Asian Cup marks dawn of a new era for Australian football

andrewbinner 13:20 01/02/2015
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  • Going up: Australia's first ever Asian title comes just nine years after joining the Asian Football Confederation.

    “One complaint,” said South Korea coach Uli Stielike after the 2015 Asian Cup final. “Five weeks in Australia and I didn’t see a Kangaroo.” The German saw the Socceroos though, twice, and despite beating them 1-0 in Brisbane two weeks previously, lost the 2015 Asian Cup final 2-1 on Saturday in Sydney.

    It may be some consolation that the game was as exciting as any major final has been for quite some time and it will be some consolation that Korea pushed Australia all the way but in the end, there can be just one winner.

    Massimo Luonga’s goal just before half-time looked to have given Australia a famous victory until Son Heung-min equalised for the Taeguk Warriors in the 91st minute. James Troisi grabbed the decisive goal at the end of the first period of extra-time and the men in the green and gold hung on to lift the trophy.

    For Australia, it is a first ever Asian title and comes just nine years after joining the Asian Football Confederation. It also comes just four after the final loss to Japan in Doha, thanks to an extra-time goal from Tadanari Lee, a Japanese international who could have played for Korea.

    This time, the Koreans threatened to upset the hosts but could not quite do so and now they have lost their last four final appearances in the tournament. The last success came back in 1960 and the trophy drought is going to be going on for 60 years by the time 2019 rolls around.

    Korea’s time will come again but Saturday belonged to Australia. It could have gone either way but this was an epic and entertaining final that ended a fine tournament in a fitting fashion.

    Going into the game, Korea hadn’t conceded a goal all competition. That was 524 minutes of Asian Cup football before Kim Jin-hyeon was picking the ball out of the net. He could do little about a fierce low drive from outside the area. The Swindon Town midfielder was then named the tournament MVP and has been energetic and influential since day one.

    Son, rumoured to be English Premier League bound this summer if one of the big clubs can hand over $40 million to Bayer Leverkusen, went close twice in the first half but had been quiet in the second. Yet the big players stand up to be counted when the big moments present themselves and that is what the 22 year-old did. With just seconds remaining, he was found by Ki Sung-yeung and slotted the ball home past Mat Ryan.

    As extra time loomed, Korea were in the ascendancy and Australia coach Ange Postecoglou was worried. “My only concern was that because we conceded so late, the boys would be so heartbroken they couldn’t pick themselves up in extra-time, but I knew we’d finish stronger. It was just a matter of taking our chance when it came, and we did.”

    For Korea, Troisi’s goal was a painful one, coming as it did through a mistake from the consistently-impressive left back Kim Jin-su. “We were naive with the second goal, I think we could’ve cleared the ball,” said Stielike after the game, lamenting his team’s lack of composure.. “This is what is missing in this team, this will come step by step, and we need a little bit more time.”

    If the composure was lacking then the spirit certainly wasn’t and Stielike, who occupied the post just four months ago, was delighted with his players.

    “Today was the best game in terms of body language, when you play in front of 76,000 people and some players have never played in this ambience. There’s no difference in which is the home team and which is from outside, they were very aggressive and had a very good spirit.”

    It was not quite enough in the end. Korea did their utmost to get a second equaliser but there was no way thr0ugh. Not long after the final whistle, Postecoglou was celebrating a glorious moment with the fans and for a coach who had been under increasing pressure following poor warm-up results, he deserved every clap, every fist pump.

    “Football is a great game; the greatest in the world. And hopefully us Aussies we can take on the best in the world because I have a real belief in this whole group and in Aussie football and we’ll move on from here.”

    At the moment anything seems possible. Australia has put on a great Asian Cup that has done the continent proud. Now the Socceroos will represent the continent on the pitch for the next four years, including the 2017 Confederations Cup. Korea can take plenty of positives too. These teams will meet again in some very big games and if they are as good as this, we will be in for a treat.

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