King Harry rules as Viduka and Schwarzer make their Mark
Posted by Jasper Reed in A-League | 16 April 2006
As an astute writer to Football 365 pointed out this week, we do have TV in Australia.... it’s just that it doesn’t get pointed at the rest of the world very often. And when it does, it is usually to bask in the glory of an Aussie 'son or daughter' (yes, they really do speak like that) doing something mundane in a foreign land.
Thus, if the average Australian only read both column inches that the English Premier League warrants in the daily newspapers between Tuesday and Friday, and only watched the 12 second grab at the end of the nightly 30 minute sports bulletins that 'soccer' is allocated, he would believe that there are 3 superstars holding the league together, with a whole lot of European makeweights filling the gaps. The holy trinity are St Viduka, St Schwarzer and King Harry.
Harry Kewell is regarded as one of the best players in the world. No, really! Viduka is considered a top striker, and Schwarzer the most consistent and reliable keepers in Europe. And any justification of this is replayed time and again. Harry's strike against Everton and Mark's against Charlton and Birmingham have been replayed ad nauseum.
I’m not saying that Viduka and Schwarzer aren’t good at what they do - though I am saying the Harry Kewell is a massively overrated wuss. The point is that all of this is building the already sky-high expectations of Australia's chances at the World Cup. The Australian public truly believes that they have a great chance of winning the World Cup. Not round 2 or quarterfinal exit.... actually bringing the trophy home. Having waited so long to qualify, they think that the tournament itself is a mere formality, and cite South Korea and Turkey as examples of what can be done. Perhaps they should talk to the good people of Spain about the more likely outcome….
