Open Season

These days, November is such an empty month.
 
There used to be a time when this part of the year, every four years or so, would bring hopes, dreams, and drama.
 
Only to have them clinically crushed the following day.
 
But since Australia's path to the FIFA World Cup now takes us through a sophisticated, controversy- and emotion-free qualification campaign through Asia?
 
Nothing.
 
Just smug satisfaction and the chance to tell Brazilian, Italian, and English friends that this year my boys were SECOND to qualify for South Africa.
 
(Whether the Socceroos will be first or second home, though, may be for discussion another time…)
 
Ah, for 2001, crammed into the Estadio Monumental in Montevideo watching Dario Silva take just 14 minutes to cancel out Australia's 1-0 lead from Melbourne and puncture dreams of Australia playing Japan and Korea.
 
These were the days when Frank Farina was apparently destined for Italy to coach a Serie A club (or was it Japan?) and Tony Vidmar was, like many fans, driven to tears.
 
I'm not even going to discuss what it was like to be at the MCG in 1997 except to say that, 12 years later, it all still feels like a very bad dream.
 
Then there was 1993, when a bunch of try-hards from the National Soccer League and another bunch of Aussie try-hards playing in Holland and France (take that A-League and Premier League stars), missed out on USA '94 thanks to Diego Maradona and a gust of wind.
 
I remain blood brothers with the fellow Australians I watched the second-leg of that match with in an East End London pub in the middle of the night.
 
We consoled ourselves locked behind closed doors.
 
In 1989, Australia lost to NEW ZEALAND in Auckland, in front of just over 3000 spectators. It was April, so maybe it doesn't count.
 
Here's Paul Wade discussing the "hell hole" that is Auckland (from SBS):
 

 
These days, however, its others who face a play-off palaver.
 
The Kiwis are now involved in an almighty tussle with Bahrain to discover who will be the worst team in South Africa.
 
Uruguay takes part in its third(!) consecutive Finals play-off – this time against Costa Rica.
 
In Europe, thanks to FIFA's make-it-up-as-we-go-along seeding system, the big guns are in box seats.
 
But France, or at least Raymond Domenech, could implode against Ireland;
 
Guus Hiddink's Russia should get past Slovenia;
 
Portugal, even without Cristiano Ronaldo, should beat Bosnia and Herzegovina (both of them) while Greece-Ukraine appears the tightest match-up.
 
Kind of makes me all misty-eyed.


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