Australia: Gaining respect on the biggest stage

My family background is Nepalese and, though soccer is gaining traction there, we have never been (and probably never will be) close to qualifying for a World Cup. But two other countries I call home have more visible football cultures and better records in getting to the World Cup.

I grew up in Shanghai, China, where soccer flows through the veins of the majority population. I remember being in my second-grade classroom watching the national team compete in the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. As an immigrant, I felt the excitement as my new countrymen represented China on the world’s biggest stage for the first time in its history. Unfortunately, the team lost all their first-round matches: to Costa Rica, Brazil (the eventual champion) and Turkey (which finished in third place).

The next day, my headmaster spoke at the school assembly: “No matter what the result, I was still glad to see my fellow countrymen battling out there.” This was followed by huge applause by the entire student body.

A few years later, I moved to Sydney, Australia. In a country where rugby, cricket and Aussie rules hold sway, soccer was neglected and unnoticed — that is, until the 2006 World Cup in Germany. This was the first time the team reached the round of 16 of a World Cup.

They faced Italy (the eventual champion), and the game was nerve-racking. I was in a friend’s house decked out in the green and gold jersey, watching the best soccer I have seen Australia play. They were able to hold off superstars such as Francesco Totti and Andrea Pirlo for the whole game until the 95th minute.

Italy was awarded a penalty after Fabio Grosso’s incredibly dramatic dive in the box. At that moment, many Australians cursed the Azzurri in the name of many unholy things, but to no avail.

This time, Australia is in one of the toughest groups in the World Cup — we’ve already lost 3–1 to Chile on Saturday and still face 2010 champion Spain and runner-up Netherlands — but my hope in the Socceroos grows.

*As told to Africasacountry. Ashim Joshi is a student at Parsons School for Design in New York City.