Football in Australia

With the World Cup heading into the ‘business end’ of the tournament it’s an opportune time to reflect upon the state of football in this country. 

There has been much talk of the performance of the national team; whether Tim Cahill should have seen more game time, are we benefiting from the Dutch coaching influence we’ve embraced for some years now; why can’t we score goals through general play etc.?  The fundamental question, as my friend Harry Michaels OAM likes to ask is; how do we best harness the enormous passion we have for the game, particularly at grass roots level?

Harry’s knowledge of the game is beyond reproach.  By his own admission, he would have loved to have been a professional footballer, but wasn’t good enough.  So he applied his love, knowledge and desire to contribute to the growth of the game to the television broadcast of the code and, at administrative level for both Sydney Olympic and the Wollongong Wolves – very successfully I might add.

Les Murray was, and always will be “Mr. Football” in Australia, but if a successor was to be anointed, then Harry’s name would certainly come into calculation.  He is the man responsible for revolutionizing the way football (or “soccer” as it was known in Harry’s younger years) was beamed into our lounge rooms.  His knowledge of the game meant that he was almost able to predict plays, and this anticipation was reflected in the quality of his coverage.  He introduced many new techniques and elements to the coverage, which put the viewer onto the pitch and gave him, an aerial view – from helicopters no less! 

We were never more engaged than when watching a match Harry was producing.  The drama, the theatre, the enjoyment and heartbreak was better captured than ever before. His skill wasn’t just recognized by networks within Australia, television ratings rose and the game transitioned into the mainstream with Harry convincing the board of Soccer Australia that the game didn’t need to compete with the established winter sports in Australia.  If it was to thrive, he argued, then it needed publicity and the way to get it, was to stop trying to usurp rugby league, union and AFL for coverage. 

There are few more passionate people than Harry Michaels and that passion is most evident, when he talks about football.  I asked him during Australia’s game against Denmark what we had to do to ‘get better’ and this is what he said; we have to improve the pathways for children to progress with better coaching.  The Dutch national team didn’t qualify for this World Cup and our success on the world stage has been inconsistent - so why are we embracing a football philosophy handed to us by Dutch coaches?  When are we going to stop excusing poor performances by saying “we were brave”? If you qualify for the World Cup, then surely the expectation needs to be that you’ll be competitive.  Relying on penalties to score goals isn’t good enough. We have to set higher standards.  Simply qualifying isn’t good enough.  We are good at qualifying.  We’re not good at progressing.

For a man whose entire life has revolved around football, his thoughts are worth embracing.  His experience is valuable, his passion undeniable.  His contribution to football in Australia is enormous.  And it can continue if his opinions are canvassed by the powers that be. 

Anthony Sidney Johnson