On The Spot


 
Follow PWC columnist Paul Marcuccitti's World Cup diary as he travels around Germany.

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Craig Moore in the middle of defence



June 7th, 2006

    I have spent most of the day listening to Australian fans sing. We have an impressive repertoire - I'll be surprised if many other nations match our variety over the next four weeks.

    As I returned to my hotel after the Australia-Liechtenstein match, the one chant that kept ringing in my head was: Craig Moore in the middle of defence.

    I admit, repeatedly chanting Craig Moore in the middle of defence is not particularly imaginative. But perhaps I'm still hearing the Aussie fans sing those words because I'm just so happy to see him there. He was injured for so long and he was the only first-choice player to miss the qualifiers against Uruguay last November.

    I rate Moore highly. I would even say that there will be few better central defenders playing in the World Cup finals.

    As I enjoyed a more leisurely stroll around Ulm this morning, I began to wonder if the local residents actually knew that their city would be hosting an international football match in the evening.

    You can see that a World Cup is about to happen - that's fairly obvious - but the only evidence of the Australia-Liechtenstein match was the presence of a few gold-shirted tourists. (And, yes, I know it's a relatively low-profile game but Australia is, nevertheless, the only World Cup team coming to this city.)

    When I arrived at the stadium, however, it became obvious that many of Ulm's good burghers were there. Even more pleasing was that a lot of them adopted the Socceroos and draped themselves in Aussie flags and scarves.

    In my walk this morning, I learned that Wednesday is market day in Ulm. There were stalls selling all kinds of produce outside the cathedral.

    I also spent a bit of time in an area near the river called Fischerviertel. I had gone past it yesterday but today I walked through it.

    Now this is a delightful spot. Lovely old buildings, many with beautiful old wooden panels and flowers all over their window sills, sit tightly together along narrow canals. Little pedestrian bridges are dotted throughout and there is a lot of outdoor dining along the water.

    Fischerviertel has no major landmarks. It's just nice visiting the area.

    By the middle of the day, I was beginning to see a lot of gold shirts. I even bumped into people I know. Eventually I found a lot of Australian fans at a bar across the road from Ulm's main train station.

    Ulm's Donaustadion is within walking distance of the city centre and we arrived well before the game and found another drinking spot near the ground.

    I actually don't drink alcohol - which is unusual for an Australian. When I pulled away from the bar holding a bottle of mineral water, a chap next to me pointed to the bottle, smiled, and said, "Mate, I wouldn't let anyone see that."

    SSV Ulm 1846 was in the top division of the Bundesliga as recently as 2000 (the club has now dropped to the 4th tier of German football). The Donaustadion isn't bad but as I looked around it I had trouble imagining that, only a few years ago, Bayern Munich, Hamburg and Werder Bremen were among its visiting teams.

    Once again the Australian supporters were in excellent voice. There was a small group of Liechtenstein fans behind one of the goals and others mixed into the rest of the crowd.

    Australia was the home team for this match (which is quite hilarious given Liechtenstein's proximity to Ulm) but it was the visitors from the tiny principality that took the lead with an 8th minute own goal. An errant back pass two minutes later nearly resulted in the Socceroos conceding a second.

    The Aussies also made a shaky start against the Netherlands and if they don't address that problem soon, it could cost them dearly at the World Cup.

    In the 20th minute, the Socceroos equalised with only their second decent move of the match. Josip Skoko released Stan Lazaridis on the left and he set up Mile Sterjovski's first international goal for two years. Ironically, those three players are not likely to be in Guus Hiddink's starting team against Japan on 12 June.

    The Australian players frequently got caught by Liechtenstein's offside trap in the remainder of the first half and the half time score was 1-1.

    The Socceroos were better in the second half and goals by Josh Kennedy and John Aloisi made the final score 3-1. Liechtenstein forced two good saves from Zeljko Kalac. One came just 30 seconds after the second half kicked off and the other was just a minute after Kennedy put the Aussies 2-1 up.

    It's easy to see why Liechtenstein sometimes scares big European teams. Its footballers play with discipline but without being overly defensive. They are able to break and, with a couple of useful players, Liechtenstein can occasionally pose a threat to any opposing team's goal.

    The Socceroos will be pleased to see that Harry Kewell and Tim Cahill appear to have recovered from injury. And Josh Kennedy could prove to be Australia's secret weapon. The tall striker played extremely well after coming on in the second half.

    Kennedy was a surprise selection in Australia's squad but it could be an inspired choice. His touch was excellent and he showed that he could create as well as finish. Kennedy has been playing in Germany for Dynamo Dresden (he will join FC Nürnberg next season) and his height unsettles opposition defences.

    The Aussie fans partied into the night in downtown Ulm. It certainly wasn't our team's best performance but it was still a great day out. And, hey, we've got Craig Moore in the middle of defence.

    Against my better judgement I joined the festivities. I shouldn't have - I haven't had much sleep lately - but I'm meeting people, enjoying the atmosphere and having a lot of fun. That's what being here is all about, isn't it?



 
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