Australia vs Iran/Uruguay - where were you?

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Leon

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Iran - 1st leg. Watched it late at night at my friends house. Was the first time I'd ever seen Kewell play.

I dont remember terribly much about the first leg. From memory we killed them early until Kewell scored and then it was even for the rest of the match. Remember going crazy in the lounge room when Kewell scored. Bosnich made some amazing saves.

Thought at the time 1-1 was a fair result.

2nd leg - the ultimate sporting nightmare. :( Ironically enough the last time I'd been at the MCG before this game was for the 1997 preliminary final, where my team lost in pretty much the same way Australia did this night.

Anyway, I was in the top deck of the Great Southern Stand with my Dad and a few of his mates. I remember the National Anthem being sung with gusto - spine-tingling moment, simply amazing.

Moments that stood out are the obvious ones - agonisingly watching chance after chance go begging in our 1st half onslaught, the huge roar and going nuts when Harry scored our first, ditto with Aurelio just after half time, that ******** Peter Hore racing onto the field and stopping play. After this i thought it was obvious we wouldnt score - thought we should've stacked the defence and shored it up.

Felt sick after Iran scored their fast. Felt like crying after they scored the 2nd. And when that whistle blew, I just sat there - stunned. It was the worst feeling walking out of that ground - 90,000 fanatical Aussies walking out in stunned silence.

Outside the ground people were crying and just devastated. Awful night. Just awful.

Uruguay - 1st leg. I was on the wing, 2nd deck of the Southern Stand with my friends.

The crowd seemed louder and bigger than the Iran one. Was a tight contest throughout, was certain that we'd have to settle for a 0-0 until we got that penalty. The moment between the penalty being awarded and Muscat taking it was a very painful minute. I almost couldnt look as he ran in to take it - but I did, and when it hit the net, pure joy. Loudest roar I've ever heard, just eclipsing the one a minute earlier when the penalty was awarded. Was huggin people in the row in front of me, behind me, beside me, amazing.

2nd leg - dont think I've ever been more awake at 6am on a monday than this morning. Was up at 5 pacing round the house, waiting for it to start.

Knew we'd be up against from the moment I saw the Uruguay crowd on TV. I knew we'd be intimidated, but was sure that we could hold firm.

That first goal made me so angry = a lazy long ball over the top that most defenses should be able to clear with ease, instead we get completely caught out and the tie is level just like that. What really made me angry was Farina, being the tactical genius that he was, had said in the build-up he knew Uruguay liked to play the long ball, yet we didnt have clue in how to deal with them. The defense should not have been allowed to push up so far if we knew that they were playing the long ball. But thats what happens when Farina's in charge!

The first half was unbearable. they simply murdered us, chance after chance and somehow we survived until half time.

Then after half time we start to show a bit. I was bemused at Farina's tactics - in the first leg he moved kewell to the left and Agostino up front and hey presto, thats how we got our goal! Instead he leaves Kewell up front and agostino on the bench when we need a goal desperately.

How Viduka missed that header from the throw-in, 2 yards out, is something that I still cant figure out. That was our chance.

When Urguay got their 2nd I knew we were done for. Even though if we scored one we could go through on away goals I knew that we were done for. Farina made the move of Kewell to the left and bough on about 3 more strikers looking for the away goal. no surprise we got caught out at the back again for the 3rd. When that 3rd goal went in I just shook my head. Four years of waiting and we blow it again. Just too heartbreaking.

The two coaches (Venables and Farina) must take a lot of blame for the respective losses, obviously. Venables should have acted to shut Iran out when it was obvious that we werent going to score again. Farina, in the 2nd leg, used very poor tactics at both ends and we got shown up for it.

Another World Cup Qualifier this year coming in sydney. Despite the pain of the past two and the very real possibility I'll be let down again, I will be there - you just dont want to miss the party when we finall make it the World Cup.
 
Leon said:
2nd leg - the ultimate sporting nightmare. :( Ironically enough the last time I'd been at the MCG before this game was for the 1997 preliminary final, where my team lost in pretty much the same way Australia did this night.

I hear you

The 1997 Grand Final and that game were two of the worst moments of my life, within 2 months of each other.

I think I decided at the time that I was never going to the MCG again.
 

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Iran - Leg 1: At home and pleased with the result given the barrage Bosnich kept out in the 2nd half.

Iran - Leg 2: At the ground. Need I say more. :(

Uruguay - Leg 1: At home and relatively happy that we'd won a home leg.

Uruguay - Leg 2: At home and devastated knowing we wouldn't be going to the big show when it was in our backyard.
 

MACDAICOS

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Iran 1st leg - Singapore good old yellow friends cheering on the arabs :mad:

Iran 2nd leg - Cardiff Walkabout full of pished up aussies and welsh all cheering on the green and gold all of us gutted at the final result :(

Uruguay 1st leg - Top deck Great Southern stand row f**kin ZZZZZZZZ went mental when Muscat put the ball in the old onion bag as did 90 odd thousand atmosphere that night one to remember.

Uruguay 2nd leg - Home (enough said) :(
 
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Iran - Leg 1: At home.

Iran - Leg 2: At home. I was living out of Melbourne at the time so I called up my mates at the game after each goal and at half time. I was gutted.

Uruguay - Leg 1: I was at the game with a pack of mates and we were ********ed and going nuts. Had a great time.

Uruguay - Leg 2: At home and devastated.
 

Pantsless

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Iran - Game 1: Like most, at home lying on the couch. I didn't actually think the kewell goal had gone in for a couple of seconds..don't remember anything else..

Game 2: Had just moved to Sydney, so headed out to One World Sports to watch and felt like the rest after 90 minutes.

Uruguay - Game 1: In my loungeroom in Finchley Road, London. Me and two flatmates had taken the day off to watch it mid morning on Sky. We were screaming at the TV when one of the penalties was turned down and then jumping out of our chairs when the second ones was awarded, then running around the house going nuts when we scored.

Game 2: Cardiff Walkabout. Had seen the Wallabies v Wales in the afternoon and headed to the pub afterwards. The most bizarre thing happened at the start of the coverage as the two team were walking out to the pitch. They flashed up a score of Uruguay 3, Australia 0 before the game had started. We looked around at each other and couldn't figure out what the hell was happening. Anyway, it was either a freaky premonition or the game wasn't live. Started 6pm UK time so I'm pretty sure it wasn't delayed. As for the game, the less said the better.
 
IRAN

1st Leg-At one of my dad's mates places in Melbourne. Saw the finish at grandmother's in Melbourne

2nd leg-Living room of grandmother's place.

URUGUAY

1st leg-Next door's house alone

2nd leg-Asleep before going to school
 

MACDAICOS

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stmookeyj said:
IRAN

1st Leg-At one of my dad's mates places in Melbourne. Saw the finish at grandmother's in Melbourne

2nd leg-Living room of grandmother's place.

URUGUAY

1st leg-Next door's house alone

2nd leg-Asleep before going to school
Gee a barrel of laughs there.
 

Lowie01

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Remember going to school on that Monday morning in 2001 being hammered by everyone, having suddenly become the only "Australian" soccer fan in the school. Funny how everyone was on our side at 1-0 up...

Iran is too terrible to even recall.

BTW, I have a taped movie from 1993 with a news update about the Argies in Sydney ahead of that WCQ. Funny seeing footage of Bosnich that doesn't make him look like a crack addict.
 

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The Hitman

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Leg one of '97, and legs one and two of '01 were at home, while leg two of '97 was the Olympic Stand at the 'G. Devastating stuff.

Will be making the trip to Sydney. Stupid Commonwealth Games.
 

Macpotata

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Still celebrating
 

Leon

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Hah, I remember this thread.

Iran 1997 and Uruguay 2001, both shockers. Iran one was worse. We should’ve won that 6-0.

I was at both the Uruguay 2005 and Honduras games in Sydney in 2017 though. :cool:
 

ioppolo

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I don't remember either disasters in the OP thankfully as I was too young. I remember 2005 very, very clearly though.

I was only 10. Soccer wasn't spoken of much in Perth. The introduction of the A-League had gotten some attention. When Australia were only down 1-0 after the first leg the build up to the second leg was huge. All the talk was about the Socceroos. We even talked about it at school. Everyone suddenly started following soccer. Being only 10 I didn't feel the tension others felt as it had been 30 years since a world cup appearance.

I watched the match start to finish. It was the match that really got me into soccer. The tension of the shootout was too much to bear even as a kid. The whole nation was celebrating collectively that night.

The 2006 world cup was fun as well. We all talked about it at school and of course there was a Croatian kid in my classroom so the banter was top notch. The morning after that 2-2 draw against Croatia, this kid came into school and was immediately swarmed by about 15 of us as he entered the class room.
 
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Iran 1st Leg-At work watching on a small TV.
Iran 2nd Leg-At the G

Uruguay 1st leg-At a pub owned by Bill Duckworth who referred to it all as a 'NTTAWWTs game' and kicked out anyone who sung.
Uruguay 2nd leg-Friends place after staying up all drinking after watching Celtic knock off Rangers.

The fact we've never played Iran since then despite now being part of the AFC adds to the legend.
 

Macpotata

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Still celebrating
* over a year ago I posted this. Anyway, still celebrating. * that 2005/06 period where we qualified for the world cup then participated was magic.


Great, great memories.
 

Lebbo73

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I was at work trying to watch it in between customers. I worked in a servo as a console attendant and it only got busy in the penalty shootout ffs.
 

nobbyiscool

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That 97 game, which I watched as a 14 year old, is the closest I ever came to having my heart completely broken by sport. It's the closest I've ever come to walking away from sport altogether. It was only me getting ok at cricket at the same time as Tassie getting really good in the Sheffield Shield that pulled me back from the brink. What might've been!

That 01 2nd leg game was a bummer. I remember getting up for that, but despite the 1-0 lead from the second leg, there wasn't a moment before or during the game that I thought we could survive Uruguay. We were psyched out before we left Sydney.

And then 05 was the essence of sport. How much more did it mean after a lifetime of heartache before?
 
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Macpotata

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In two days time it's the 16th of Novemeber. Almost 15 years since that great, famous night in Socceroos history.


Unreal.
 
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