I've been to the MCG since I was knee high to a grasshopper. I have seen AFL, cricket and now soccer played at the Mecca of Melbourne. I could have sworn to have seen it all. Th crowd tonight was chilling. Australia is the most multi-cultural nation on Earth, soccer is the only sport riddled with ethnic differences in this country.
Tonight I wanted to cry for different reasons and different stages of the match. In the 200+ years that this land has been called Australia, I don't think the national anthem has been sung as loudly and as passionate tonight. Tonight, everyone's origin become irrelevant, origins from all over Europe to all over Asia and over every other continent and over again, tonight we were all Australian.
I had pins and needles from teeth to my fingers. It was the noisiest crowd I had ever been part of. I struggled to hear the person screaming in my ear next to me. Screaming so loud myself, I gave myself a headache.
As the game started, Australia peppered the Iranian goal. This process repeated for about 15 minutes. Stan Lazaridis was a burning star, Harry Kewell at the age of 19, was by far already the best striker this country has produced since Frank Farina. We did score, and indeed it was Kewell again, to put us 2-1 up aggregate.
The first half was faultless, with exception to the missed chances. And the second half began no differently, Dynamite Stan, crosses for Cool Kewell to nod back to Viduka. Cross bar hit and A Vidmar knocks in the rebound. It was that point in time that I had damaged my voice box. It was that point in time when you could literally feel the stand I was in, shake. But noone cared about that, Australia was finally on their way to the World Cup finals since '74. I truly had pins and needles from my teeth to my toes.
Everything was perfect. 2-0 up, Viduka bear-hugged in the box just shortly before with no penalty given, but it did not matter we had scored anyway. Ned Zelic was all over the all overated Bhageri. Azizzi and Deai were not only contained but hidden. Iran started making the worst of fundamental errors. Players practically falling over the ball, keeper racing way out of his box and spoon feeding Australia with their ticket to France, only for the shot at the empty net to go wide. Passes a stray.
Nothing could possibly go wrong. Miracles (disasters) don't come this big. But nothing is certain. Just 4 weeks ago a man had ran out onto one of the biggest horse races on the planet, The Melbourne Cup. Strangely the same man had attended this qualifier and managed to allude 30 metres of security guards and damage the goal net. Holding up play for 5 minutes. How could such an act be possible?
How could Kewell be shown the yellow card for Iran's sly keeper to raise his leg and then fake injury?
How could this game end 2-2?
So Australia ends their World Cup undefeated and unsuccessful. Australia loses its only chance to qualify on away goals, Iran makes it third time lucky to qualify for France. As against Japan, Iran receive many yellow cards for serious offences but unpunished. Again tonight, Tahami with the most unsporting gesture I have seen, is yellow carded, but will be unpunished, unless of course FIFA are too totally contradict themselves. Where is the reason? Where is the logic? What the fuck?