However, I can tell you that here in Uruguay in the previous days to the first match in Melbourne, the star of all the news was an Australian journalist (David something, I think) who made a very harmful report about our country, not only about soccer, but also about the life we had, and all the press here were very mad at him.
They also talked a lot about the match Australia-France, Dugarry's injury and how the aussies played. They compared them to England, as many of their stars were playing in the Premier Leagues of England and Scotland.
There were many optimistics, but much more thought that if Australia could tied France, we didn't have a chance at all. However after the first match, the opinion was totally different. The uruguayans, including me, expected much more from Australia, so after the Melbourne 0-1 we believed that it could be lifted.
Best wishes, and sorry again,
Written by Martín Tabeira
The AUSTRALIANS BROKE the LEG to HIM To " INDIAN " OLIVERA
Who are the animals? The Australians To Olivera broke the leg in Melbourne. A version on happened in the airport of Carrasco and the form in which Australia treated to Uruguay in its visit to Melbourne, plus the happened thing in 1974 when they broke the leg to him to the "Indian " Olivera, must be considered at the time of judging the facts.
For a time to this part the Uruguayan we have been wanting to be more realistic than the king and, in an attitude that deserves the psychological analysis, we assumed positions that are taken by an incredible desire of self-destruction of our race, our values and our national being. Ever since Australia arrived at our country, as a result of the attitude of some thirty inadaptados, from some authorities of the government and specially from certain part of the press, it has been encouraged and shown that voracity to punish with viciousness our own people. Let us go by parts. We did not justify, for nothing, the form in which came that group from fanatics who became presents in the airport and we condemned some excess that existed.
But of sticking with the iron these fans there to him requesting little less than life imprisonment them and to leave to the hunting of witches of people in charge, it seems to us a barbarism. Because it really happened it is to tone with the situation that lives a part on our society and, nevertheless, for more or less similar situations we have not listened to the same reactions. Hardly 48 hours after the arrival of the Australians a group of Uruguayan carried out one more an action hard than the one of the some thirty that received to the kangaroos in the airport, making what they have been denominating " escrache " against exmilitar defendant to commit violation against the human rights for almost 30 years and the mass media have been only limited to inform into the situation - without adjectival use --, in as much the authorities of the government nothing says on the subject. Of course that we never have been of the side of the military who decided on the political surgery the 27 of June of 1973. It is more, it has exceeded tests of the persecution of which we were objective to maintain our democratic and nationalistic ideas political.
Exactly, almost 30 years ago the Australians broke the leg to him to Uruguayan Walter Olivera in a tremendously violent party that gambled in Melbourne the 25 of April of 1974. The Australians already played with enormous violence when soccer and in a treacherous play they left to him in two his tool of work to that boy who was 20 years old. At that time, as any member of the Uruguayan press were not observing the party because that tour of the celestial ones by Asia - it played in Hong Kong, Indonesia and Australia-no covered in direct form (they were other times, also of economic crisis) the pages with our newspapers did not reflect the fact with the gravity that the same one had and the Australian newspapers of the time omitted them Olympically and nothing said of the subject. Hardly if they indicated the change: to the 43 minutes, Gustavo De Simone by Walter Olivera. The reality indicated that to the " Indian " it they had burst of a kick causing to him an injury that maintained nine months to it to the margin. Now, in occasion of the first party in Melbourne, the Australians, outside the field, also played their cards treating to remove extrasport advantages. They moved all the means of the power to prevent that Uruguay took the flight from return along with they to arrive at Uruguay, looking for that its arrival became by Los Angeles through a killing trip of 40 hours, instead of the 24 that consumed the other passage. Of this the Australian press present nothing said. It omitted it, because all the means of press of that country are aligned looking for that Australia arrives anyway at the world-wide one.
As nothing said either, nor they spread, which said a great poster placed in the tribune by a group of austrlianos fans: " Muscat, rompé today a leg... " It is possible - although it is not justificatory a --, which this some thirty inadaptados Uruguayan which it concurred to the airport, was in knowledge of these things that happened in Melbourne and looked for to pay with the same currency. We insisted, once again, in which it stops nothing we are in agreement with the happened thing
Of course, also, which in later newspapers of Australia to the party with France, where Muscat injured to Dugarry seriously, nothing expressed of the criminal attitude of this " killer " player who is not the first time that carries out plays of this type. In 1993 we were witnesses, in the party before world-wide Uruguay by the youthful one, of the enormous kick that Muscat beat to him to O´Neil, making unusable it throughout the party. Press of that country did Vista fat, because they have another mentality and another nationalistic spirit who gets them to try, always, to support to his sportsmen so that they obtain the success, without concerning means. We, who 36 years ago we walked by all the fields of the world and that we have seen of everything. We justified neither a thing (nor the attitude of the Uruguayan that was in the airport) nor the other (the form in which it treated to our country the Australian press as a result of the happened thing). But we have memory and we think that the truth is not necessary to say it by halves because, deforming it, is distorted and favored, lamentably, that sense of self-destruction of the Uruguayan soccer that, at the present time, seems to be the slogan of a few.
Source unknown, Spanish article put though a translator
THE only way the Socceroos will ever qualify for the World Cup is to stage it in Australia, because as hosts, we would automatically be in the finals.
Just think of it. It would mean an end to the hand wringing, the miasma of decayed opportunities and an outpouring of grief such as yesterday's, the like of which hasn't been not seen since the last beer strike. If we can stage an Olympics, we can stage a World Cup.
Same grease. Different palms.
Meanwhile the snoring you can hear in the corner, is the sleeping soccer giant who was supposed to awaken and rain sporting upheaval upon us all when we qualified for the Cup finals.
You remember.
When we beat Uruguay, rugby league, rugby union and Australian Football would be stricken from the sporting lexicon and Soccer would blossom gloriously in the warm embrace of the Southern Cross.
At least that is what my e-mails said.
And the employment prospects of this sportswriter would be non-existent once Soccer took over.
Instead, of course, reality overwhelmed sentiment as it mostly does.
And instead of rubbing sleep from its eyes, Soccer in this country has merely fluffed its pillow, straightened its bedding and gone back to its monumental napping.
It is 28 years since Australia's only appearance in World Cup finals and the siege will not be lifted in the short or long term.
Soccer is not so much a sleeping giant in this country, as a comatose beast sustained by artificial expectations and the pie in the sky provided by hyperactive supporters.
Australia's been on more roads than Willie Nelson trying to find a way to the World Cup.
We've been in round robins, we've played the Asian qualifier, we've played Iran and we've played the fifth best South American side.
We've dosey-doed, we've old time waltzed, we've jived, rock 'n' rolled and rapped without ever hitting the right note.
All it means is that every four years we get to momentarily wave flags and get hysterical until we get a clip over the ears from better sides.
Soccer is a frail and alien game in Australia and always will be.
The local competition has even been switched to summer because it could not compete with rival codes.
The only consistency is that police will regularly be asked to escort referees from the pitch as they did last Friday night.
It is also not in our sporting culture to respect a sport that exports its best players.
Nor do Australians appreciate the haphazard scheduling of matches of no significance, such as a 'friendly' against France.
Soccer's role in Australia is being a production line that finds occasional champions and sells them overseas, leaving the domestic competition weak and uninteresting.
Now the road ahead is even more difficult than finding the Uruguay net.
At least half of Frank Farina's squad of 20, will be out of contention for the 2006 Cup.
So we have four years to find 10 replacements or include players past their best.
And of course Soccer Australia is on the bread line because it owes $2m it was hoping to pay with a $12m grant from FIFA.
Australia's loss to Uruguay was indefensible and eliminates any need for excuses, other than saying we weren't good enough.
We only had to beat the fifth-rated team in South America. Not first, second or third. Not gold, silver or bronze. The fifth team. The also rans.
It is disappointing to realise we lost. No one likes seeing any team in green and gold beaten. But it's obvious we had no right to go any further.
Written by Ray Chesterton
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