Its a Kewell, Kewell world
The troubled one, Harry Kewell. is set to make his return next month, after 9 months of rehabilitation.
We all know the cliche line: The man they apparently call 'sick note' has never been able to consistently reproduce the mesmeric form he had at Leeds, form that opened doors to Chelsea, Arsenal, Barcelona and his boyhood fantasy club, Liverpool FC.
But the glimpses have always been there since those times - wonder goals for the Reds, ripping Uruguay apart in Sydney and just being on the spot vs. Croatia to send us hurtling into our quarter final frenzy. There have also been the heartbreaks - coming off injured in the Champions League Final, or hobbling onto the bench straight from the dressing room before the Italy QF.
He'll run out in a reserve grade team for Liverpool, and once again we'll all hold our collective breath and hope he won't tweak, pull, tear or break anything in the leadup to the Asian Cup. So it was for the lead up to the World Cup in Germany, so it is again this year for I-M-T-V.
The buzz around the football web used to be that without Harry, we were always behind the eight-ball. Since his enforced absence, however, the National Team has thrown aside the need for the 'one saviour' crutch. The total football approach of the Hiddink era re-inforced the fact that no individual is greater than the whole team. Sure, Australia is a far better side with him in it, but now I think its more that Harry adds a new dimension to our attack, rather than being a crucial linch-pin that keeps the wheels on the wagon. I would worry more if a Vinnie Grella or Jason Culina were unavailable for the AFC Finals because that type of player has a larger impact on our overall system.
Now the talk is of Harry moving on from Liverpool, and I imagine the Asian Cup Finals and his return this year will outline his destiny for the years to come. For a guy who has had so many troubled weeks of injury, he is still the best player we have ever produced. Hopefully this won't be yet another heartbreak return, and we'll see him in Sydney and Melbourne again in June.
Best of luck H, break a leg....
Lookout Joey Johns
Before I moved into the Newcastle area I knew that Andrew Johns was a popular figure on the local scene. I knew that he was a local boy done good and that the Novacastrians were proud of him.
What I didn't realise was HOW proud of him they are. He does ads for just about everything under the sun, is always being talked about and there is a news story on Joey Johns every single day. 'Our Andrew' is everywhere.
I am not exaggerating. Every single day there is a story on Andrew Johns in the paper, on NBN (home of RL) and on every radio station north of Gosford.
Every little trivial detail about his life is big news. Yesterday it was 'Joey goes surfing before the big match'. They love the guy - I got no problems with that.
But lately there has been a new face that has been appearing in the papers and on the tele more than is normal.
I keep hearing the unmistakable voice of a bloke who has grown up playing the wog ball game around us effniks. Nicky Carle. Last week it was on the back of the Newcastle Herald showing Nicky in a local climbing Gym. Nicky Carle. A fortnight ago, he had just won the HAL Player of the year and Newcastle couldn't get enough of him. Nicky Carle.
And the big news this week, Nick Carle has been selected to play for the Socceroo's against China on March 24 in Guangzhou. There he was again, in the papers.
The town that has the Greatest Player in the WORLD in Joey (Ray Warren, 2005), now has a new face to pin its hopes on.
Lets hope he does us proud.
Digging to China
I have been pondering this week, how big a television audience the Australia vs China friendly match will draw. I am not talking about Foxtel Subscribers. I am thinking more about how many Asian viewers there will be. According to this guy's figures, it could be a bucket-load.
So lets start here....8.28 billion Asians watched the world cup. Now of course thats cumulative, over the course of the largest single sporting event in the world.
After about 10 minutes of hunting around on this interwebby thing, I found this page, which floored me...
There are 250 million regular football fans in China.
In fact, this is such a nugget, its worth a copy and paste:
China has more television sets than any other country in the world, which means that it represents a huge and growing audience for football.
These television sets are being well and truly used. 400 million Chinese watched the China versus Brazil match at the 2002 FIFA World Cup™. In total, China delivered a cumulative viewing audience of almost six billion to this event, representing 20% of the global audience.
Over 50% of the population in major Chinese cities chooses football as its favourite sport. Team China matches have an average TV rating of at least 30%. With at least six leading Chinese players now playing for European clubs, the standard of play is rising sharply and audience interest is keeping pace.
Okay thats good. Its time to get the old calculator out...
Lets see, if the football viewing population of China is potentially 250 million, and team China Matches average a TV rating of at least 30% , then thats 75 million people.
No that cant be right.....
250 000 000 x 0.30 = 75 000 000
That is right.
So nearly four times the entire population of Australia will tune in to watch the game on Saturday night in China.
Thats ridiculous.
Somebody pinch me
It's late on a Wednesday night and I'm clicking furiously on my mouse trying to refresh the world game website live match commentary. It's the first night of foray into the AFC Asian Champions League by Australian teams - the much heralded and anticipated entry into Asian club football that would ice the cake that was baked by the Crawford Report just 4 short years ago.
Sydney FC lead 2 goals to 1 against a team of Chinese I had not heard of until a couple of months ago. The goals have been sensational.
I see the highlights on a commercial free to air sports show that night (I don't have Fox), preceding rugby league, afl and even the cricket. Names like Ufuk Talay and Stevie Corica roll off the presenters tongue, and 'do it again for Sydney.....'.
Wait a minute this is Australia - How the hell did we get to Asian Champions League highlights on Channel 10, home of Neighbours, AFL and The Simpsons???
When the Pratten Park 'riot' happened in the mid 80's, who was involved? - Sydney Olympic, obviously but who else? (Was it Sydney City?) Although I can honestly say I can't remember, I could Google it and find it in an instant.
But I do remember the important bit. I remember the sinking sinking feeling of shame and embarrassment as my sport was dragged through the mud by anyone who could put hooligan and soccer in the same sentence. Blown out of all proportion ala White Eagles bus windows.... but mum and dad Australia said soccer is for thugs, so lets go watch rugby league (!).
I admit it, as a kid growing up I would play in 2 comps of 'soccer' during the week with a passion - get to training early, get dressed 5 hrs before the game on Saturday (some things don't change even in o35's), kick the ball around the house incessantly....but my heroes were Slippery Steve Morris, Rocket Reddy, and Dougie Walters, not Gary Phillips, Peter Katholas or Marshall Soper....
Soccer as a mainstream entertainment sport was off the radar, except for those FA Cup nights or late Saturday nights EPL on ABC where we cheered for teams we sort of knew about, like Liverpool, Everton, Notts Forest - as an alternative most of us at best followed the premiership and that was that. The hard core read Australian Soccer Weekly and knew about Greek teams or Serie A. The Wold Cup disappointments would come and go, which would spark some interest. But at Aussie club level?
Not to say there was not some quality football on offer in the old NSL. But it was not in the mainstream psyche.
Of course, I know that there is an obvious reason to the focus on football these days - much has been written about the launch of the A League, Dwight Yorke, Foxtel deals, THAT night in November, the World Cup and THOSE mornings in June with the Socceroos, the 50k crowds at the Dome, Dutch football directors and Weetbix Kids.
And I know there is a damn long way to go.
But I have a feeling that at last the game is on the mainstream radar.
Now let me just Google Uruwa Red Diamonds.......