C'mon, sports wise you guys are arrogant as hell. In fact, Aussies are known as the Iranians down under for your delusions.
Cap'n, for me it all started in '07 with one Graham Arnold and the ridiculous comments by OZ fans about waltzing thru the competition. Do you deny Aussie fans haven't been condescending to Asian fans in the past?
Graham Arnold was a blight on our national team. Thank goodness he's out of the system now, many young players and senior representatives have slammed him over the last couple of years, and deservedly so. And I agree to the extent that I was embarrassed of what was being said officially and by fans back then. Unfortunately there are still many that don't rate our opposition in Asia, can only see that we don't play well (ie don't smash them 4-0 every game or the like) rather than giving any credit to the other teams. Thankfully, most of those people are myopic enough to keep to their own discussion boards. However, just as we can see a different attitude and approach by the team through WC qualification and now in this AC, I hope this will filter down to the fans. I believe it is, though there are always some idiots, as stated above.
I've said it before on here but for the most part the attitude of '07 is in the past and it's over. I for one am glad Australia is part of the AFC, although I don't think you are 'Asian' per se and doubt Aussies perceive themselves to be. Nonetheless, you make the AFC stronger with your competition so I welcome you. Australia gave Korea a needed test and exposed it's weaknesses. At the end of the day, that's a good thing.
But you choose to focus on what a minorty said 4 years ago. Obviously it's not just a small mind you have.
I responded to a question the good Cap'n had about why I thought that way about Aussie fans, got a problem? If you're honest with yourself you know many Asian fans think the same about Aussie fans attitude toward the other teams in Asia instead of trying to be cute with a lame quip. You say minority of the fans? Maybe so but that was the majority of comments I read. Maybe the majority didn't post anything or was drowned out.
To be honest in the lead up to the SK-Australia game a few days ago, anyone could of easily mistaken the Koreans on this board as Australians circa 2007. Are we really the arrogant ones this time around? To me it seems like the shoe is on the other foot especially considering we were supposed to get 'smashed 3-0' or more because as such, we are 'Arrogant Aussies' Not sure how it works though.
No, you guys haven't been arrogant at all this time around. Archildo was talking about the attitude of '07. To give you a better perspective of how the general Korean fans see towards the Aussies, when we talk about the Asian football, Australia is generally the nation that gets the most votes as the most respected side in Asia - This is at least what I have seen from lurking around the Korean forum 'Alssa' for many years. After our group stage encounter ended in a 1-1 draw, a lot of Korean fans were disappointed that we didn't come out on top but most were quite happy with the result nonetheless. A draw against other Asian oppositions, you'll never get such a reaction from the Korean fans. This again explains how the Korean fans perceive the Australian players in general. Sasa has been a great ambassador in this regard and that's why he's the captain of Seongnam. Anyways, good luck to your QF matchup against Iraq.
I predicted a win although I did temper that by saying a win by Oz wouldn't be a shock. You are a good side, no doubt, and exposed/took advantage of the Korean team's weaknesses. Well done by the coach and the players. I just wasn't pleased with Cahill's comments about the Korean side playing with negative tactics while it was the Aussie side that swarmed the referee trying to influence him the way Chelsea do.
I went to the Australia-ROK game and was sitting with a big group of Australians who I didn't know. Anyway when I was talking to them they mostly seemed to be pretty realistic about their chances. One guy thought 3-1 Aussie, a few thought Korea would take it 2-1, a fair few of them agreed that Korea have a slightly better side but thought Australia would get a good result (as any proud fan would). Almost everyone agreed Australia's chances hinged on them getting an early goal. The fans at that game seemed to be fairly realistic about their team's capabilities. However at the game with Bahrain, most of the fans didn't know what the team was in for and were pretty uneducated about the Bahrain NT's ability and thought Australia played poorly rather than concede that Bahrain are a good side.
But australia did play poorly against bahrain and we had 2 makeshift backs playing. If we had of played aswell as we did against korea, the bahrain score line would have been much greater.
That's one attitude, another is that Bahrain is a good team with a pretty gifted midfield and it was DESTINED to be a pretty tough game for Australia. The fact that 2 of the 3 games against Bahrain in the recent history (here & Manama WCQ), people have just decided Australia were 'poor' means they're not considering the possibility that there are 'areas' where Bahrain are able to exploit Australian weaknesses even if they're not quite as good as Australia. Against ROK, Australia played pretty well I agree. However, 1st half it was ALL Korea pretty much. 2nd half, Australia got a set piece goal, then when that happened a large shift in the game occured. Korea Rep pressed high up the pitch looking for the winner. As a result it gave Australia LOTS of space which they used to create a lot of counter-attacking chances which were quite good. When Australia were the more dangerous side in the 2nd it wasn't because they picked it up a notch, it was because Korea pressed leaving more space at the back and Australia were able to make more of their counter attacks count.
I can only speak for myself really. I admit Ive gone as overboard as I ever have. I really did want to smash Australia not because I have any ill will of any kind. I just wanted to leave no doubt is all and because I am super excited about the prospects of this current squad. I think the next 5 years at least is our dynasty. k. Ill try to tone it down though youre right.
I think of them as Asian. The term is no longer about a group of people as it is a region. Economics is catching up with the perception.
Ive never spoken to you so dont take offense but whats the point of this reasoning? Its neither here nor there really when you think about it. Just trying to be more realistic. I see nothing to gain with hindsight 20/20 hypotheticals. Plus I agree with Akitod. I dont necessarily view Bahrain with the conviction that it is a middle to upper tier side (asia relative), but I do see it as a team on the cusp meaning its liable to turn a top side on its head at any given chance. Pretty athletic team all things equal.