Absent Skipper Tunes In From Other Side

The Age

Friday November 18, 2005

Kevin Muscat

AFTER competing in many World Cup campaigns over the years, Wednesday night was a chance to spend the night with my family away from the spotlight and watch the Socceroos qualify for the world's most important sporting event.

Not only did I spend the evening with my family, but I also spent it with my best mate, half a world away, over the telephone.

Until he was cut down by injury, Craig Moore was destined to be the man to lead the Socceroos onto Telstra Stadium on Wednesday night. Instead, he had to get live match updates from me during training back in England.

As captain, "Moorey" tried everything to get to Australia to be there in person. Unfortunately, being four weeks into an eight-week rehabilitation made this impossible and his club Newcastle insisted he stay.

On Sunday morning, I sent text messages to him to keep him updated during the away leg in Montevideo. But the home leg required a bit more attention and communication. He instructed me to call him whenever anything important happened, such as a shot or a save.

He was actually in the middle of training at the time of the match, but Newcastle turned a blind eye to all the phone calls and let him carry his mobile with him.

He was obviously ecstatic once the goal went in, and after that the phone calls certainly became far more frequent as we began to dominate the game.

Nerves started to show as the match wore on. "Moorey" really thought we needed another goal, and I was starting to think the worst.

Finally, as the match went to penalties, I had to provide a blow-by-blow account of everything that was going on. "Moorey" wanted to know exactly who was taking each kick. I had to describe the mood of the players, and he wanted to know how each shot was hit, and which side each player decided to shoot.

When it was all over, he sounded as though he had just played in the game himself. He was emotionally drained and delirious at the same time.

As far as the game itself, it's hard to highlight individuals in such a match, but Harry Kewell showed he's getting back to his best. He always had it in terms of his attacking prowess, but his desire and work rate certainly added a dangerous new dimension to his game.

When Harry came on to replace "Poppa" (Tony Popovic), tactically it changed the whole dimension of the game. We had an extra wide man and Uruguay never recovered from this.

And what a finale. As John Aloisi struck the decisive spot-kick, I thought how pleased I was for him. He's such a nice young bloke and he finished it off well.

On reflection, what a fantastic night for the sport in this country it was. The world game gained respect and a platform has been laid for the sport to grow in popularity in Australia as never before.

Of course I had mixed emotions about not taking part. All your mates are there, and you feel you're missing a big party, but they're still your mates and I'm the happiest man in the world for them.

I felt particularly sorry for "Moorey", as no one has given more to this World Cup campaign than him. Hopefully he can make a full recovery from his injury and take his rightful place as captain and lead the Socceroos in the World Cup finals in Germany next year.

© 2005 The Age

Back to News Index | Back to Home