ange record 2 championships as a player 4 as coach and now a major national team honour

Ange da gawd

 

[GreekLunatic]

Ange for a knight hood

 

[hey shorty]

With the way the squad has developed in recent months what can we achieve ??

Making the knockout stages in Russia is a must. Young guys stepping up like they have done here could lead to exciting times.

 

[Big Sauce 21]

Kruse Ankle ligament strain apparently

 

[hey shorty]

Ange for a knight hood

He isn't an old English monarch......

 

[hey shorty]

Kruse Ankle ligament strain apparently

Better than it looked

 

[Big Sauce 21]

Better than it looked

he did walk off. Not easy to do if you ruptured the achillies

 

[Total_Juddshanks]

To give the -ve side of the result, did Australia really show much improvement in this tournament? In Qatar we narrowly lost to one of the best teams in Asia, here we narrowly beat one of the best teams in Asia, albeit 69th ranked in the world, with a home advantage and everything that entails. We had an incredibly easy ride to the final somehow avoiding the three asian teams ranked top 80 until the final and didn't really convincingly beat Korea (weirdly our performance against them in the group stage was arguably better), in fact they were probably on top in the first half but for a freak few seconds from Luongo.

It's a positive that we've found a few good young players and have a squad which will stick together for a while, but realistically an extra time win at home against the 69th ranked team in the world doesn't indicate we will be anything more than group stage road kill at the World Cup if it were played next week.

Although it would have been less exciting I would have liked to see a really clinical dismantling of Iran/Japan/Korea at some point in this tournament.

 

[Zidane98]

To give the -ve side of the result, did Australia really show much improvement in this tournament? In Qatar we narrowly lost to one of the best teams in Asia, here we narrowly beat one of the best teams in Asia, albeit 69th ranked in the world, with a home advantage and everything that entails. We had an incredibly easy ride to the final somehow avoiding the three asian teams ranked top 80 until the final and didn't really convincingly beat Korea (weirdly our performance against them in the group stage was arguably better), in fact they were probably on top in the first half but for a freak few seconds from Luongo.

It's a positive that we've found a few good young players and have a squad which will stick together for a while, but realistically an extra time win at home against the 69th ranked team in the world doesn't indicate we will be anything more than group stage road kill at the World Cup if it were played next week.

Although it would have been less exciting I would have liked to see a really clinical dismantling of Iran/Japan/Korea at some point in this tournament.

FIFA world rankings are a complete joke. Cape Verde Islands are ranked 40th and would be demolished by any of the top 5 Asian nations. The problem with the ranking system is it doesn't take into account the number of games played. African teams play the most and their ranking is padded as a result.

Definite improvement this tournament. Teams like Oman, Kuwait, China and UAE are not easybeats for any team in the world. 12 months ago we were struggling to overcome them and now we are dismantling them. All with a young team that is going to get much better. All in all this Asian Cup was an outstanding success for us. And the big difference compared to 2011 was the amount of potential future players developed by Ange. Last time around we were still relying on the likes of kewell, emerton etc etc.

 

[SleazySimon]

To give the -ve side of the result, did Australia really show much improvement in this tournament? In Qatar we narrowly lost to one of the best teams in Asia, here we narrowly beat one of the best teams in Asia, albeit 69th ranked in the world, with a home advantage and everything that entails. We had an incredibly easy ride to the final somehow avoiding the three asian teams ranked top 80 until the final and didn't really convincingly beat Korea (weirdly our performance against them in the group stage was arguably better), in fact they were probably on top in the first half but for a freak few seconds from Luongo.

It's a positive that we've found a few good young players and have a squad which will stick together for a while, but realistically an extra time win at home against the 69th ranked team in the world doesn't indicate we will be anything more than group stage road kill at the World Cup if it were played next week.

Although it would have been less exciting I would have liked to see a really clinical dismantling of Iran/Japan/Korea at some point in this tournament.

People take FIFA rankings far too seriously. Has no impact on anything - not tornaments, not WC qualification, nothing. I dont get why so many are looking for reasons not to celebrate winning silverware - this is the most important thing the national team has ever done. Isn't Cape Verde ranked in the 50's? I rest my case

 

[Zidane98]

Ange played a lot of experimental lineups in friendlies over the last 6 months or so which severely affected our ranking.
Apparently FIFA has the likes of Malawi, Uganda & UAE as being better then us. Laughable.

ELO world rankings much more realistic.

 

[Zidane98]

To show just how much of a joke FIFA rankings are:

Cape Verde FIFA Ranking: 40
Cape Verde ELO Ranking: 75

Australia FIFA ranking: 100
Australia ELO ranking: 30

Clearly the ELO ranking system is much more realistic.

 

[LightTower4]

Great to watch and great result for Aussie soccer.
Always prefer footy but can watch either.
Just one thing, at the presentation why is there so much focus on officials in suits prior to presenting the Cup. Even when the Aussies got the cup they stayed on stage for another minute.
Had to laugh when the crowd booed the FIFA muppet.

 

[Total_Juddshanks]

And the big difference compared to 2011 was the amount of potential future players developed by Ange. Last time around we were still relying on the likes of kewell, emerton etc etc.

Agree that's by far the best thing about the current situation. The likes of Luongo, Ryan and Leckie are in their early 20s, in Europe and have a chance of advancing into the genuinely top tier leagues over the next few years. There's also a solid 10-15 decent A league players behind them.

By about 2018 we may have a really experienced and coherent team with some genuine guns.

 

[Portsmeff]

Think what you like but I know what will be filling the back pages of every national paper for the next few days. Sure some died in the wall AFL fans won't think anything changes but watch junior numbers at local clubs over the next few years and tv ratings of soccer and you'll see a different story

national papers come from $ydney, so that's not surprising. Perhaps try and play a game west of Horsham, and not ignore the rest of Australia, then maybe what you're predicting may happen here also. I don't really care about the relationship of Aussie Rules v soccer, last nights game was sensational and well done to the socceroos, however I personally felt nothing when the socceroos won last night, because when you're from a city that is completely ignored by them, there's nothing really to relate to or feel part of, just sayin

 

[Munga]

Huge transformation in Ange's 15 month reign. Still more to come too.

 

[andrew_]

Agree with a national trophy tour, would be nice to see it although given the nature of football we might not get to see the players. Maybe Cahill can do a farewell tour ??

You do realize that almost every single player is in the middle of a season for their respective clubs, many of whom are clamoring to get their players back. But sure why not, lets put them on a bus and travel around the country to take selfies with bandwagon supporters, much more sensible option aye?

Worst Socceroos squad of all time, amazing what Ange and his team have achieved.

Really? The majority of our starting line up play in Europe for respectable top division clubs, while it's definitely no golden generation, they are clearly far from our worst line up, get your head out of the sand and do your homework before you make such outlandish comments.

 

[hey shorty]

You do realize that almost every single player is in the middle of a season for their respective clubs, many of whom are clamoring to get their players back. But sure why not, lets put them on a bus and travel around the country to take selfies with bandwagon supporters, much more sensible option aye?
.

Ah yes sunshine I do realise this and if you read correctly I said a Cup tour, not the players.

As for the worst squad of all time....... not IMO. Sure it doesn't have the names of the past but in time some of these guys will be at some big Euro clubs

 

[peternorth]

national papers come from $ydney, so that's not surprising. Perhaps try and play a game west of Horsham, and not ignore the rest of Australia, then maybe what you're predicting may happen here also. I don't really care about the relationship of Aussie Rules v soccer, last nights game was sensational and well done to the socceroos, however I personally felt nothing when the socceroos won last night, because when you're from a city that is completely ignored by them, there's nothing really to relate to or feel part of, just sayin

blame your government for not tipping in the $$$ to bring the team over during the past month