Admin's World Cup Blog

[LFTWNG11]

First time i read this blog thing... its damn hilarious!!! Bias against Italy much???

[admin]

From Kaiserlaitsen our next game was the quarter final between Italy and Ukraine in Hamburg.

Our tickets were TST series 6 - that means that we are guaranteed tickets through to the semi-finals. The tickets follow Australia and then follow whoever knocks out Australia - that meant we now follow Italy.

As a second generation Italian (half Italian/English) you might think that it would be pretty straightforward to swing my support behind Italy. But after Australia's exit I was feeling no afinity for Italy. It was a weird / flat feeling and I was seriously considering selling my ticket for the quarter final. While my heart said to sell the ticket my head said I did not come all this way to Germany to miss this quarter final. Plus I reasoned that maybe when I got into the ground I might just get caught up in all the excitement again.

My brother had picked up an Italian top earlier in the tournament. I also had a top that, without realising when I brought it along, was Italian blue. I had worn it early during the trip and suddenly realised people thought I was an Italian fan. So it quickly found itself at the bottom of the pile at the back of the cupboard. So we both had the option of wearing Italian colours to the quarter final. Rightfully we could wear Italian colours - we are of Italian heritage and we both hold an Australian and Italian passport. But we both insisted on putting on our Aussie gear including our Australian flags. We are proud to be Aussies and we are going to continue onwards wearing our Aussie colours.

Hamburg itself is a great city with a fantastic football stadium. Before the game we easily scalped a ticket for a third person in our party who did not have a ticket for the game. For the Australian games the prices for scalped tickets were in the range of Euro 200 to Euro 500 - five to ten times the original ticket price. For this quarter final the price for scalped tickets was below the original price - we paid Euro 50 for a Euro 85 ticket. As we got closer to the ground the scalper prices kept falling - outside the ground they were virtually giving away the tickets - hundreds of tickets available with no one buyers. Interesting all the tickets we saw available were from the Italian allocation - we were attempting to swap our third scalped ticket (which was in the Italian section) for a ticket closer to our TST tickets. So something had gone on with the Italian allocation such that a large number ended up in the hands of scalpers.

Inside the ground we found our seats - there were a few familiar Aussie faces around us and lots of empty seats. We chatted with the familiar faces and quickly made friends with the new faces around us - that was one of the main themes of the world cup in Germany - A time to make friends.

As the game neared kickoff we had expected the seats to fill up - but they didnt. Later the ground announcer would announce that the game was sold out - there was an ironic cheer that went around the ground because everyone knew there were thousands of empty seats - lucky if the ground was 90% full. Sure they might have sold all the 50,000 tickets but 10,000 of them were sitting in the hands of scalpers outside the ground.

<more to follow>

Continued a few months later....

The game kicked off but the very flat feeling just would not go away. I just could not support Italy. So I found myself watching the quarter final as a spectator - not a fan. Deep down I was hoping Ukraine would snatch an unlikely vicotry.

But Ukraine was no match for Italy. Italy grabbed a very comfortable victory. After four exciting games watching the Socceroos this game was pretty ordinary. I couldnt help but continually think that Australia would also have comfortably brushed aside Ukraine - we had been so close to reaching the semi-finals.

We left the magnificent Hamburg Stadium and headed back to our nearby campsite.

Our next match was the semi final between Italy and Germany in Dortmund. We had a few days up our sleave so we headed north. We took a ferry to Denmark and spent a day in Copenhagen. Then it was onwards and northwards to Sweden via another ferry. We spent another day at one of the most beautiful towns in the world - Stockholm. Time was tight and we had to travel approximately 1200kms in 24 hours to get back to Dortmund in time for the semi final.

We dashed 600kms southwards from Stockholm to take an overnight ferry from Sweden to Germany bypassing Norway. After hours of driving we finally caught the ferry - but only just with only one or two minutes to spare - talk about leaving it tight. The ferry enabled us to cover 250kms while getting a good night sleep.

Next day we drove into Dortmund laying up at the official FIFA car park outside the Dortmund Stadium. Dortmund has some similarities to Adelaide. It has a heavy reliance on manufacturing and is generally regarded as a working class town most famous for one thing - its football team. It is a football town.

We headed into central Dortmund for a few hours. It was party time in Dortmund - a huge carnival - people everywhere - smiling, singing & drinking.

After a few hours in central Dortmund it was time to return to our campervan and head out to the semi - final. We decked ourselves out in our Australian gear for one last time.

As we walked towards the ground we discussed who we would be supporting - easy - I was going to support our fantastic hosts - Germany. Bugger the diving cheats of Italy!

We finally made it into the ground - and what a magnificent ground - the atmosphere inside was electric - it really got the heart pumping. Our seats had us right on the edge between the German fans and the Italian fans - a great spot. There are maybe a hundred Aussie fans spread out around the same area - it didnt matter if they were wearing Aussie colours because by now we had seen the same faces so often at games we recognised their faces.

The German fans outnumbered the Italian fans at least 10 to 1. The German fans were in fine tune - singing - singing and singing. In comparision the Italian fans were very quiet punching well below their numbers. Maybe they were intimidated by the number of German fans or maybe they have suffered to many cruel failures in the past or maybe they were "chardonnay fans". They seemed more interested in abusing the German fans for standing instead of sitting and blocking their view of the field - couldnt help but think what type of fans come to a World Cup semi final and expect everyone to remain seated - thus the reference to chardonnay fans.

National anthems - another spine tingling rendition - the Germans with their unusual anthem based on a Croatian folk song - and the Italians with their beautiful national anthem.

Kick-off and the atmosphere in the stadium is incredible - amongst all the volume you can really feel the tension in the air. As the minutes tick by the tension seems to only increase - the German fans are becoming increasingly tense.

We have made friends with some German fans next to us. At half time these fans look very stressed - brings back memories of my feelings during the Australia v Uruguay in Sydney. This game meant so much to Germany - against all the odds (they had been written off before the tournament had even started) they were only 45 minutes away from reaching the final of the most important competition in the world. what a way it would be for Germany to throw of the shackles of its past and celebrate its coming of age with a final in its new capital of Berlin - or so they dreamed.

<to be continued>.

[admin]

Bias against Italy much???

Yep cant deny that

[admin]

Second half - as the minutes tick by the German fans become more and more tense. No one has forgotten Italy's last second win over Australia and the German fans fear a repeat.

The closing minutes of the second half are extremely tense both on and off the field. There is a big sense of relief when the referee blows for full time.

Extra time - the game opens up - Italy want to win this game in normal time probably fearing Germany's excellent track record in penalties. Germany continue to hold on. With only minutes remaining the game seems headed to penalties.

Then with a minute remaining disaster strikes - the Italian diving champion Grosso smashes the ball past German goalkeeper Lehmann - 1-0 to Italy. The German fans are stunned but quickly recover to cheer their team forward to get a miracle equaliser. Germany throw everyone forward but Italy seal the result when they grab their second goal through Del Piero.

Final whistle and the German fans are shattered. Tears are flowing and they have a look of utter disapointment on their faces - much like the Aussie fans only a week earlier. In comparision the Italian fans are ecstatic. It seems like it is the first time in the evening that the Italian fans are out of their seats, singing, dancing and celebrating - but in reality it is the silence of the German fans that now allows the outnumbered Italian fans to be heard.

The Italian fans sing and sing and sing. Several players some over and join them. Meanwhile the German players do a lap of honour to thank their fans for their support before leaving the stadium to the celebrating Italians.

It was a deserved win for Italy but it did bring an end to the German fairytale.

<to be continued>

[admin]

Remaining to be added:

1) Dortmund to Berlin

2) Berlin to Milan for the final

[Lilly Whites]

Remaining to be added:

1) Dortmund to Berlin

2) Berlin to Milan for the final

lol wen ur ready

[Caramelas13]

Still waiting................

Or i can give you my version????

[Lilly Whites]

Still waiting................

Or i can give you my version????

do it

[Caramelas13]

Forza Roma Posted: 15 Dec 2006 15:38 Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

caramelas13 wrote:
Still waiting................

Or i can give you my version????


do it

I'll take over where admin left.

Dortmund to Munich:
After being in Frankfurt to see Brazil v France & then to Dortmund to see Italy v Germany it was off to Munich.

Caught the plane for the short flight over to Munich. Still very excited after witnessing the most amazing game live - Italy v Germany. We were in Munich to see the other Semi - France v Portugal. I won't drag on and on but Munich was a fantastic city. Went to the famous Hofbrahaus beer hall and drank 4 litres of beer that night. The semi final was no where near as exciting as the one in Dortmund, but it was still an amazing atmosphere inside the Allianz Arena. Sat about 15 rows from the front, slightly to the right where Zidane scored the penalty.

I stayed in Munich for another couple of days before departing to Berlin. We arrived in Berlin the day before the final. On our flight to Berlin from Munich was Gianluca Vialli & Poalo Rossi. Got to take a photo with both of them as we were waiting for our luggage. Later that day, i done the usual touristy things (Berlin wall etc...)

The next day was one of the most nervous days of my life. I had to pinch myself to believe i was going to watch Italy play France in a World Cup Final. As i scanned my ticket and the green light came on at the turnstile i felt so relieved. My seat believe it or not was 3 rows from the front behind the Italian bench. WOW!!!!!

120 minutes later it was down to penalties. I'm usually a nervous wreck when watching a shoot out on TV. Here i am next to an American Couple who knew F*** all and some bloke who was dressed in Italian colours but looked like he was from the middle east, biting my nails and bearly looking at what was to happen next.

1-0 - Pirlo straight down the guts. YOU BEAUTY!!!!
1-1 - Wiltord sends Buffon the wrong way - S,HIT.
2-1 - Materazzi slams it past Barthez. GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL
2-1 - Trezeguet hits the bar - YEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
3-1 - De Rossi top corner and all of a sudden i can breath again
3-2 - Abidal dummies Buffon and slots it home
4-2 - Del Piero out smarts Barthez and its almost celebration time.

By then im explaining to the american couple if Sagnol misses, the cup is ours

4-3 - Sagnol blasts it past Buffon -No chance

Here is the moment i've been waiting for. All my dreams and wishes are about to come true. I say a prayer. We all have our arms on each others shoulders. Up steps GROSSO. He pauses, he runs up and HE SENDS BARTHEZ THE WRONG WAY AND ITALY ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS FOR THE 4TH TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe it. I start screaming, jumping, hugging and kissing people i've never seen before in my life. It was truly an unforgettable moment. That night i met up with all my other mates who were sitting elsewhere inside the stadium and celebrated to the early hours of the morning.

9am on Monday caught the train to Prague to start my other leg of my European Holiday.

[Lilly Whites]

thank god for people lyk u.....

admin i would still love to hear ur version though.....a bit biased from an italian fan ey but cheers for a decent read caramelas

[Caramelas13]

Sorry mate. My emotions got the better of me during the Penalty Shoot-out!!!!!!

admin Posted: 20 Oct 2006 23:16 Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Second half - as the minutes tick by the German fans become more and more tense. No one has forgotten Italy's last second win over Australia and the German fans fear a repeat.

The closing minutes of the second half are extremely tense both on and off the field. There is a big sense of relief when the referee blows for full time.

Extra time - the game opens up - Italy want to win this game in normal time probably fearing Germany's excellent track record in penalties. Germany continue to hold on. With only minutes remaining the game seems headed to penalties.

Then with a minute remaining disaster strikes - the Italian diving champion Grosso smashes the ball past German goalkeeper Lehmann - 1-0 to Italy. The German fans are stunned but quickly recover to cheer their team forward to get a miracle equaliser. Germany throw everyone forward but Italy seal the result when they grab their second goal through Del Piero.

Final whistle and the German fans are shattered. Tears are flowing and they have a look of utter disapointment on their faces - much like the Aussie fans only a week earlier. In comparision the Italian fans are ecstatic. It seems like it is the first time in the evening that the Italian fans are out of their seats, singing, dancing and celebrating - but in reality it is the silence of the German fans that now allows the outnumbered Italian fans to be heard.

The Italian fans sing and sing and sing. Several players some over and join them. Meanwhile the German players do a lap of honour to thank their fans for their support before leaving the stadium to the celebrating Italians.

It was a deserved win for Italy but it did bring an end to the German fairytale.

<to be continued>

By the way, if i was a bit Italian biased then what would you say Admin is?

It's all good fun!!!!!!!!!

[the REAL one]

Sorry mate. My emotions got the better of me during the Penalty Shoot-out!!!!!!

admin Posted: 20 Oct 2006 23:16 Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Second half - as the minutes tick by the German fans become more and more tense. No one has forgotten Italy's last second win over Australia and the German fans fear a repeat.

The closing minutes of the second half are extremely tense both on and off the field. There is a big sense of relief when the referee blows for full time.

Extra time - the game opens up - Italy want to win this game in normal time probably fearing Germany's excellent track record in penalties. Germany continue to hold on. With only minutes remaining the game seems headed to penalties.

Then with a minute remaining disaster strikes - the Italian diving champion Grosso smashes the ball past German goalkeeper Lehmann - 1-0 to Italy. The German fans are stunned but quickly recover to cheer their team forward to get a miracle equaliser. Germany throw everyone forward but Italy seal the result when they grab their second goal through Del Piero.

Final whistle and the German fans are shattered. Tears are flowing and they have a look of utter disapointment on their faces - much like the Aussie fans only a week earlier. In comparision the Italian fans are ecstatic. It seems like it is the first time in the evening that the Italian fans are out of their seats, singing, dancing and celebrating - but in reality it is the silence of the German fans that now allows the outnumbered Italian fans to be heard.

The Italian fans sing and sing and sing. Several players some over and join them. Meanwhile the German players do a lap of honour to thank their fans for their support before leaving the stadium to the celebrating Italians.

It was a deserved win for Italy but it did bring an end to the German fairytale.

<to be continued>

By the way, if i was a bit Italian biased then what would you say Admin is?
It's all good fun!!!!!!!!!

very biased!!!

[vagabond]

Sorry mate. My emotions got the better of me during the Penalty Shoot-out!!!!!!

admin Posted: 20 Oct 2006 23:16 Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Second half - as the minutes tick by the German fans become more and more tense. No one has forgotten Italy's last second win over Australia and the German fans fear a repeat.

The closing minutes of the second half are extremely tense both on and off the field. There is a big sense of relief when the referee blows for full time.

Extra time - the game opens up - Italy want to win this game in normal time probably fearing Germany's excellent track record in penalties. Germany continue to hold on. With only minutes remaining the game seems headed to penalties.

Then with a minute remaining disaster strikes - the Italian diving champion Grosso smashes the ball past German goalkeeper Lehmann - 1-0 to Italy. The German fans are stunned but quickly recover to cheer their team forward to get a miracle equaliser. Germany throw everyone forward but Italy seal the result when they grab their second goal through Del Piero.

Final whistle and the German fans are shattered. Tears are flowing and they have a look of utter disapointment on their faces - much like the Aussie fans only a week earlier. In comparision the Italian fans are ecstatic. It seems like it is the first time in the evening that the Italian fans are out of their seats, singing, dancing and celebrating - but in reality it is the silence of the German fans that now allows the outnumbered Italian fans to be heard.

The Italian fans sing and sing and sing. Several players some over and join them. Meanwhile the German players do a lap of honour to thank their fans for their support before leaving the stadium to the celebrating Italians.

It was a deserved win for Italy but it did bring an end to the German fairytale.

<to be continued>

By the way, if i was a bit Italian biased then what would you say Admin is?
It's all good fun!!!!!!!!!

very biased!!!

And whats your point???

[admin]

After the semi-final in Dortmund we had a decision to make - what to do for the World Cup Final. We had four options – try to scalp tickets for the final in Berlin, watch the final in the fan fest in Berlin, head to Paris or head to Milan. We decided to keep our options open – head to Berlin and sound out the possibility of scalping tickets.

We arrived in Berlin and found a campsite on the outskirts of the city. It was a good 25kms to the city centre –it took us several hours to find and there were very few alternative campsite options. We quickly settled in and then hopped on our trusty green and gold pushbikes and headed in to the city centre to check out the Fan Fest.

We had heard about the Berlin Fan Fest from several other travelers and were very keen to check it out. It certainly did not disappoint – it was massive. It started at the famous Brandenburg Gate and stretched on for 2.5 kilometres. It opened up around the Brandenburg Gate but for much of its length it was the width of a wide street. Its difficult to picture the Fan Fest but for residents of Adelaide - picture it commencing at Parliament House on King William Street – running down King William Street, through the South Parklands and ending somewhere around Greenhill Road.

Every couple of hundred metres there was a big screen – propped up on a temporary bridge like structure. Underneath every bridge structure there was a dance floor completed with disco balls. Each bridge had its own DJ who would play their selection of music between the games. If you took a left turn at the Brandenburg Gate you headed onto the world famous Alstadt. The large plaza in front of the Alstradt was also a Fan Fest – another story in itself with its temporary replica of Berlin’s Olympic Stadium made out of scaffolding but large enough to house five thousand fans.

Quite frankly Berlin was magnificent. But there was one noticeable problem – the Berliners had lost their spark for the World Cup. They had watched their dream die only 24 hours earlier in Dortmund and now, it seemed, they had little passion and interest in the World Cup Final. We watched France win its Semi-Final – the French fans celebrated but were few in number – all up it was very subdued. It was enough to make up our minds – the last place we wanted to be for the final was Berlin. We could see little point in paying thousands of dollars for a ticket to the final played in a stadium full of neutrals – not when we could jump in our campervan and head to Paris or Milan.

We debated – Paris or Milan – the decision rested on who we thought was going to win the final. The last thing we wanted to do was watch the final in the losing country. So would France or Italy win – it was a tough decision to make – the heart said France but the head said Italy.

We hung around Berlin for a couple days. I had been to Berlin before – only a couple months after the Berlin Wall had come down. At that time it was a very jubilant city – looking forward to a bright future and celebrating the end of the infamous Berlin Wall. Since then much has changed in Berlin. The euphoria was gone – there was little left of the Berlin Wall and the city centre have moved east. The old palaces and government buildings in East Berlin have been magnificently renovated - and turned into the new administrative heart of the united Berlin.
It has become an unusual city – it has at least two of everything including two city centres giving it an almost split personality. It is a fantastic place that has undergone massive change in the past 15 years.

From Berlin we headed south stopping at Interlaken in Switzerland for a ride up into the Swiss Alps. From Switzerland it was onto Milan arriving the day before the World Cup Final.

[FerrariTifosi27]

Italy are too good.

[Juventino]

Italy are too good.

This man knows the truth.

[JP]

Sorry mate. My emotions got the better of me during the Penalty Shoot-out!!!!!!

admin Posted: 20 Oct 2006 23:16 Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Second half - as the minutes tick by the German fans become more and more tense. No one has forgotten Italy's last second win over Australia and the German fans fear a repeat.

The closing minutes of the second half are extremely tense both on and off the field. There is a big sense of relief when the referee blows for full time.

Extra time - the game opens up - Italy want to win this game in normal time probably fearing Germany's excellent track record in penalties. Germany continue to hold on. With only minutes remaining the game seems headed to penalties.

Then with a minute remaining disaster strikes - the Italian diving champion Grosso smashes the ball past German goalkeeper Lehmann - 1-0 to Italy. The German fans are stunned but quickly recover to cheer their team forward to get a miracle equaliser. Germany throw everyone forward but Italy seal the result when they grab their second goal through Del Piero.

Final whistle and the German fans are shattered. Tears are flowing and they have a look of utter disapointment on their faces - much like the Aussie fans only a week earlier. In comparision the Italian fans are ecstatic. It seems like it is the first time in the evening that the Italian fans are out of their seats, singing, dancing and celebrating - but in reality it is the silence of the German fans that now allows the outnumbered Italian fans to be heard.

The Italian fans sing and sing and sing. Several players some over and join them. Meanwhile the German players do a lap of honour to thank their fans for their support before leaving the stadium to the celebrating Italians.

It was a deserved win for Italy but it did bring an end to the German fairytale.

<to be continued>

By the way, if i was a bit Italian biased then what would you say Admin is?
It's all good fun!!!!!!!!!

very biased!!!

And whats your point???

[admin]

Finished the blog. Here it is in full. Maybe I might add some pictures later.

[admin]

FIFA World Cup 2006

18 April 2006

My journey to Germany 2006 started many many years ago. As a baby of 1966 I am not old enough to have any significant recall of the 1974 World Cup Socceroos. I have very weak memories of some newspaper articles and that is about it.

Memories of the 1978 World Cup Qualification are little better. I can recall the coach was Jimmy Shoulder and that we failed - not much more. By the time of the 1982 World Cup Finals I was 16 years old and I recall the disappointment of watching Australia go down to an inferior but well drilled New Zealand 0-2 in Sydney on TV. It was the one World Cup that Oceania had direct qualification and we squandered it. But the disappointment was quickly overshadowed by the success of Italy in overcoming Maradona's Argentina, Zico's Brazil (one of the all time classic games), Boniek's Poland and Rummenigge's Germany to be crowned World Champions. For a second generation Italian/English kid the hero of the day was Paolo Rossi. My parents allowed me half a day of school so I could join the post match celebration march from Victoria Square to Parliament House – I will not forget the disbelief from my teacher when he saw the note from my parents saying I had to attend a “doctors appointmentâ€￾.

FIFA did the dirty on Oceania for the 1986 World Cup (not for the last time) - taking away the direct qualification spot. A strong Socceroos side confidently eliminated New Zealand, Israel and Taiwan only to face a play-off against the then quite mighty Scotland. Frank Arok's Aussies put up a good performance against Scotland then coached by the up and coming Alex Ferguson. We went down 2-0 at Hampden Park Glasgow and drew the return game 0-0. The Aussie heroes of that era were none other than local boys John Kosmina and David Mitchell - if only they could have scored a couple against Scotland!!

The 1990 World Cup Finals were being held in Italy. With a small group of English fans I made plans to travel to the World Cup finals - the timing was not perfect but if Australia qualified I was going. But Australia did the unthinkable for the 1990 World Cup - we lost to New Zealand again - at least this time it was in New Zealand. We had already drawn a crucial game with Israel and the loss to New Zealand eliminated Australia. The worst part about it was the 1990 New Zealand side was crap crap crap. Australia could play them off the park. But the Kiwis were aided by playing the game at the Mount Smart Stadium on a disgraceful pitch - a very effective leveller.

By this time the Socceroos were gaining a solid reputation in Australia as sporting under-achievers. The pain of following the Socceroos was starting to bite!

Australia's path to the 1994 World Cup looked more promising. The golden generation of Australian players were making a name overseas. Players like Bosnich, Zelic, Farina, Okon, Slater and the Vidmar brothers were household names. We comfortably dispatched arch rivals New Zealand. Next was Canada - a much tighter affair. We went down 2-1 in Canada and won 2-1 in Australia. So the game went to extra time and then penalties. A very young and raw Mark Schwarzer was deputising in goal after first choice Robert Zabica had been sent of in the 17th minute of the 1st leg. Schwarzer saved two penalties to send Australia through to the next hurdle - the sherry of all hurdles - Diego Maradona's Argentina.

I travelled to Sydney to watch the Socceroos take on Argentina in the 1st leg of the playoff. The odds were heavily against the Socceroos with many predicting a big score in favour of Argentina. But instead the Socceroos put in one of their best performances of all time - quite frankly we played Argentina off the park. Maradona was nowhere to be seen. He was being marked out of the game by Captain Socceroo – Paul Wade. But the one time Maradona did find space was enough for him to do the damage - a pin point cross from out wide - was headed home by Balbo in the 37th minute. Six minutes later the Socceroos hit back with brothers Tony and Aurelio combining to level the score at 1-1.

The Socceroos continued to take the game to Argentina but just could not score that crucial second goal. Final score – one all. It was a fantastic performance but left us a near impossible scenario of having to come away from the return leg in Argentina with a win. One particular player who stood out on the night was the quicksilver Robbie Slater - it was to be his best ever performance in the green and gold.

In the return game Australia surprised everyone by being very competitive away from home. Only a cruel deflection from defender Alex Tobin separated the two teams over 90 minutes. Australia's strong performances sent some shockwaves around international football - the Socceroos had gone close to knocking out one of the giants of World football. But this was little consolation for the reality of another World Cup qualification failure. That also meant I was not going to USA 1994.

Fast forward four more years and Australia romped past its Oceania opponents during the qualification phase. This set up Australia for a home and away leg against the fourth placed Asian side - Iran. The fourth placing did Iran little justice – they had led the Asian qualification until a string of bad results dropped them to fourth place. At the time Iran was regarded by many as the best side in Asia.

The first leg was played in Iran in front of a hostile crowd of 128,000 men. Women were banned. One Australian woman did get into the ground – she dressed as a man.A young and unknown Harry Kewell scored the crucial away goal before Iran equalised through Azizi. Australia came away from Iran with what was considered to be an excellent result - a 1-1 draw. Everything was setup for Australia to capitalise on its home ground advantage in the return leg at the MCG.

I travelled to Melbourne for the match at the MCG. To the surprise of everyone over 85,000 fans turned up to support their Socceroos - something unheard of in Australia. Together we proudly sang the Australian National Anthem - it tugged at the heart strings and sent a shiver down the spine. It also set a new benchmark – no-one sings the Australian National Anthem with more passion than Australian football fans.

Kickoff - the atmosphere was absolutely electric - like nothing I had experienced before - 85,000 Australians screaming for their team. The Socceroos responded in kind by proceeding to completely outplay Iran. The MCG erupted in the 32nd minute when Harry Kewell made it one nil to Australia. The eruption was repeated in the 48th minute when Aurelio Vidmar made it 2-0. I swear that the Great Southern Stand felt like it was swaying under the weight of the thousands of jumping jubilant Australian fans.

The Socceroos had Iran on the ropes and it seemed certain they would add to their goal tally - such was their dominance of the game. 85,000 fans were ecstatic - singing, chanting and waving flags - finally, so we all thought, we had reached the football equivalent of the promise land. Yet the game had not ended. We foolishly began to discuss plans for travelling to France for the 1998 World Cup Finals. Foolish because we were about to witness one of the biggest disasters in Australian sporting history.

Completely against the run of play Bagheri pulled one goal back for Iran in the 71st minute. I became a little more nervous but was still confident because we were dominating the game. Then disaster struck - in the 75th minute Azizi poached Iran's second goal to level the score at 2-2. Iran were now in the box seat due to the away goals rule.

The Socceroos and the fans threw everything at Iran in the closing 15 minutes of the game. But there was no fairytale ending for the Socceroos - this was to be a sporting disaster of monumental proportions - the Socceroos had written themselves into Australian sporting history for the wrong reasons.

It is impossible to properly convey the atmosphere at the MCG after the game - anyone who was at the MCG on that fateful night will never forget it. 85,000 fans were leaving the stadium - there were people everywhere - yet there was silence - it was as if everyone was too stunned to speak. For some it was just too much and tears were streaming down their faces. One of those fans was Johnny Warren - he was openly weeping after the game.

Looking back it was a very cruel outcome for the Socceroos - we had failed to qualify despite not losing a single game during qualification. In our eight qualification games we had won six, drawn two, scored 34 goals and conceded only five.

One can not underestimate the impact of this result on Australian football. The sport would now enter its darkest era and would come close to collapse at a national level over the next four years.

Fast forward another four years. Australia once again romped past its Oceania opponents on its 2002 World Cup qualification path. This left a final hurdle of overcoming the 5th placed South American side - Uruguay - over 2 legs. The first leg was to be played in Australia at the MCG.

So I ventured to the MCG again but this time I was a little more pensive for several reasons. Uruguay were tougher opponents than Iran, the Socceroo class of 2002 was, arguably, not as strong as 1998 and finally I still wore the scars from four years earlier at the MCG.

As per four years earlier, 85,000 fans sang the Australian National Anthem and then cheered their hearts out for their beloved Socceroos. Uruguay were proving to be tough opponents - they had come to Australia planning not to concede and hoping to snatch an away goal. Australia performed solidly but was finding it very difficult to create any real goal scoring opportunities. Then in the 71st minute a push on Agostino and we were awarded a penalty.

Kevin Muscat lined up to take the penalty. As he started his run my heart was pounding. He stroked the ball down the middle and the goalkeeper dived the wrong way - the MCG erupted 1-0 to Australia. For the remaining 20 minutes we sang, cheered and Mexican waved. We had beaten Uruguay in the first leg. I left the MCG happy but with a slight nagging feeling that I tried to ignore - deep down most of us knew that 1 goal was not enough.

Australia headed to Uruguay for the return leg. Rather than attempt to defend his slender lead, Australian coach Frank Farina committed a tactical blunder. Farina opted for an attacking line-up with the aim of scoring an early goal and swinging the tie in Australia's favour. What made him think Australia was likely to score an early goal away from home when we had not scored, nor looked likely to score, a goal during the normal run of play in the 90 minutes played at home?

It took only 14 minutes for Uruguay to punish Australia - Silva made it 1-0 to Uruguay and the tie was level - Farina's gamble had failed and the balance had now swung strongly in Uruguay's favour. It took until the 70th minute for Uruguay to put the result beyond doubt through Morales. In the 90th minute Morales grabbed his second to make it Uruguay 3 - Australia 0. The old saying that a picture tells a thousand words is appropriate - the infamous picture of a distraught Tony Vidmar being helped from the ground tells the story - it was yet another World Cup heartbreak for the Socceroos and their fans.

In the aftermath of the Uruguay loss, my brother and I made a commitment. We agreed that we would travel to Germany 2006 if Australia qualified. So from November 2001 I set up a special bank account and began saving for Germany 2006. My reasoning was simple - Australia had to make the 2006 World Cup because our golden generation of players was coming to an end. There did not appear to be any new Harry Kewell's, Marco Bresciano's or Mark Viduka's coming through the ranks. If we did not qualify for Germany then we could quite possibly face another two or three World Cup's in the wilderness. I could live my adult life without ever seeing Australia qualify for the World Cup finals. But I was confident, I had a feeling in my bones, we qualified for Germany 1974 and history would repeat itself for Germany 2006.

Four more years pass. How things have turned around in Australian football. The Crawford Report has created a revolution. Soccer Australia has been replaced by Football Australia, the second richest man in the country is in charge, A-League games are being played in front of five figure crowds, football has taken the mantle of no1 sport in the country and arguably have the best coach in the world leading the Socceroos.

History repeats itself - we romp through the Oceania qualifiers and face Uruguay in a two legged playoff. The first leg is in Uruguay and the Socceroos do a fantastic job holding the score to a miserly 1-0 victory for Uruguay. The return leg is in Sydney.

Once again I travel to Sydney with a familiar crowd. The crowd includes the male members of my immediate family and several "in-law" converts to football. The "in-laws" had travelled to Melbourne four years earlier and had instantly become football converts. Since Melbourne they had almost begged me to make sure that I include them in the next World Cup qualification pilgrimage.

On November 16 2005 the day of reckoning had arrived - either Australia or Uruguay were going to qualify for the 2006 World Cup Finals in Germany - and their aint no second prize!

We arrived at the impressive Telstra Stadium several hours before the kickoff. The two pubs outside the ground were already overcrowded and pumping out various Australian anthems. There were also a few clusters of fans outside the ground singing away - a popular theme being the pretty lame U-Ru-Gay taunts - I am sure many mistook the taunt as cheering for Uruguay.

We took our seats with the stadium less than a quarter full. Despite the stadium being quite empty the singing had already begun and we joined in. As the ground slowly filled the singing became louder and louder reaching a crescendo when the Australian players come out to inspect the ground. Next Uruguay came out to inspect the pitch - and we let them have it - the gloves were off this time - no being courteous - Uruguay had to know that this was an away game and their nightmare was just beginning.

What was incredible was the unanimous determination of the crowd to put in their all cheering on the Socceroos. While the support for the Socceroos at the MCG at the two previous sudden death qualifiers was fantastic - the support at Telstra Stadium was incredible. Not 5 or 10% louder - no it was more like 200% or 500% louder.

By the time the players came out on the pitch and lined up for the national anthems I had already lost most of my voice. But that did not stop me for partaking in one of the most controversial aspects of the evening - booing the Uruguay national anthem. I and 95% of the people inside the ground booed and boo and booed. So much so that in the stadium you could not hear the Uruguay national anthem - it was completely drowned out. As a spectator you could see the singer lips moving but there was nothing but one loud BOOOOO!. In the aftermath of the game there was much criticism from some sections of the media over the booing of the Uruguay national anthem - unsportsmanlike and un-Australian they said. But these critics are ignorant. Had they been following the Socceroos through 32 years of failure? Had they seen the sport kicked in the guts time and time and time again by the media? Had they witnessed the treatment handed out to the Socceroos in Uruguay four years earlier - when they were jostled, abused, spat on and had coins thrown at them? Did they really know how much this game meant to Australian football? The answer is NO.

The impact of the booing had a very noticeable impact - it sent a clear message to Uruguay that this was a hostile venue and it showed on the faces of the Uruguay players. It also sent a message to the Socceroos - we were 110% behind them and we would stop at nothing to gain any advantage. Before the game had even kicked off there was already one score on the board - Australian National Anthem 1 v Uruguay National Anthem 0.

Kickoff finally arrived - there is little point outlining the game here because everyone who is reading this would have either attended or watched the game and would have gone through pretty much the same rollercoaster ride. But of course there were the highlights - when Bresciano's goal hit the back of the net Telstra Stadium exploded. It was almost relief as much as sheer joy - the tie was level and we still had three quarters of a home tie remaining and therefore we were in the box seat.

At half time I was on the verge of collapse - I had lost my voice, had gone pale and was starting to get dizzy - for I had been singing for nearly three hours straight. The 15 minute break was enough for all of us to recharge our batteries ready for the critical second half – however I realised I had to pace myself a little better for the rest of the game.. Full time - then Extra Time and then Penalties.

I was not confident going into the penalty shootout but the pressure on Australia was relieved when we went ahead early. But the pressure rose when Mark Viduka made a has of his penalty to let Uruguay back into the shootout.

The critical moment for me was when Tony Vidmar took his penalty. For while Tony Vidmar is a pillar of strength for the Socceroos - taking penalties is not the strongest aspect of his game. When Vidmar ran up and comfortably scored his penalty, with his weaker foot, I felt certain it was going to be our day.

Schwarzer pulled off two great saves and then it was left to another South Australian to finish off Uruguay. John Aloisi strode up to the spot and confidently smashed his penalty goal wards. The ball hit the back of the net and Telstra Stadium erupted. Aloisi streaked across the pitch while we were all jumping for joy, screaming at the top of our lungs and hugging complete strangers. It was an unforgettable moment and words cannot describe it.

I have watched the game again on DVD and it does not do the match any justice. The volume inside the stadium was many factors greater – understandable because viewers are supposed to hear the commentators. There is a small recording taken with a mobile phone that is available from the internet - it best demonstrates what it was like to be in the stadium - so much so that Qantas has adapted the poor quality recording for television commercials.

John Aloisi recorded his name in history as having scored the penalty that sent Australia to the World Cup Finals in Germany in 2006. This was arguable Australia's greatest sporting victory. It captured the hearts and minds of all Australians and dominated every conversation for days. Almost overnight football has gained acceptance in Australia as a mainstream sport.

The significance of the victory should not be under-estimated. While world cup qualification was the major prize on offer, the most important victory was for Australian football - it just may have won its battle for survival.


The Planning Stage

The planning stage had begun in November 2001 – in the aftermath of losing to Uruguay. I had opened a special bank account and began saving for Germany 2006.
When Australia had qualified for the 2006 World Cup Finals it activated our FIFA team specific tickets. We had applied and paid for the team specific tickets well before Australia had played Uruguay – over a year before the World Cup finals. If Australia qualified our tickets became real – if Australia did not qualify we received a refund.

We were lucky – it had been a lottery to get the team specific tickets – they allowed us to go to every Australian game up to the semi finals. If Australia was knocked out then we followed whoever knocked Australia out through to the semi-finals. All up we were guaranteed 6 games.

We had to make a decision early on the mode of our world cup trip – would be hire a car, fly around the country, use the train, stay in hotels, stay in camps or use a campervan. We opted for the latter – it guaranteed us accommodation anywhere provided the wheels to move around Germany. It gave us maximum flexibility. I had previously spent a year travelling around Europe in a campervan and Germany was an absolute pleasure making it a very easy decision. So we booked a campervan for six weeks before we knew the location of Australia’s games – and not before time because within a few days all the campervans were fully booked.

We then moved on to our airfares. We had wanted to fly with the sponsors of the Socceroos – Qantas. But they made it next to impossible to fly with them. We were still uncertain about our exact dates so we needed to be able to change our flights if necessary – but Qantas would not allow us to change dates without upgrading our air fare. In the end we went for Cathay Pacific – they were an incredible $800 cheaper than Qantas, flew direct out of Adelaide (Qantas was routing us through Melbourne or Sydney), flew direct to Frankfurt (Qantas was routing us through London) and the airfare was fully flexible.

Next was the World Cup draw – we drew a tough group that included Brasil. The only positive about drawing Brasil was that if Australia were eliminated in the group stages our tickets would follow the group winner – likely to be Brasil.

The real kick in the pants of the draw was the post the group stage – the second placed team in the group would likely face Italy. Only a dreamer would think Australia would top the group. It was a tough path for the Socceroos – world champions Brasil, undefeated Croatia, the no1 Asian team and if we got past them – the old masters of the game – Italy.

One bonus of the draw was the location of the games – southern Germany - renowned for its beauty, its friendly residents and its beer.

So our match tickets, wheels, accommodation and air fares were booked in.

We were on the way to Germany 2006 – a dream had come true!



On the Way

Leg 1 Adelaide to Hong Kong:

Spent several nights in Hong Kong – the city that never sleeps – the New York of Asia. The Hong Kong Island skyline is amazing. Great place to visit but not the destination it used to be – overcrowded, expensive and constantly getting over-charged for everything.

Leg 2 Hong Kong to Taiwan:

Spent several nights in Taipai Taiwan. Much more pleasant than Hong Kong. Went up Tapai 101 – tallest building in the world – impressive view.

Leg 3 Taipai to Frankfurt:

Horror overnight flight to Frankfurt – plane was full/overcrowded and leg room is non-existent. Was more comfortable dozing off standing up in the back of the plane. The leg from Asia to Europe is never very pleasant (unless your in business class) but this was pretty bad due to the overcrowding.

Day 1 Frankfurt to Stuttgart:

Off the plane and onto the train to Stuttgart. From Stuttgart into a taxi to collect our hired campervan. Taxi driver was a nutter who hit 200km/h along the freeway. Collected campervan without a hitch and drove back into Stuttgart in search of our pre-booked campsite. After an hour of driving in circles we finally found the campsite – the place was hidden from the road and had terrible signage. Felt less like an idiot when a couple arrived at the campsite a few hours later – they had left the McRent campervan hire place an hour before us – they spent 5 hours driving around in circles in search of the same campsite. They found it be going on foot rather than driving around.

Day 2 – Stuttgart to Prague

Spent several nights in Prague. I had been to Prague before but it was great to go again. Old part of town is magnificent – a time warp untouched by development. Prague spent some time as the home of the Hapsburg empire.

Day 4 Prague to Kaiserslautern

From Prague went south to another old Czech town called Cesky Kromolov – walked around the old castle/palace/old town for half a day. Then drove through southern Czech into Austria and then through Germany to Kaiserlautern. Arrived late the day before the Australia v Japan game.

Day 5 – Kaiserlautern

We had spent the night in the official FIFA campsite. The locals were magnificent – there were volunteers helping everyone out in the campsite. Campsite was free and it included power and toilets. Full marks to the locals.

(One problem we have been having is lack of world cup information. Campervan does not have a television. My plans for wireless internet access have been blown apart as all three providers in Germany are insisting on a 2 year contract. So far we have not seen a game and know very few of the results. Certainly not what I had expected – come to Germany and have trouble following the World Cup)

By the time we got ourselves sorted out we had to head into the city center for the big game.

The first game – Australia v Japan

This was it – after 32 years – this was it – the world cup had finally arrived – this was it – Australia had made it – this was it – the first game – you bloody beauty!!! Excitement was pumping through the veins.

We joined the flow of thousands of fans making the trek out to the stadium. Spirits were very high – green and gold everywhere – we outnumbered the Japanese fans by 5 to 1. Walking towards the stadium you could be forgiven for thinking you were in Australia.

As we continued the 25 minute march to the stadium there was much singing. The Japanese fans mingled with the Aussies – we chatted freely with each other – the Japanese are fantastic fans – happy and friendly.

Was noticeable that there were thousands of Germans wearing Australian tops – the neutrals were backing Australia – they were not content to just cheer for Australia – they also donned our gear!!! You would see what you thought was an Aussie fan – wearing the Australian top, with Aussie face paint and waving an Australian flag – then when you spoke to them you found they had a thick german accent!!

Arrived at the ground and the so called checking of tickets against your passport did not happen – if you had a ticket you went in – only bags were being checked. So you could have bought tickets off Ebay without a hitch. Ticket scalpers were around – if you wanted a ticket you could buy one – price ranged from 150 to 200 euro. (After the game I ran into an Australian film director who paid 1000 GBP for his scalped ticket in London– around $A2500 for one seat!!)

From the ticket entry point there was a quite demanding hike up to the stadium – up what seemed like a couple hundred steps – it was stifling hot - there was no air flow – it was over crowded - quite a few older people struggled big time – what a weird arrangement for a world class stadium.

Took our seats behind the goals – we were smack in the middle of the Australian section - and the singing began. The Aussie fans were in full voice – and the singing only became louder once the game kicked off. Atmosphere was brilliant – it was like Australia v Uruguay all over again.

One poor Japanese fellow must have bought a scalpers ticket and did not understand what he was getting. He was sitting right behind me smack in the middle of the Australian area – a blue fan surrounded by green and gold. Tried talking to him because he looked cabernet scared – I think I only scared him more.

Kickoff – stadium erupts and the Aussies drown out the Japanese fans. After a nervous opening few minutes we are on top. This only adds more momentum to the Aussie singing.

Then disaster – soft goal to Japan - from inside the ground it looked like Schwarzer was pushed off the ball. (after the game I did not met a single person who thought it was not a foul). The fans turn their wrath towards the referee – boo---boo---boo rings around the stadium for several minutes and are repeated regularly for the rest of the game.

The Socceroos are well on top of Japan – surely it is only a matter of time before we score. The fans continue all the singing. Second half is more of the same but gradually the Aussie fans are running out of steam while the Japanese fans are getting louder.

Starting to think that the Socceroos World Cup could be over after only one game - we are dominating but the ball just won’t go in the back of the net.

Then Cahill snatches a goal. The stadium goes nuts – everyone is jumping – screaming and hugging complete strangers. It was a massive relief.

There is another surge of singing from the Aussie fans - urging their Socceroos forward. Then Cahill scores his second – a brilliant shot from range that goes in off the post. Stadium erupts again. We are still celebrating the second goal when Aloisi makes it three with a fantastic goal. Fans go even wilder.

Full time but the Aussie fans wont leave the ground. They stay behind for 20 minutes singing and singing and singing – enjoying the moment. Eventually it was time to leave though that was a drama in itself – took 30 minutes in searing heat to walk 10m towards the exit. Eventually got out of the ground and the party began – the Aussie fans spent the night painting Kaiserslautern green and gold with a lot of help from the fans from other teams. The Japanese are incredible - they were congratulating us on the win, smiling and partying on with us. Fantastic fun night - difficult to describe - its not a drunken party - rather a big happy celebration.

There is an incredible feeling around the town - it was an amazing result - to come from behind so late in the game made it a rollercoaster ride - it was our first World Cup win and our first World Cup goals - absolutely brilliant.

We party through the night. I finally get to sleep around 5am in the morning – up at 8am – went into town and Aussies were playing football and still singing songs in the town centre.

By the end of the day the campervans have begun packing up and its time for the convoy to move on to Munich.

Munich – it feels like home!

Its just over 24 hours before Australia take on Brasil in Munich. Our last 2 days in Munich have been absolutely incredible - an amazing experience.

Day 1 - after spending the day looking around Munich, in the evening we have been drawn to the worlds most famous beer hall - the Hoffbrahaus. The scenes inside the normally quite placid Hoffbrahaus are amazing. It has become a moshpit for football fans from around the world. Aussies, Brasilians, Saudis, Mexicans, Argentinians, English, Amercianx, Canadians, New Zealanders and Germans - to name a few.

Inside the Hoffbrahaus moshpit everyone is in full voice, singing songs. By far the loudest are the Aussies. As the night wears on we soon have everyone in the Hoffbrahaus singing Australian songs like Advance Australia Fair, I am Australian and Waltzing Matilda. Everyone is singing along - the Germans, the Brasilians - everyone. In turn we sing their songs – we don’t know the words but we improvise - it is like one big happy family.

There is one exception - the USA. Fifteen years ago I recall being in a nightclub in Florence. The dj played an American song - Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen. All of a sudden the Italians went nuts. They jumped on the dance floor and sung along with Bruce at the top of their voices. It was a similar story around the rest of Europe – the cold war had just ended and everyone liked the USA. Fast forward fifteen years and how things have changed and this is epitomised by what is happening in the Hoffbrahaus. Every so often the American fans break out into their trademark chant - USA USA USA - immediately the boos start ringing out - within seconds the Amercians are drowned out by the booing. The booing is coming from everywhere and is repeated over and over again. We feel the pain of the American fans – so a few Aussies try to join in on the chant and turn the tide – but they fail miserably. Hopefully these Americans return home to the USA with their eyes a little more open.

I am sitting next to an Englishman from Coventry. He was a complete stranger an hour ago – now he was my best mate – along with the other half dozen Aussies who had joined our table. The Englishman suddenly stands up and begins singing a famous German song - "Berlin, Berlin, we are driving to Berlin". He says it in German (I have translated it) and suddenly all the Germans in the Hoffbrahaus join in - "Berlin, Berlin, we are driving to Berlin" rings out for several minutes - we all join in. I am sure none of the Germans realised the main instigator of their equivalent to Waltzing Matilda was a Brit.

From the Hoffbrahaus we visit several other pubs and cafes - meeting and chatting with more and more fans. After two games the Englishmen dont like their chances, the Germans are hopeful, the Italians confident and the Brasilians are supremely confident. Most others, like us Aussies, are just happy to be here. Wherever we go we can hear an Aussie chant breaking out somewhere nearby.

Day 2 – I am off to do some grocery shopping in Munich. As I come out of the German equivalent of Coles I notice some bikes for sale at the front. On closer inspection I realise the bikes are crap – but who cares – so I go back in and buy myself a bike. When I eventually get back to the campsite and the other two in our travelling party go out and buy two more bikes. In hindsight it was probably the best decision we made in the whole trip. The campervan gave us freedom to move around Europe and the bikes gave us freedom to move easily and quickly within the cities.

We return to the Hoffbrahuas for a second night - Friday night - and the same scenes are being repeated but in even more dramatic fashion. There are two main groups that have taken over the Hoffbrahaus tonight - the Aussies and the Brasilians. On one side of the hall you have the Aussies and on the other side you have Brasilians. Both are standing on tables and chairs creating a real stadium like feel with a moshpit corridor down the middle of the hall. Each side is involved in a singing contest - Australia v Brasil - its loud but all good natured. Through the moshpit corridor walk groups of fans from other countries. The English squeeze through in single file chanting away - this unites both the Aussies and the Brasilians against the English - together we sing "Ole Ole Ole Ole Aussie (Brasil) Aussie (Brasil)" and drown out the Englishmen. As the evening wears on the Aussies begin to totally dominate the Brasilians- we are the Kings of the Hoffbrahuas.

At closing time the Hoffbrahuas management are fantastic - rather than push everyone out - they allow the singing to continue for another hour. Eventually everyone rolls out into the street and heads off to the nearby plaza. It is the early hours of the morning but in the plaza a game is being played by roughly 100 people - there is a ball - and everyone is running around screaming "Kick it to me, kick it to me" - made famous by Australian swimming legend Perkins. The game quickly ends when the ball lands on a third floor balcony of a surrounding historic building. At the other end of the plaza there is another game going in. I decide to join in but soon find out I am on the wrong team - it was English speaking verus non English speaking.

As we started to make our way back to the campground we ran into the Vidmar brothers for a second time (we had run into them at the Australia v Japan game). Great blokes.

Our path back to the campsite (on our bikes) takes us through many detours. We hook up with some other Aussies in central Munich. One of these Aussies looks remarkably like the lead singer from Midnight Oil. We come across a huge fountain – and someone makes the suggestion we jump in. Within seconds Mr Midnight Oil is leading the charge into the freezing cold fountain – in only his undies. Before long he is being interviewed by German television – standing in front of the fountain, dripping wet in only his jocks!

We finished the night riding home in dripping wet clothes – the alcohol was enough to keep us warm.

Over the past 48 hours I have met so many people of many different nationalities - so many friendly and happy fans - all united in the name of football. It is just an unbelievable experience and unfortunately I cannot adequately describe it.

The Australian fans have done themselves proud - everyone loves the Aussies - the Brasilians are famous for their partying/singing but the Aussies have raised the bar. We are by far the most prominent fans at the World Cup, we are many, we are happy, we are friendly and we welcome everyone from everywhere. We have brought our friendly, fun loving and multicultural attitude to the World Cup Finals. Us Aussies represent more than just Australia - for we have come from all corners of the globe and have united under one flag in a very short space of time - in a sense we are the United Nations of this World Cup - it gives us a unique ability to talk and mingle with everyone no matter their country of origin. It is a special trait that we do not really appreciate or understand and it is something that we could put to far greater use in spheres much greater than just football. (Enough of the serious stuff).

The campsite we are staying at is now FULL. There are turning away campervan after campervan. They have blocked off the end of the street to stop campervans coming to the campsite. Its only 1pm yet there are several singing parties going on already. Everyone is in high spirit.

Quite simply this is the biggest party in the World - and us Aussies are loving it.


Brasil – what a referee!!

The big game we have all been waiting for has finally arrived - Australia v Brasil. The Brasilian fans are very confident and most pundits gives the Aussies little chance. But us Aussie fans hold up some hope that we can score an upset draw or maybe even an unlikely victory.

We headed out to the ground very early in an attempt to beat the crowd. Everyone else seemed to have the same idea. The trains to the stadium were jam packed - so much so that people had to be pushed into the train so that the doors would close - sardines in a can!. The exit from the train at the stadium station was a little better - they would not allow another train into the station until most of the commuters from the previous train had cleared the platform. From the station it was a ten minute march to the stadium gates, a bag and body search to get inside the outer perimeter and then finally through the ticket gate and into the ground itself.

The Munich stadium itself is very impressive. Its external appearance is unusual - it has been nicknamed the michelin man. The exterior appears to be made of some sort of plastic fabric that is held in place by air pressure - not sure. Inside the stadium is spectacular. It is a purpose build football stadium so all the fans are close to the action.

As the stadium gradually fills up it is difficult to work out who is supporting who - as most fans are wearing yellow or gold. Unfortunately part of the Aussie end of the ground is in direct sunlight - it is unbearably hot. So many fans do not take their seat until just before kickoff - of course the Brasilian end of the ground is shaded!

There is a middle section between the two tiers that has all the amenties plus a view of the ground - standing only though - many of the Aussie fans are staying in this shaded area watching the Japan v Croatia game on the stadium big screens. A big cheer erupts at the final whistle - a draw between Japan and Croatia- an excellent result for Australia.

The teams come out and are greated with huge roars and lots of singing. The Australian national anthem is second and we put in another rousing performance - however unfortunately the timing of the singing by roughly half of the fans is out of step with the anthem being played on the stadium pa system. Might have had something to do with the fans being split by the upper and lower tiers - the two tiers were out of time. Who cares though - we knocked the socks off the Brasilian anthem.

Kickoff - once again I wont repeat the events of the game as we have all seen it. We were under pressure early but then settled and were making a good game of it. As the game wore on the Aussie fans became increasingly frustrated with the referee who was clearly favouring Brasil. The referee was doing his best to take Mark Viduka out of the game. The Brasilian fans were relatively quiet - they were unhappy with the way their team was performing. Chants of "the referee is a chardonnay" regularly rang around the stadium as well as a more blunt Aussie one liner.

Early in the second half Brasil strike a killer blow by opening the scoring. The Aussies fought back and really took the game to Brasil. We deserved an equaliser. We created chances but just could not put them away - Kewell should have scored with almost his first touch as a substitute but blazed over the bar. Then Brasil killed off the game with a second goal - arguably offside as the goalscorer had gone from being passive (in an offside position) to active - but pundits back at home with the aid of television replays are in a far better position to judge this one.

Still we did not give up and went very close to pulling one back. The Aussie players and fans were getting increasingly frustrated with the referee. In one incident Viduka was pulled up for a foul when he did not even attempt to challenge for the ball - he was just nearby. Final whistle - the scoreline was a flattering 2-0 to Brasil. Kewell showed his frustration by getting in the referees face and giving him a verbal barrage at the end of the game - he was obviously very upset.

We exited the stadium in a sombre mood. The Socceroos had put up a strong performance but this was not reflected in the scoreline. The Brasilian fans were happy with the victory but probably dissapointed by their teams performance - it did little to justify Brasil's status as red hot favourites to win the tournament.

We opted to leave the Hoffbrahaus to the Brasilians to celebrate and headed back to the campsite to prepare to exit Munich for Dresden and Poland.

Stuttgart – Poll loses the plot

Fast forward a couple days - and we have made a 1200km drive to arrive in Stuttgart on the day of the crucial game between Australia and Croatia. The campsite is full but fortunately we have a booking. We head to a hardware store to buy some paint and redecorate our bikes – they are now green and gold – at least this way we know no one will want to steal them!

Before long we are heading out to the Stuttgart stadium that is only five minutes walk from the campsite. Everything at the stadium is well organised - it takes little time to get into the stadium. Once inside we are greated with the sight of another fantastic stadium. One surprise is the number of Croatian fans - they outnumber us - maybe 2 to 1. It seems they may have a little advantage - they get their country federation allocation - like Australia. But there are many Croatians living in Australia and in Germany - so they have been able to pick up a few of the Australian tickets and the majority of the neutral tickets.

National anthem time - Croatian first and their fans do a good job of singing it - but they are blown away by the Aussie fans - we thump out Advance Australia Fair - the best effort so far of the tournament - a spine tingling few minutes.

Referee is Graham Poll - an Englishman - so the hope is we may finally get a fair deal - how wrong we were with that presumption.

Kickoff and the Aussie fans are once again in fine voice. But only a few minutes in and Croatia take an early lead. A great free kick over the wall - fans were a bit critical of Kalac who looked slow to move but the replay showed it was pretty much hit into the top corner. The Croatian fans in the stadium go nuts - us Aussie fans have to go quiet for five minutes - no point wasting any energy when they clearly outnumber us.

Before long we are back in full voice urging out team onwards. None more so than Bazza sitting two seats away. Bazza is an Aussie from Canberra - a rugby league fan. He flew to Germany from Canberra arriving the day before the game, bought a ticket from a scalper and was now attending his first Socceroo game ever. He was wearing thongs, sporting a fine pair of 1970's speedo swimming shorts, claimed to be wearing one of Shane Warne's cricket shirts which was covered by a moth eaten woolen jumper. Bazza was giving it all for Australia.

Things were not going well for us in the referee department. Two clear penalties (right in front of us) were turned down by Graham Poll early in the game. We pretty much out played Croatia. Finally Graham Poll could not deny us a blatant penalty a third time. Craig Moore made no mistake from the spot and sent the Aussie fans into a frenzy.

Second half - another disaster - a harmless shot sneaks past Kalac - 2-1 to Croatia. Some fans are baying for his blood now - in his defence the ball kicked up in front of him but he still should have done better. Once again the Croatian fans are going nuts.

We throw everything at Croatia and completely outplay them. We are the better side but this is not reflected in the score line. We put the ball in the back of the net but it is disallowed.

As time ticks away and chances go begging I become increasingly anxious - how can we lose like this? how can we lose when we have outplayed our opponents? It is tough being a Socceroo supporter!!

The players do not give up - Harry Kewell in particular is turning in a masterful performance. It is fitting that it should be Kewell himself who scores the critical equaliser.2-2 to Australia - the Aussie fans go nuts.

Suddenly Croatia are down to ten men. Then Emerton is unfairly sent off - a leveller decision by Poll. It was right in front of us - the ball was kicked into Emerton from less than 1m. From our position the ball hit him in the midriff - not his hand and there was no way it was deliberate - but Poll saw it differently - hardly a decision you expect from a world class referee.

Incredibly Croatian/Aussie Siminuc is given his second yellow card but not sent off!!! Poll has screwed up big time. Imagine the problems if Simunic had subsequently scored the winner for Croatia!!!!

In the dying minutes we put the ball in the back of the net but it is disallowed again. Then Simunic gets his third yellow and this time is shown the red card. Final whistle and we go nuts. We have done it - reached the 2nd round - feeling of unbelievable joy are just washing over us all. All the fans are singing, hugging and high fiving each other - complete strangers have become best mates for a few long minutes. For the next 30 minutes the Aussie fans continue to sing refusing to leave their seats. The stadium PA system thumps out some Aussie classics like Men at Works Down Under. Everyone is in fine voice - so much so many Croatian fans remain behind to enjoy the spectacle.

Eventually the Aussie players come back out to thank the fans. They lock arms and orchestrate the 20,000 Aussie fans in another moving moment. Then the big finale - AC/DC - TNT comes out over the pa system - the fans quickly ignore the words and simply chant the chorus - oi - oi -oi - every single one of the 20,000 Aussie in the stadium is singing at maximum voice and pumping their arms in unison - it is absolutely incredible - even the neutrals are blown away by the performance.

Eventually we leave the stadium and most head into the city centre for a massive carnival. We opt to return to the campsite to recover. The game has sapped all our energy. Before long we head into the city centre - its party time - and it was great to see the many Croatian fans joining in. One thing about the World Cup is it seems to unite all the fans - all the barriers are broken down and there is a general feeling of goodwill towards all fellow fans. We are all part of the same football family.

Next day the Socceroos are on the front page of every German newspaper. Everyone loves the Socceroos and their fans.

As the Aussies move out of Stuttgart the English move in - ready for their second round game on the weekend.

The less said about the English fans the better – generally they are good natured but they do have a small minority that seem hell bent on causing trouble. We experienced this first hand – witnessing the trouble in central Stuttgart that was flashed all over the world in news reports. True to form the media beat the story up – yes there was some trouble but it was well short of what was described in the news reports. (Looking back it was not much different from the beat up story done by some sections of the media after the Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory semi final at Hindmarsh Stadium).

Note: As I posted this last message Stuttgart has gone nuts. The Germany – Sweden match has just finished and all you can hear are car horns blaring all over the city. Sure to be followed by another night of celebration.

Ohringen – Base Camp

Spent the night in Ohringen, however it is spelt. It is the home base of the Australian side.

Watched their morning training session. It was a closed session but we found a spot to view it. Noticed some interesting things - but wont list them here as it was a closed session. (Harry Kewell was clearly not going to play against Italy – the Australian officials would reveal this later in the day in the post training press conference but we weren’t to know that at the time).

Watched the Aussie bus depart and gave them a small cheer - there were maybe 20 people at the ground outside the ground cheering the team bus.

Ohringen is a beautiful little town with the friendliest people in Germany. The number of times people tried to help us out was brilliant. Had lunch in the main square and they quietly gave me a double serving because I was an Aussie. Another stall gave us free drinks.

This afternoon we moved on to Kaiserslautern - for the big game tomorrow. Once again the town is turning it on for the Aussies. In the centre of town they are playing all Australia songs.

Ran into a couple Aussies - started talking to them and once again they were Germans kitted out as Aussie look alikes.

Around the shops it is impossible to find any Aussie gear like flags etc because its all sold. Brasil gear is everywhere but no one wants it - they all want Aussie gear.

Everyone wants Australia to win tomorrow - everyone is telling us they are backing Australia.

The number of Aussies over here appears to have dropped. Maybe under half doing a rough count of campervans in the campsite. Many only came for the first round and don’t have tickets for the second round.

Post game in Kaiserslautern.

WE WERE ROBBED - another game decided by poor refereeing decisions.

The Italians should be partying in the town but they aren’t - they are very quiet and apologetic. Even they know Australia was robbed.

The vast majority of neutrals all supported Australia - so its fair to say around 75% of the people are very disappointed. Another 20% are Italians who are apologetic and only maybe 5% are actually celebrating and waving flags etc.

I have to say the general feeling over here is that the match officials are favouring all the big teams - a sort of conspiracy.

More thoughts later when I get over the disappointment.

More on Kaiserslautern

So Australia made it to the second round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Finals in Germany. For non-Aussies the Socceroos are a Cinderella story - a minnow ranked 50 in World by FIFA that was not even expected to qualify for the World Cup Finals has reached thet last 16. For Australians is it not a complete surprise - we are used to punching above our weight in sport and we knew we had some real quality in our squad - it has just taken 32 years to get everything right on and off the field.

The draw is cruel though - we are matched up against Italy - one of the giants of the World football. No-one is giving the Aussies much chance of beating Italy but in football there is always hope. Certainly all the germans and other neutrals are supporting the underdog.

Our travels return us to Kaiserslautern - a beautiful little town of 100,000 people that has been very good to Australia - we had already beaten Japan here. In hindsight there was one bad omen though - it has also been the scene of some of the worst refereeing in the tournament - Japan's goal against Australia and the Italy v USA match after which the USA was absolutely seething over the match officials.

Match day - Kaiserslautern once again turns it on for the World Cup. They have turned the main mall/shopping district into one big street party. Our journey to the ground takes us straight though the middle of street party. Fans are all crammed together as we march towards the ground down this narrow mall. The fans have also turned it on for Kaiserslautern - innovative costumes, lots of blow up kangaroos, flags, face paint, wigs, hats, giant hands, trumpets etc.

The whole process of getting to your seat must take almost an hour - the body and bag searching is a real bottleneck. its a long wait when your nervous about the game but is made much easier by the carnival like behaviour of the fans. We finally get to our seats only 20 minutes before kick-off - despite having set out several hours early.

National anthems and for the fourth time in a row our anthem is last - is there some FIFA ranking system for national anthems? - anyway coming second suits Australia. The Italians do their best singing their anthem and then comes the Aussies - we blow them away. We sing it with such energy and volume - it is one of the factors that has captured the imagination of the German neutrals at all the games.

Finally kick-off - no need to repeat the detail of the game here because everyone has seen it - there was relief that we started well and did not concede an early goal.

As the game went on I was becoming increasingly surprised by the Aussies - we were completely outplaying the Italians. At times the Italians looked dangerous in attack but that was very rare. Half time 0-0 and that increases the chances of an upset.

Second half - we continue to outplay Italy. Then suddenly Italy are down to 10 men. More Aussie domination - and a few solid saves by Buffon. Mark Viduka has more than met his equal in Italian defender Cannavaro - but the introduction of Aloisi changes things - Italy are finding it much more difficult to clear the ball out of the danger zone. As the minutes tick away Italy are tiring - they are almost spent. Aussie coach Hiddink is playing for extra time - the Italians had used all 3 subs quite early and looked a spent force.

3 minutes of extra time passes - the referee should blow his whistle but allows one more Italian attack. They cut inside and the Italian goes down in the box - unbelievably the referee awards a penalty. The stadium is stunned. The fans look to the big screen to show the replay but they don’t show it because they know its controversial. Then it happens - the chant rings out around the stadium "Barossa Pearl...Barossa Pearl...Barossa Pearl".

Totti steps up and makes no mistake with the penalty - then disgracefully the referee blows for full time - not even the decency to allow Australia to kick-off. So what is the ref saying....the dive in the box happened in the last millisecond of the game?

Absolute horror is etched on the faces of the Australian fans. Some turn to tears, some just hold their heads in their hands. What a way to lose the game. Without a replay the fans inside the stadium are left a little uncertain about the penalty - but then the SMS's start rolling in - "It was Barossa Pearl". The Aussie fans refuse to leave the stadium - instead waiting for the highlights to be shown on the big screen as is done after every game.

On come the highlights and once again they don’t show the penalty decision - it only affirms the resolve of the fans that it was a Barossa Pearl decision.

As we leave the ground it is a very subdued attitude - even the Italians are relatively quiet - everyone knows what they had just witnessed - a referee mistake that had robbed Australia. Conspiracy thinking racks the brain - why had FIFA appointed a Spanish referee in the first place? Why was a Spanish referee appointed for the Italian game and an Italian referee for the Spanish game? But you can not really take the conspiracy thinking seriously - maybe there is a natural bias created by circumstances and the rules - but it was just a bad decision.

A steady stream of Germans come up to us to talk about it - its pretty much unanimous - terrible decision - Australia was the better side. The Italians are happy to be going through to the next round but even they did not want to win it in such a manner - they sort of understand the pain of the Australian fans because they were eliminated at the last world cup after some dubious referee decisions.

No matter the injustice of it all - the result won’t change - we are out of the World Cup Finals. It is hard to accept the manner of the exit but the reality is that the Aussies did us all proud. The Australian team and their fans have captured the hearts of Germany - we have become the most popular side for the neutrals in the World Cup finals. Walk around the stores in Germany - the Aussie gear is selling like hot cakes and is hard to get your hands on - while the Brasilian gear is still sitting on the shelves. Amongst the fans the Aussie strip is the most sought after for swapping. Frequently we see someone decked out in all Aussie gear and you have to look twice before noticing the little German flag they are carrying or have painted on their face.

One aspect about the Aussie fans is we party like no other fans - we party all night - we sing all night - we party with anyone from anywhere - and we are happy and friendly. This is our last night in the World Cup finals and we are going to party again - celebrate our achievements and enjoy the German hospitality.

We party until sunrise – we end up in a bar in the centre of town. Five of us Aussies have the whole venue singing Australian songs for hour after hour - a hot favourite is a little ditty about Harry Kewell and Victoria Beckham. We mix up the Aussie songs with German songs - and any other country’s song that is thrown up. At the sunrise the owner gets up on the bar and issues us with referee like instructions to leave the venue. So we take the singing into the street for another hour. Germans are starting to come into town for work and we are still singing.

Eventually its time to get some sleep. We say goodbyes, do some shirt exchanges and thank everyone for an unbelievable night.

The World Cup finals has been a fantastic experience. There is something about football that garners the hearts and minds of everyone - it’s almost as if football is the true meaning of life. The World Cup brings peoples from all over the world, from diverse cultures, from different environments and unites them through one common culture - football. In the name of football we are all friends.

The Aussies have really added something to the World Cup Finals in Germany. We have an innate ability to get on with everyone from all walks of life. It comes from our heritage of being a cosmopolitan mix of different peoples in a completely open society with no historical or class barriers. It is a gift most Australians do not appreciate. Throw in our fun loving and relaxed nature and because of our sheer numbers over here in Germany, we have left our mark on the World Cup Finals and Germany.

Now about that referee.......

Hamburg - Quarter Finals

From Kaiserslautern our next game was the quarter final between Italy and Ukraine in Hamburg.

Our tickets were TST series 6 - that means that we are guaranteed tickets through to the semi-finals. The tickets follow Australia and then follow whoever knocks out Australia - that meant we now follow Italy.

As a second generation Italian (half Italian/English) you might think that it would be pretty straightforward to swing my support behind Italy. But after Australia's exit I was feeling no affinity for Italy. It was a weird / flat feeling and I was seriously considering selling my ticket for the quarter final. While my heart said to sell the ticket my head said I did not come all this way to Germany to miss this quarter final. Plus I reasoned that maybe when I got into the ground I might just get caught up in all the excitement again.

My brother had picked up an Italian top earlier in the tournament. I also had a top that, without realising when I brought it along, was Italian blue. I had worn it early during the trip and suddenly realised people thought I was an Italian fan. So it quickly found itself at the bottom of the pile at the back of the cupboard. So we both had the option of wearing Italian colours to the quarter final. Rightfully we could wear Italian colours - we are of Italian heritage and we both hold an Australian and Italian passport. But we both insisted on putting on our Aussie gear including our Australian flags. We are proud to be Aussies and we are going to continue onwards wearing our Aussie colours.

Hamburg itself is a great city with a fantastic football stadium. Before the game we easily scalped a ticket for a third person in our party who did not have a ticket for the game. For the Australian games the prices for scalped tickets were in the range of Euro 200 to Euro 500 - five to ten times the original ticket price. For this quarter final the price for scalped tickets was below the original price - we paid Euro 50 for a Euro 85 ticket. As we got closer to the ground the scalper prices kept falling - outside the ground they were virtually giving away the tickets - hundreds of tickets available with no one buyers. Interesting all the tickets we saw available were from the Italian allocation - we were attempting to swap our third scalped ticket (which was in the Italian section) for a ticket closer to our TST tickets. So something had gone on with the Italian allocation such that a large number ended up in the hands of scalpers.

Inside the ground we found our seats - there were a few familiar Aussie faces around us and lots of empty seats. We chatted with the familiar faces and quickly made friends with the new faces around us - that was one of the main themes of the world cup in Germany - A time to make friends.

As the game neared kick-off we had expected the seats to fill up - but they didn’t. Later the ground announcer would announce that the game was sold out - there was an ironic cheer that went around the ground because everyone knew there were thousands of empty seats - lucky if the ground was 90% full. Sure they might have sold all the 50,000 tickets but 10,000 of them were sitting in the hands of scalpers outside the ground.

Continued a few months later....

The game kicked off but the very flat feeling just would not go away. I just could not support Italy. So I found myself watching the quarter final as a spectator - not a fan. Deep down I was hoping Ukraine would snatch an unlikely victory.

But Ukraine was no match for Italy. Italy grabbed a very comfortable victory. After four exciting games watching the Socceroos this game was pretty ordinary. I couldn’t help but continually think that Australia would also have comfortably brushed aside Ukraine - we had been so close to reaching the semi-finals.

We left the magnificent Hamburg Stadium and headed back to our nearby campsite.

(too big to fit in one post so I have split it)

[admin]

Dortmund – Semi Finals

Our next match was the semi final between Italy and Germany in Dortmund. We had a few days up our sleave so we headed north. We took a ferry to Denmark and spent a day in Copenhagen. Then it was onwards and northwards to Sweden via another ferry. We spent another day at one of the most beautiful towns in the world - Stockholm. Time was tight and we had to travel approximately 1200kms in 24 hours to get back to Dortmund in time for the semi final.

We dashed 600kms southwards from Stockholm to take an overnight ferry from Sweden to Germany bypassing Norway. After hours of driving we finally caught the ferry - but only just with only one or two minutes to spare - talk about leaving it tight. The ferry enabled us to cover 250kms while getting a good night sleep.

Next day we drove into Dortmund laying up at the official FIFA car park outside the Dortmund Stadium. Dortmund has some similarities to Adelaide. It has a heavy reliance on manufacturing and is generally regarded as a working class town most famous for one thing - its football team. It is a football town.

We headed into central Dortmund for a few hours. It was party time in Dortmund - a huge carnival - people everywhere - smiling, singing & drinking.

After a few hours in central Dortmund it was time to return to our campervan and head out to the semi - final. We decked ourselves out in our Australian gear for one last time.

As we walked towards the ground we discussed who we would be supporting - easy - I was going to support our fantastic hosts - Germany. Bugger the diving cheats of Italy!

We finally made it into the ground - and what a magnificent ground - the atmosphere inside was electric - it really got the heart pumping. Our seats had us right on the edge between the German fans and the Italian fans - a great spot. There are maybe a hundred Aussie fans spread out around the same area - it didnt matter if they were wearing Aussie colours because by now we had seen the same faces so often at games we recognised their faces.

The German fans outnumbered the Italian fans at least 10 to 1. The German fans were in fine tune - singing - singing and singing. In comparison the Italian fans were very quiet punching well below their numbers. Maybe they were intimidated by the number of German fans or maybe they have suffered to many cruel failures in the past or maybe they were "chardonnay fans". They seemed more interested in abusing the German fans for standing instead of sitting and blocking their view of the field - couldn’t help but think what type of fans come to a World Cup semi final and expect everyone to remain seated - thus the reference to chardonnay fans.

National anthems - another spine tingling rendition - the Germans with their unusual anthem based on a Croatian folk song - and the Italians with their beautiful national anthem.

Kick-off and the atmosphere in the stadium is incredible - amongst all the volume you can really feel the tension in the air. As the minutes tick by the tension seems to only increase - the German fans are becoming increasingly tense.

We have made friends with some German fans next to us. At half time these fans look very stressed - brings back memories of my feelings during the Australia v Uruguay in Sydney. This game meant so much to Germany - against all the odds (they had been written off before the tournament had even started) they were only 45 minutes away from reaching the final of the most important competition in the world. what a way it would be for Germany to throw of the shackles of its past and celebrate its coming of age with a final in its new capital of Berlin - or so they dreamed.

Second half - as the minutes tick by the German fans become more and more tense. No one has forgotten Italy's last second win over Australia and the German fans fear a repeat.

The closing minutes of the second half are extremely tense both on and off the field. There is a big sense of relief when the referee blows for full time.

Extra time - the game opens up - Italy want to win this game in normal play probably fearing Germany's excellent track record in penalties. Germany continues to hold on. With only minutes remaining the game seems headed to penalties.

Then with a minute remaining disaster strikes - the Italian diving champion Grosso smashes the ball past German goalkeeper Lehmann - 1-0 to Italy. The German fans are stunned but quickly recover to cheer their team forward to get a miracle equaliser. Germany throws everyone forward but Italy seal the result when they grab their second goal through Del Piero.

Final whistle and the German fans are shattered. Tears are flowing and they have a look of utter disappointment on their faces - much like the Aussie fans only a week earlier. In comparison the Italian fans are ecstatic. It seems like it is the first time in the evening that the Italian fans are out of their seats, singing, dancing and celebrating - but in reality it is the silence of the German fans that now allows the outnumbered Italian fans to be heard.

The Italian fans sing and sing and sing. Several players some over and join them. Meanwhile the German players do a lap of honour to thank their fans for their support before leaving the stadium to the celebrating Italians.

It was a deserved win for Italy but it did bring an end to the German fairytale.

The Final

After the semi-final in Dortmund we had a decision to make - what to do for the World Cup Final. We had four options – try to scalp tickets for the final in Berlin, watch the final in the fan fest in Berlin, head to Paris or head to Milan. We decided to keep our options open – head to Berlin and sound out the possibility of scalping tickets.

We arrived in Berlin and found a campsite on the outskirts of the city. It was a good 25kms to the city centre –it took us several hours to find and there were very few alternative campsite options. We quickly settled in and then hopped on our trusty green and gold pushbikes and headed in to the city centre to check out the Fan Fest.

We had heard about the Berlin Fan Fest from several other travellers and were very keen to check it out. It certainly did not disappoint – it was massive. It started at the famous Brandenburg Gate and stretched on for 2.5 kilometres. It opened up around the Brandenburg Gate but for much of its length it was the width of a wide street. Its difficult to picture the Fan Fest but for residents of Adelaide - picture it commencing at Parliament House on King William Street – running down King William Street, through the South Parklands and ending somewhere around Greenhill Road.

Every couple of hundred metres there was a big screen – propped up on a temporary bridge like structure. Underneath every bridge structure there was a dance floor completed with disco balls. Each bridge had its own DJ who would play their selection of music between the games. If you took a left turn at the Brandenburg Gate you headed onto the world famous Alstadt. The large plaza in front of the Alstradt was also a Fan Fest – another story in itself with its temporary replica of Berlin’s Olympic Stadium made out of scaffolding but large enough to house five thousand fans.

Quite frankly Berlin was magnificent. But there was one noticeable problem – the Berliners had lost their spark for the World Cup. They had watched their dream die only 24 hours earlier in Dortmund and now, it seemed, they had little passion and interest in the World Cup Final. We watched France win its Semi-Final – the French fans celebrated but were few in number – all up it was very subdued. It was enough to make up our minds – the last place we wanted to be for the final was Berlin. We could see little point in paying thousands of dollars for a ticket to the final played in a stadium full of neutrals – not when we could jump in our campervan and head to Paris or Milan.

We debated – Paris or Milan – the decision rested on who we thought was going to win the final. The last thing we wanted to do was watch the final in the losing country. So would France or Italy win – it was a tough decision to make – the heart said France but the head said Italy.

We hung around Berlin for a couple days. I had been to Berlin before – only a couple months after the Berlin Wall had come down. At that time it was a very jubilant city – looking forward to a bright future and celebrating the end of the infamous Berlin Wall. Since then much has changed in Berlin. The euphoria was gone – there was little left of the Berlin Wall and the city centre have moved east. The old palaces and government buildings in East Berlin have been magnificently renovated - and turned into the new administrative heart of the united Berlin.
It has become an unusual city – it has at least two of everything including two city centres giving it an almost split personality. It is a fantastic place that has undergone massive change in the past 15 years.

From Berlin we headed south stopping at Interlaken in Switzerland for a ride up into the Swiss Alps. From Switzerland it was onto Milan arriving the day before the World Cup Final.

Milan – the World Cup Final

On the day of the World Cup Final we headed into central Milan early. Our destination was the big piazza in the centre of Milan. The old Duomo overlooked the square.

When we arrived in the square we could help but notice the size of the big screen – it was adequate but not quite what we had expected in a city of Milan’s means – the so called financial capital of Italy.

Hours before the game start the square was a sea of flags and trumpets. The trumpets just kept blowing and blowing – dropping down a few decibels then rising into a crescendo – over and over again.

As the kick off nears the crowd continues to grow and grow and grow. Post match media reports put the crowd at over 150,000 – though that seems to be a little too generous. As the crowd grows so does the volume – especially the trumpets. The Italians are excited and nervous. I had hoped some of their excitement would rub off on me – but to be perfectly honest it wasn’t – we were there as spectators – not as Italian fans.

Kick-off. – within 6 minutes France are one goal up – Zidane scored from the penalty spot. The fans in Milan are unhappy. The French goal has stopped the party – now all you can hear is exclamations over the penalty.

As the minutes tick by the Italian fans are becoming increasingly frustrated with their team. They have been through too many disappointments before and can see the danger signs.

But their frustration quickly gave way to celebrations when Materazzi headed home a corner to level the scores in the 19th minute. The whole piazza was jumping for joy, horns were blaring, flags waving and flares going off everywhere.

The game ebbed and flowed – full time became extra time. In the 110th minute Zidane was sent off for his infamous head butt. After extra time the scores remained level and the match went to penalties – the demon of past failures made the Italian fans very nervous.

Those demons were quickly forgotten when Grosso hit the back of the net with Italy’s fifth penalty to win the shootout 5-3. Milan erupted in an explosion of celebrations that was to last for days. Horns, flags, dancing, singing and hundreds of flares – the celebrations just went on and on. There was much improvisation in the celebrations – in one corner of the piazza a fan grabbed a bin, turned it upside down, converting it into a drum and bashed out a beat as fans danced around him – that bin just kept pumping out a beat all night with fans sharing the drummer role. Another focal point of the celebrations was the large horse statue in the piazza – it was standing room only for the hundred or so fans that clamoured onto the statue – for hours the statue was dominated by these fans dancing, singing and waving flares – it was a constant red glow.

We remained in the piazza until the early hours of the morning witnessing the incredible celebrations.

From Milan we headed over to Venice for a few days before returning to Germany to catch the flight back to Australia.

It was a fantastic six weeks – a once in a lifetime experience. There will probably never be another World Cup like this for Australian fans – we will never go through a 32 year World Cup drought, we will never be regarded as such under dogs by other football fans and there are few countries as welcoming to Australians as Germany.

Onwards to South Africa 2010.

[Anonymous]

The boy is dangerous. They all sense it, why can't you?

[liverpool_08]

not to much typing..........lmao......

[Lilly Whites]

true livz, true

[Mossack Fonseca]

good work admin
im enjoying this.

More to come shortly.