David Votoupal
Well-Known Member
Arabmariner said:
Because football in Australia and New Zealand has shared experiences of marginalisation, because it is a moral victory in them getting past a side like Bahrain, et al.
This is the first time in years that the Middle East (not including North Africa) or rather West Asia won't have a representative in the World Cup. It went like this:
1978: Iran
1982: Kuwait
1986: Iraq
1990: UAE
1994: Saudi Arabia
1998: Iran, Saudi Arabia
2002: Saudi Arabia
2006: Iran, Saudi Arabia
2010: none
What the All Whites have done is astonishing considering the odds had been stacked against them, or does it show that much of Asia isn't all that that good?
When Australia qualified for 1974 and New Zealand for 1982, things were different as the game wasn't as developed in the AFC as it is now, but it was still difficult to deal with the climate, logistics, etc. That both countries managed it was remarkable with squads entirely made up of home-based part-timers, but both teams had players who did go on to varying stays abroad- Adrian Alston did with Luton and Cardiff, but Wynton Rufer was a great success in Europe.
New Zealand played a then-record number of games and had to travel great distances. To see where Asian football was in 1981, the Arab teams had already began throwing money at the game since the 70s when English and Brazilian coaches (and big ones at that) came along, Japan and South Korea were already exporting players to Europe, and China had emerged from isolation to take its place in Asian and world football.
That All Whites team had players like Rikki Herbert in defence, Duncan Cole and Steve Sumner in midfield, Wynton Rufer and Steve Wooddin in attack.
This would be Australia's worst-ever campaign, as New Zealand schooled them in Sydney. Rudi Guttendorf, a much-travelled coach who once took Duisburg to 2nd in the Bundesliga and coached in Africa, was the Socceroos' coach.
New Zealand went on to the final stage, where they faced Asian champions Kuwait, a resurgent China, and Saudi Arabia. Rikki Herbert scored the winner against China at home. Kuwait would top the group and qualify for their first and only World Cup, but it was to be left between China and New Zealand to get that 2nd place. The Chinese team of the '82 qualifiers is in fact considered by many fans to be one of their best teams ever produced, especially in terms of technical quality. It included players like Gu Guang Ming and current Tianjin coach Zuo Shu Sheng.
The All Whites went to Saudi Arabia knowing that to force a play-off, they had to score 5 goals. And they did exactly that. It was then to Singapore for a play-off, where China were still favourites and had the weight of expectation behind them, because China was desperate to showcase its post-Mao emergence from isolation. But New Zealand won out, and booked their place in Spain.
Once there, they were drawn in an impossibly tough group- with Brazil, Scotland and the Soviet Union. As expected they would lose all three games but considering what they were up against it wasn't really a disgrace. They were still able to make their mark- the two goals scored against Scotland in their opening game was enough to deny Scotland a place in the second round.
To see how good Kuwait were in those days, they were by some distance the best team in Asia- they had won the Asian Cup in 1980, and topped their qualifying group, and faced a difficult draw in the World Cup too. But they managed a draw with Czechoslovakia and a 1-0 loss to England, so that's not all bad.
Since then, they've not been able to come close until making history tonight. As with many countries, they were always able to come up with the odd player who could hold their own. One of those was Michael McGarry, who attracted attention from abroad after England toured in 1991, but he liked his job as a teacher so much he's spent his entire career in NZ.
