As one of the elder statesman of the Socceroos, Matt McKay knew that he needed to make an impact when he came on as a second half substitute for Ivan Franjic in the 2015 Asian Cup final.
McKay might be 32, a professional of 14 years and with over 50 international caps to his name, but he still has the turn of foot needed to play at the top level, and it was this injection of speed from all of the reinforcements that proved so critical for the Socceroos late in their 2-1 extra time triumph over South Korea at an electric Stadium Australia in Sydney on Saturday night.
The match-winner was a super sub exclusive with Tomi Juric turning on a 10 cent piece with the now famous nutmeg of South Korean defender Kim Jin Su and firing in a cross, only for it to be parried by goalkeeper Kim Jin Hyeon to the feet of another sub James Troisi, who slammed it home to send the Australian fans into raptures.
“I think he [coach Ange Postecoglou] has to rely on everyone throughout the tournament and subs will play a major part in the game,” McKay said.
“We saw with the winner, Tomi Juric creating some havoc on the line and then the cross and another sub in Jimmy Troisi scored.”
The Socceroos came from a long way back to become the Asian champions.
They endured a difficult World Cup in Brazil last year, failing to pick up a point, though it was pitted against the two finalists in Spain and the Netherlands of four years earlier and a South American power in Chile and did show some flashes.
Their FIFA world ranking had tumbled to 100 by the start of 2015 after just two draws and nine losses in the calendar year.
Postecoglou’s performance as coach was being put under the microscope. He stuck to his guns, promoting an up tempo, high possession style of game and never wavered from that approach, even when the vultures started to circle.
It took 12 months of practice, friendlies, matches and a whole lot of patience and hard work before it finally clicked in time for the biggest football tournament ever staged on home soil.
As a veteran of the team, McKay was proud of be part of a team that had to leave no stone unturned to get results.
“I’m one of the older guys in the team and I’m just so proud of the whole collective,” McKay said.
“Everyone had a vision, everyone bought into that.
“Obviously Ange was at the head of it, but every player, every staff member has worked extremely hard and that’s why it feels so much better.
“It didn’t just fall into place for us, we deserved it and that’s the most important thing.”
Remember the Nike ad during the 2006 FIFA World Cup with the old man taunting the Socceroos by saying “Soccerwhos?”, well that could be a thing of the past.
Youngsters such as Juric, Massimo Luongo – who scored a cracking go-ahead goal and made a goal-saving tackle in the first half – and Trent Sainsbury, to name a few, are becoming household names in Australia and starting to make their way into the notepads of top European clubs scouts after their Asian Cup win.
Under a local coach, this young team has brought the beautiful game to our shores.
“You could see that we’re playing some attractive stuff and we’re not going to hide from the challenges that we have,” McKay said.
“We’re Asian champions now, which is huge for our game in our country because obviously we’ve got a long way to go, but it’s encouraging signs.”
