Soccer/football fervour in Beijing [updated]
I have a bad habit of still calling it 'soccer' when officially, even in Australia, it is now known as 'football'. As a kid, we call it 'soccer' to distinguish it from the Australian football codes of Australian Rules, rugby league and rugby union, but these days it's supposed to be called 'football' although even the Australian media still calls it soccer.
I confess I find it hard to remember to call it 'football' and the London Guy at work keeps bagging me about it saying that only Americans call it soccer and soccer is what 'girls' play blah blah blah. It's hard to forget years of conditioning, I mean the Aussie team's name is the Socceroos!
I don't tend to follow any form of football but following it as an Australian in Beijing has been a really funny experience. This morning my cab driver said he had watched the Australia/Japan match and enjoyed it. My previously very reserved Chinese colleagues have been emailing me.
Yesterday, a normally quiet guy emailed me with a subject that said: "forecast". The content of the email said: "Tonight: 21:00 pm.
Australia:Japan
1:2"
Then he emailed me again later to say: "But I recommend you not to watch the soccer match tonight as Australia will be defeated by Japan".
As soon as the match was over, a Chinese girl who is usually very shy emailed me and wrote: "Australia is so..........cool!" :) And another one who is even more quiet and reserved said: "Really exciting. Like a drama. It's this the feature of Australian... Give you surprise when you have fully relaxed".
That was a nice contrast to London Guy who sms'd me to say: "I told you the Japanese team was rubbish". :P Let us bask for a little while before we get pulverised by Brazil ..... :)
CCTV is broadcasting the games and the commentary is all in Chinese. It's quite confusing to watch because I don't know any soccer terminology in Chinese although I'm picking up a little bit. When they have interviews conducted in English, they dub them into Chinese so I'm straining to try to hear the original sound above the translator's voice.
Last night's Australia / Japan game was even more confusing because of course all the names of the Aussie players are transliterated into Chinese sounds. I'm not that familiar with their names even in English let alone in Chinese although I know Viduka is 维杜卡 (Way Doo Kar), Cahill is 卡希尔 (Kar See Er), Aloise is 阿洛伊西 (Ah Lwor Yee See) and Kewell is 科维尔 (Ker Way Err).
At least the transliterations of the Aussie names were very remotely related to their original pronounciation. Japanese people usually use Chinese characters in their name but the pronounciation and the number of syllables is completely different. There is absolutely no way to guess, so I spent most of the match very confused about which Japanese player was being mentioned by the commentators :)
In Chinese, they call the Australian team (the Socceroos), the 袋鼠 (dai shu) which means kangaroo.
A few phrases I have picked up while watching are:
传球 chuán qiú literally means 'pass ball'.
进球 jin qiu means to score a goal - it means 'enter ball' or 'ball enters'.
守门员 shou men yuan is "person who guards the gate/door".
越位 yue wei means 'exceed/beyond position' and means 'offside'.
黄牌 huángpái means "yellow card"
角球 jiao qiu is 'corner ball' and means 'corner kick'
I can guarantee that although Brazil, German and England are the preferred teams in China, virtually every single Chinese person was supporting Australia over Japan in last night's game - possibly for all the wrong reasons :P In any case, the Chinese media is reporting extensively on the match.
Some articles
Australians stay up late to celebrate country's first World Cup win
Dennis Passa, The Associated Press
Published: Monday, June 12, 2006
BRISBANE, Australia -- Pubs stayed open well past their regular closing times Monday and millions of people tuned in at home on a cold winter's night as Australia started its World Cup-induced dose of insomnia with a victory.
Nobody was complaining about the impending sleepless nights, particularly after Australia beat Japan 3-1.
Watching the Socceroos play in the World Cup for the first time in 32 years, Australian fans -- some who only jumped on the bandwagon when Australia qualified by beating Uruguay last November -- cheered wildly as Australia had the better early scoring chances in the Group F match, fell behind 1-0 but scored three late goals for the win.
Thousands watched on a big screen near the Opera House at Circular Quay in Sydney.
In the heavily Italian suburb of Leichhardt, the Norton Street restaurant strip was closed to enable residents to watch the Socceroos and then the Italians play their later opening match against Ghana.
Among those who watched from the comfort of their homes were Prime Minister John Howard and Opposition Leader Kim Beazley, who said he expected a less than productive day by lawmakers in federal Parliament on Tuesday.
"There's going to be bleary-eyed Australians tomorrow as they turn up to work after the long weekend and it won't be because they hung one on," said Beazley. "It will be because they'll be up watching the Socceroos.
"I expect a fairly desultory day in parliament tomorrow as we have some of the effects of having celebrated a great Socceroos win."
New South Wales state Premier Morris Iemma went one step further, urging employers to go easy on workers who aren't on time Tuesday.
"If they turn up late, give them a break," said Iemma. "It's been 32 years of frustration and disappointment."
The 11 p.m. Australian east coast kickoff Monday was the earliest start for the Socceroos in the group stage of the tournament.
Australia's remaining games are before dawn Down Under. Its June 18 match against champions Brazil has a 3 a.m. start, while the June 22 match against Croatia begins at 5 a.m in the largest cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Television ratings, despite the timing of the match, were expected to provide another bonus for the SBS network, a multicultural station that is the smallest of Australia's free-to-air broadcasters.
SBS has carried the national team's broadcasts for years, many of those when soccer was a distant fourth behind the other established national football codes of Australian Rules, rugby league and rugby union.
Property developer Kevin Anschau, a die-hard rugby league fan, is among the converts.
"It's been fantastic, a real change in the Australian attitude," Anschau said in between sips of his beer at a hotel north of Brisbane during Monday's match.
"I think it all came about with moms pushing their kids into soccer a few years ago. The powers-that-be hiring (coach) Guus Hiddink helped, and the World Cup is icing on the cake."
Appliance stores reported increased sales of large-screen televisions in the weeks leading up the World Cup, and bars and pubs received permission to stay open past regular licensed hours.
Many are planning combination late drinks/breakfast specials for the 5 a.m. Croatia match so revelers will be able to fuel up on both drink and food -- just in time to be ready for work.
Monday's game was the first at the World Cup for Australia since 1974, when the Socceroos lost to host West Germany, East Germany and drew 0-0 with Chile in their only other trip to the tournament.
They failed to score a goal and were eliminated after the first round.
A night for the faithful to remember
By Tracy Ong, The Australian
June 13, 2006
TO mangle a sporting cliche, it really didn't matter who won or lost, it was that we played the game.
Naturally, the millions of Australians who tuned in to the Socceroos' first World Cup appearance in 32 years - arguably SBS's biggest-ever audience - were praying for a win. But for many, it was enough that Australia was playing at all.
In lounge rooms and pubs around the country, long-suffering soccer fanatics, along with recent converts to Australia's fourth football code, cheered and groaned with every flash of brilliance and moment of impending disaster.
More than 1000 fans descended on Sydney's Agincourt Hotel, just south of the CBD, which set itself up as an unofficial home of Socceroos fans.
An enterprising clothing seller made a quick killing before kick-off with 'Guus your daddy' T-shirts for $20 each.
Super-coach Guus Hiddink drew a cheer - more of a deep, breathless G-u-u-u-u-s - every time he appeared on the pub's big screens.
Shingo Miyashiro was one of a few brave Japanese supporters. "I've been in Australia 19 years but I'm going for Japan," he declared boldly.
In the background, the crowd belted out Waltzing Matilda, reflecting the passion shown by the live crowd for the national anthem.
In Kaiserslautern, the green and gold army that invaded southern Germany was welcomed by the locals.
Estimates of the number of Australians in Germany ranged from 30,000 to 60,000, and all of them appeared to be in Kaiserslautern, where the Socceroos play their three group games.
Spotted among the throng of backpackers, some paying scalpers up to 300 Euros ($505) for a ticket to the game, were actor and Sydney FC chairman Anthony LaPaglia, wife Gia Carides and daughter Bridget.
LaPaglia, despite his Hollywood address, rates his investment in the glamour A-League soccer club among his greatest achievements.
Fans planning to celebrate the Socceroos's first World Cup game since 1974 long into the morning could only hope for some understanding from their employers.
NSW Premier Morris Iemma - in echoes of Bob Hawke's 1983 warning to "bum" bosses after Australia II won the America's Cup - urged employers to go easy on soccer fans who turned up late for work today.
"If they turn up late, give them a break. It's been 32 years of frustration and disappointment and tonight's the night," Mr Iemma said before the match.
"Everyone should get along and support the Socceroos... they'll carry the best wishes of an entire nation."
That's good news for Granville teenager Serken Dogan, one of hundreds gathered to watch the game on the big screen at Sydney's Circular Quay.
"I'm going to stay up all night and then go to work."
Socceroos fans ecstatic at historic win
AM - Tuesday, 13 June , 2006 08:04:00
Reporter: Rafael Epstein
TONY EASTLEY: Australia's goalkeeper, Mark Schwarzer, claims that after the game the Egyptian referee, Abdel Fatah, told him he'd been wrong to allow the controversial Japanese goal, however he added that God had been on Australia's side.
For Australian fans watching the game in Germany it was an emotional ride.
Europe Correspondent Rafael Epstein was in Kaiserslautern for the match, and his story includes interviews with players, courtesy of SBS.
(Sound of crowd chanting "Aussie, Aussie")
VOX POP 1: Pure euphoria, pure euphoria, just…
VOX POP 2: Unbelievable, just unbelievable.
VOX POP 1: I can only say, I lost control of my bottie three times.
(Sound of laughing)
VOX POP 2: ... In 10 minutes.
VOX POP 3: Money can't buy this experience, and watching from a lounge room, you know, you live vicariously at the moment, but to be there is just, is something unique.
VOX POP 4: Something else. You're a part of something special.
RAFAEL EPSTEIN: I'm walking back up the streets towards the main stadium, and all I can see, everybody around me is wearing green and gold. I'm not really sure where the Japanese fans have gone, but they are not on the streets. The Australians have taken over, and they're celebrating.
(Sound of crowd chanting "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oi, oi, oi")
VOX POP 5: Couldn't be a better day. The feeling…
RAFAEL EPSTEIN: What do you think it says about your country?
VOX POP 5: We're winners. We're winners. We're going to win the whole World Cup. We're going to win the whole World Cup. No, seriously, like, we're born winners. It's in our blood.
RAFAEL EPSTEIN: So for your friends at home, what will you tell them that it was like when Tim Cahill scored his first goal?
VOX POP 6: I will tell them that it was like…
VOX POP 5: Better than sex. It was better than sex.
VOX POP 6: It was orgasm.
VOX POP 5: It was.
VOX POP 7: That was awesome, and the crowd just went ballistic. That was awesome. I don't think I've ever cried at a sporting event, but I certainly did today.
VOX POP 8: Probably the best last 10 minutes of football that I've ever seen, but in saying that, I'm biased. I think you take these things to your grave.
VOX POP 9: And it was just bedlam, bedlam. And then they scored a second one and a third one, and it was just mayhem.
(Sound of crowd chanting)
RAFAEL EPSTEIN: The Socceroos themselves were clearly ecstatic, after defeating Japan in heat that reached 38 degrees on the field, with Manager Guus Hiddink showing rare emotion, jumping onto the pile of players celebrating Tim Cahill's second goal.
The player himself thanked his family.
TIM CAHILL: Yeah, it's amazing, you know, this is what I've said from the start, this is like, this is a reward not only for me and the lads, but for my family.
You know, they've played a massive part, me old man, me mum and you know, me missus and me kids. So it's just one of them moments that you have to share with your family.
Like, I just feel this is the right opportunity for me to share things with my family, being a part of this World Cup.
REPORTER: Is that the best five minutes of your football career, those two goals?
TIM CAHILL: Yeah, most definitely. It's amazing. It's just... it's really special. It's amazing, and you know, a lot of the lads have said that, you know, they've had bets on me to score the first goal... in the changing room, you know.
RAFAEL EPSTEIN: The remarkable postscript to the match is that Egyptian referee Abdel Fatah approached keeper Mark Schwarzer to say he'd made a mistake, not seeing Schwarzer being obstructed in-goal as the Japanese scored.
The referee told Schwarzer that God was on his side.
Guus Hiddink had made a vehement protest over that decision and, unaware of the post-match conversation, had said: "I think the referee will thank God for this result."
Defender Lucas Neill was simply grateful for the raucous support from Australia's fans.
LUCAS NEILL: Oh, yeah, you can hear it, and you know that everyone's kicking every ball with you, and it's a great feeling. We're such a sporty nation, and we just want to win everything, and we get such a good following.
And you know, this is as much for them as it is for us. They've sacrificed and we've sacrificed. We've sacrificed all our lives, all the training, they've sacrificed money. You know, today we rewarded 'em, and let's hope that they're here for until, you know, July and not just the end of June.
RAFAEL EPSTEIN: And he says their win is a testament to their country.
LUCAS NEILL: I just think it just epitomises what Australia's all about. Every sport we compete in, I think we've got this never-say-die attitude, you know, we never know when to quit, and we've all been brought up as winners, and I think it just shone through again today.
RAFAEL EPSTEIN: Socceroo Lucas Neill, and those interviews with the players courtesy of SBS Television.
Rafael Epstein prepared that report.
Cahill hopes for Socceroos recognition
KAISERSLAUTERN, June 12 (Reuters) - Australia's two-goal scorer Tim Cahill said the remarkable 3-1 victory over Japan on Monday would put the Socceroos on the same level as the country's cricketers and rugby players.
Substitute Cahill struck in the 84th and 88th minutes before John Aloisi completed an amazing comeback after Japan had looked like spoiling Australia's return to World Cup action after 32 years in the wilderness.
The Everton man's double were the first goals ever scored by Australia in the World Cup finals after they failed to register in their three matches in 1974.
"It's good to be up there with the cricketers and rugby players, because we watch them in their World Cups, and now they are obviously watching us," Cahill told reporters.
"I had a telephone call from (Australian cricketer) Brett Lee to wish us luck. This is right up there with the best moment of my career.
"Just by qualifying against Uruguay we were heroes but to come back like this and do what we did just shows the great Aussie fighting spirit."
Australia trailed 1-0 when coach Guus Hiddink threw caution to the wind, sending on Cahill, Aloisi and the lanky Joshua Kennedy to join Mark Viduka up front.
The ploy worked as Cahill equalised and then smashed in a stunning second, the ball cannoning off both posts before crossing the line.
"I always shoot to score and that's what I did," he said. "The manager knows his stuff, he knew he could bring me on and give the team another weapon.
"The lads have been giving me stick because I don't normally score many outside the 18-yard box ... it's fantastic, when Johnny laid it back to me I just thought 'whack it' and it went in the top corner."
While Cahill accepted he will grab the headlines, he paid tribute to the rest of his team mates.
"They're all heroes, we fought until the end. The coach has 23 great players to pick from and he could send out three teams. It's just amazing to be a part of it.
"When we were 1-0 down we knew we needed to get in their faces more. Defeat would have been very hard to take because we didn't deserve that."
Australia now face Brazil on Sunday - Croatia complete the group - and Cahill cannot wait.
"It'll be 11 superstars against 11 ordinary Aussies," he said.
Updated. My friend emailed me this on the 'Football' versus 'soccer' issue
Football is more commonly known as soccer in certain English-speaking nations where the word "football" refers to a rival code of football developed within that nation, specifically Australia, Canada, the United States, and sometimes the Republic of Ireland, and also in areas where Rugby football is more popular than association football, such as Australia, New Zealand and the white communities of South Africa. In these countries "football" was often included in the names of the earliest leagues and governing bodies of the sport, but as that word became increasingly associated with other domestic forms of the game, soccer became more widely used.
In the United States, the sport's governing body is the United States Soccer Federation. This body was originally called the U.S. Football Association, and was formed in 1913 by the merger of the American Football Association and the American Amateur Football Association. The word "soccer" was added to the name in 1945, making it the U.S. Soccer Football Association, and it did not drop the word "football" until 1974, when it assumed its current name. Today, "soccer" is the standard name for the sport in the United States, with "football" referring instead to American football.
In Australian English, the word football usually means either Australian rules football or rugby league depending on the regional background of the speaker. Soccer is the name used for Association football by most Australians. The usage of football to mean Australian rules or rugby football was already fixed when the first reports of Association football in Australia occurred, in 1880. However, the popular usages are not fixed in any legal form, such as a trademark on the word "football", and by the late 20th century, a few Australian authorities began to use the word football in relation to soccer. For example, the sports department at the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), has always used the name "football". In 2004, the Australian Soccer Association changed its name to Football Federation Australia (FFA), and announced that the official name of the sport in Australia had been changed to "football". The FFA mounted a campaign for the new name to be adopted by its subsidiary state organisations and clubs, most of whom have changed their names and/or terminology (with exception of Soccer New South Wales). This was met with antipathy and/or bemusement by followers of Australian rules and rugby league and the game is still mostly known as soccer. Some media sources besides SBS adopted the new usage or used qualifiers such as "the world game", to avoid confusion with the more popular codes of football. However, most media outlets have not adopted the new usage. The national team is still commonly known by its longstanding nickname, The Socceroos.
In Canada, "football" (or le football) refers only to Canadian football or the closely related American football, in both of its national languages. The usage of "soccer" is so uniform that even in French-speaking Quebec, the game is known as le soccer and the provincial governing body is the Fédération de Soccer du Québec.
In Ireland, it is mainly called Soccer. When a person refers to Football, they are more likely to be refering to Gaelic Football. However the governing body The Football Association of Ireland uses the word Football. In the Irish language, the word for association football is sacar.
"Soccer" is the slightly more common name in South Africa, although black South Africans generally use "football" and the country's national association is called the South African Football Association. However, "soccer" is used by speakers of both English and Afrikaans, in which the name is sokker.
Outside of these countries the word "soccer" has not been commonly used and "football" remains by far the most common name to describe the sport, being the name officially used by both FIFA, the sport's world governing body, and the International Olympic Committee. However, the use of "soccer" is on the rise, perhaps due to the global influence of American culture on the English language.
I confess I find it hard to remember to call it 'football' and the London Guy at work keeps bagging me about it saying that only Americans call it soccer and soccer is what 'girls' play blah blah blah. It's hard to forget years of conditioning, I mean the Aussie team's name is the Socceroos!
I don't tend to follow any form of football but following it as an Australian in Beijing has been a really funny experience. This morning my cab driver said he had watched the Australia/Japan match and enjoyed it. My previously very reserved Chinese colleagues have been emailing me.
Yesterday, a normally quiet guy emailed me with a subject that said: "forecast". The content of the email said: "Tonight: 21:00 pm.
Australia:Japan
1:2"
Then he emailed me again later to say: "But I recommend you not to watch the soccer match tonight as Australia will be defeated by Japan".
As soon as the match was over, a Chinese girl who is usually very shy emailed me and wrote: "Australia is so..........cool!" :) And another one who is even more quiet and reserved said: "Really exciting. Like a drama. It's this the feature of Australian... Give you surprise when you have fully relaxed".
That was a nice contrast to London Guy who sms'd me to say: "I told you the Japanese team was rubbish". :P Let us bask for a little while before we get pulverised by Brazil ..... :)
CCTV is broadcasting the games and the commentary is all in Chinese. It's quite confusing to watch because I don't know any soccer terminology in Chinese although I'm picking up a little bit. When they have interviews conducted in English, they dub them into Chinese so I'm straining to try to hear the original sound above the translator's voice.
Last night's Australia / Japan game was even more confusing because of course all the names of the Aussie players are transliterated into Chinese sounds. I'm not that familiar with their names even in English let alone in Chinese although I know Viduka is 维杜卡 (Way Doo Kar), Cahill is 卡希尔 (Kar See Er), Aloise is 阿洛伊西 (Ah Lwor Yee See) and Kewell is 科维尔 (Ker Way Err).
At least the transliterations of the Aussie names were very remotely related to their original pronounciation. Japanese people usually use Chinese characters in their name but the pronounciation and the number of syllables is completely different. There is absolutely no way to guess, so I spent most of the match very confused about which Japanese player was being mentioned by the commentators :)
In Chinese, they call the Australian team (the Socceroos), the 袋鼠 (dai shu) which means kangaroo.
A few phrases I have picked up while watching are:
传球 chuán qiú literally means 'pass ball'.
进球 jin qiu means to score a goal - it means 'enter ball' or 'ball enters'.
守门员 shou men yuan is "person who guards the gate/door".
越位 yue wei means 'exceed/beyond position' and means 'offside'.
黄牌 huángpái means "yellow card"
角球 jiao qiu is 'corner ball' and means 'corner kick'
I can guarantee that although Brazil, German and England are the preferred teams in China, virtually every single Chinese person was supporting Australia over Japan in last night's game - possibly for all the wrong reasons :P In any case, the Chinese media is reporting extensively on the match.
Some articles
Australians stay up late to celebrate country's first World Cup win
Dennis Passa, The Associated Press
Published: Monday, June 12, 2006
BRISBANE, Australia -- Pubs stayed open well past their regular closing times Monday and millions of people tuned in at home on a cold winter's night as Australia started its World Cup-induced dose of insomnia with a victory.
Nobody was complaining about the impending sleepless nights, particularly after Australia beat Japan 3-1.
Watching the Socceroos play in the World Cup for the first time in 32 years, Australian fans -- some who only jumped on the bandwagon when Australia qualified by beating Uruguay last November -- cheered wildly as Australia had the better early scoring chances in the Group F match, fell behind 1-0 but scored three late goals for the win.
Thousands watched on a big screen near the Opera House at Circular Quay in Sydney.
In the heavily Italian suburb of Leichhardt, the Norton Street restaurant strip was closed to enable residents to watch the Socceroos and then the Italians play their later opening match against Ghana.
Among those who watched from the comfort of their homes were Prime Minister John Howard and Opposition Leader Kim Beazley, who said he expected a less than productive day by lawmakers in federal Parliament on Tuesday.
"There's going to be bleary-eyed Australians tomorrow as they turn up to work after the long weekend and it won't be because they hung one on," said Beazley. "It will be because they'll be up watching the Socceroos.
"I expect a fairly desultory day in parliament tomorrow as we have some of the effects of having celebrated a great Socceroos win."
New South Wales state Premier Morris Iemma went one step further, urging employers to go easy on workers who aren't on time Tuesday.
"If they turn up late, give them a break," said Iemma. "It's been 32 years of frustration and disappointment."
The 11 p.m. Australian east coast kickoff Monday was the earliest start for the Socceroos in the group stage of the tournament.
Australia's remaining games are before dawn Down Under. Its June 18 match against champions Brazil has a 3 a.m. start, while the June 22 match against Croatia begins at 5 a.m in the largest cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Television ratings, despite the timing of the match, were expected to provide another bonus for the SBS network, a multicultural station that is the smallest of Australia's free-to-air broadcasters.
SBS has carried the national team's broadcasts for years, many of those when soccer was a distant fourth behind the other established national football codes of Australian Rules, rugby league and rugby union.
Property developer Kevin Anschau, a die-hard rugby league fan, is among the converts.
"It's been fantastic, a real change in the Australian attitude," Anschau said in between sips of his beer at a hotel north of Brisbane during Monday's match.
"I think it all came about with moms pushing their kids into soccer a few years ago. The powers-that-be hiring (coach) Guus Hiddink helped, and the World Cup is icing on the cake."
Appliance stores reported increased sales of large-screen televisions in the weeks leading up the World Cup, and bars and pubs received permission to stay open past regular licensed hours.
Many are planning combination late drinks/breakfast specials for the 5 a.m. Croatia match so revelers will be able to fuel up on both drink and food -- just in time to be ready for work.
Monday's game was the first at the World Cup for Australia since 1974, when the Socceroos lost to host West Germany, East Germany and drew 0-0 with Chile in their only other trip to the tournament.
They failed to score a goal and were eliminated after the first round.
A night for the faithful to remember
By Tracy Ong, The Australian
June 13, 2006
TO mangle a sporting cliche, it really didn't matter who won or lost, it was that we played the game.
Naturally, the millions of Australians who tuned in to the Socceroos' first World Cup appearance in 32 years - arguably SBS's biggest-ever audience - were praying for a win. But for many, it was enough that Australia was playing at all.
In lounge rooms and pubs around the country, long-suffering soccer fanatics, along with recent converts to Australia's fourth football code, cheered and groaned with every flash of brilliance and moment of impending disaster.
More than 1000 fans descended on Sydney's Agincourt Hotel, just south of the CBD, which set itself up as an unofficial home of Socceroos fans.
An enterprising clothing seller made a quick killing before kick-off with 'Guus your daddy' T-shirts for $20 each.
Super-coach Guus Hiddink drew a cheer - more of a deep, breathless G-u-u-u-u-s - every time he appeared on the pub's big screens.
Shingo Miyashiro was one of a few brave Japanese supporters. "I've been in Australia 19 years but I'm going for Japan," he declared boldly.
In the background, the crowd belted out Waltzing Matilda, reflecting the passion shown by the live crowd for the national anthem.
In Kaiserslautern, the green and gold army that invaded southern Germany was welcomed by the locals.
Estimates of the number of Australians in Germany ranged from 30,000 to 60,000, and all of them appeared to be in Kaiserslautern, where the Socceroos play their three group games.
Spotted among the throng of backpackers, some paying scalpers up to 300 Euros ($505) for a ticket to the game, were actor and Sydney FC chairman Anthony LaPaglia, wife Gia Carides and daughter Bridget.
LaPaglia, despite his Hollywood address, rates his investment in the glamour A-League soccer club among his greatest achievements.
Fans planning to celebrate the Socceroos's first World Cup game since 1974 long into the morning could only hope for some understanding from their employers.
NSW Premier Morris Iemma - in echoes of Bob Hawke's 1983 warning to "bum" bosses after Australia II won the America's Cup - urged employers to go easy on soccer fans who turned up late for work today.
"If they turn up late, give them a break. It's been 32 years of frustration and disappointment and tonight's the night," Mr Iemma said before the match.
"Everyone should get along and support the Socceroos... they'll carry the best wishes of an entire nation."
That's good news for Granville teenager Serken Dogan, one of hundreds gathered to watch the game on the big screen at Sydney's Circular Quay.
"I'm going to stay up all night and then go to work."
Socceroos fans ecstatic at historic win
AM - Tuesday, 13 June , 2006 08:04:00
Reporter: Rafael Epstein
TONY EASTLEY: Australia's goalkeeper, Mark Schwarzer, claims that after the game the Egyptian referee, Abdel Fatah, told him he'd been wrong to allow the controversial Japanese goal, however he added that God had been on Australia's side.
For Australian fans watching the game in Germany it was an emotional ride.
Europe Correspondent Rafael Epstein was in Kaiserslautern for the match, and his story includes interviews with players, courtesy of SBS.
(Sound of crowd chanting "Aussie, Aussie")
VOX POP 1: Pure euphoria, pure euphoria, just…
VOX POP 2: Unbelievable, just unbelievable.
VOX POP 1: I can only say, I lost control of my bottie three times.
(Sound of laughing)
VOX POP 2: ... In 10 minutes.
VOX POP 3: Money can't buy this experience, and watching from a lounge room, you know, you live vicariously at the moment, but to be there is just, is something unique.
VOX POP 4: Something else. You're a part of something special.
RAFAEL EPSTEIN: I'm walking back up the streets towards the main stadium, and all I can see, everybody around me is wearing green and gold. I'm not really sure where the Japanese fans have gone, but they are not on the streets. The Australians have taken over, and they're celebrating.
(Sound of crowd chanting "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oi, oi, oi")
VOX POP 5: Couldn't be a better day. The feeling…
RAFAEL EPSTEIN: What do you think it says about your country?
VOX POP 5: We're winners. We're winners. We're going to win the whole World Cup. We're going to win the whole World Cup. No, seriously, like, we're born winners. It's in our blood.
RAFAEL EPSTEIN: So for your friends at home, what will you tell them that it was like when Tim Cahill scored his first goal?
VOX POP 6: I will tell them that it was like…
VOX POP 5: Better than sex. It was better than sex.
VOX POP 6: It was orgasm.
VOX POP 5: It was.
VOX POP 7: That was awesome, and the crowd just went ballistic. That was awesome. I don't think I've ever cried at a sporting event, but I certainly did today.
VOX POP 8: Probably the best last 10 minutes of football that I've ever seen, but in saying that, I'm biased. I think you take these things to your grave.
VOX POP 9: And it was just bedlam, bedlam. And then they scored a second one and a third one, and it was just mayhem.
(Sound of crowd chanting)
RAFAEL EPSTEIN: The Socceroos themselves were clearly ecstatic, after defeating Japan in heat that reached 38 degrees on the field, with Manager Guus Hiddink showing rare emotion, jumping onto the pile of players celebrating Tim Cahill's second goal.
The player himself thanked his family.
TIM CAHILL: Yeah, it's amazing, you know, this is what I've said from the start, this is like, this is a reward not only for me and the lads, but for my family.
You know, they've played a massive part, me old man, me mum and you know, me missus and me kids. So it's just one of them moments that you have to share with your family.
Like, I just feel this is the right opportunity for me to share things with my family, being a part of this World Cup.
REPORTER: Is that the best five minutes of your football career, those two goals?
TIM CAHILL: Yeah, most definitely. It's amazing. It's just... it's really special. It's amazing, and you know, a lot of the lads have said that, you know, they've had bets on me to score the first goal... in the changing room, you know.
RAFAEL EPSTEIN: The remarkable postscript to the match is that Egyptian referee Abdel Fatah approached keeper Mark Schwarzer to say he'd made a mistake, not seeing Schwarzer being obstructed in-goal as the Japanese scored.
The referee told Schwarzer that God was on his side.
Guus Hiddink had made a vehement protest over that decision and, unaware of the post-match conversation, had said: "I think the referee will thank God for this result."
Defender Lucas Neill was simply grateful for the raucous support from Australia's fans.
LUCAS NEILL: Oh, yeah, you can hear it, and you know that everyone's kicking every ball with you, and it's a great feeling. We're such a sporty nation, and we just want to win everything, and we get such a good following.
And you know, this is as much for them as it is for us. They've sacrificed and we've sacrificed. We've sacrificed all our lives, all the training, they've sacrificed money. You know, today we rewarded 'em, and let's hope that they're here for until, you know, July and not just the end of June.
RAFAEL EPSTEIN: And he says their win is a testament to their country.
LUCAS NEILL: I just think it just epitomises what Australia's all about. Every sport we compete in, I think we've got this never-say-die attitude, you know, we never know when to quit, and we've all been brought up as winners, and I think it just shone through again today.
RAFAEL EPSTEIN: Socceroo Lucas Neill, and those interviews with the players courtesy of SBS Television.
Rafael Epstein prepared that report.
Cahill hopes for Socceroos recognition
KAISERSLAUTERN, June 12 (Reuters) - Australia's two-goal scorer Tim Cahill said the remarkable 3-1 victory over Japan on Monday would put the Socceroos on the same level as the country's cricketers and rugby players.
Substitute Cahill struck in the 84th and 88th minutes before John Aloisi completed an amazing comeback after Japan had looked like spoiling Australia's return to World Cup action after 32 years in the wilderness.
The Everton man's double were the first goals ever scored by Australia in the World Cup finals after they failed to register in their three matches in 1974.
"It's good to be up there with the cricketers and rugby players, because we watch them in their World Cups, and now they are obviously watching us," Cahill told reporters.
"I had a telephone call from (Australian cricketer) Brett Lee to wish us luck. This is right up there with the best moment of my career.
"Just by qualifying against Uruguay we were heroes but to come back like this and do what we did just shows the great Aussie fighting spirit."
Australia trailed 1-0 when coach Guus Hiddink threw caution to the wind, sending on Cahill, Aloisi and the lanky Joshua Kennedy to join Mark Viduka up front.
The ploy worked as Cahill equalised and then smashed in a stunning second, the ball cannoning off both posts before crossing the line.
"I always shoot to score and that's what I did," he said. "The manager knows his stuff, he knew he could bring me on and give the team another weapon.
"The lads have been giving me stick because I don't normally score many outside the 18-yard box ... it's fantastic, when Johnny laid it back to me I just thought 'whack it' and it went in the top corner."
While Cahill accepted he will grab the headlines, he paid tribute to the rest of his team mates.
"They're all heroes, we fought until the end. The coach has 23 great players to pick from and he could send out three teams. It's just amazing to be a part of it.
"When we were 1-0 down we knew we needed to get in their faces more. Defeat would have been very hard to take because we didn't deserve that."
Australia now face Brazil on Sunday - Croatia complete the group - and Cahill cannot wait.
"It'll be 11 superstars against 11 ordinary Aussies," he said.
Updated. My friend emailed me this on the 'Football' versus 'soccer' issue
Football is more commonly known as soccer in certain English-speaking nations where the word "football" refers to a rival code of football developed within that nation, specifically Australia, Canada, the United States, and sometimes the Republic of Ireland, and also in areas where Rugby football is more popular than association football, such as Australia, New Zealand and the white communities of South Africa. In these countries "football" was often included in the names of the earliest leagues and governing bodies of the sport, but as that word became increasingly associated with other domestic forms of the game, soccer became more widely used.
In the United States, the sport's governing body is the United States Soccer Federation. This body was originally called the U.S. Football Association, and was formed in 1913 by the merger of the American Football Association and the American Amateur Football Association. The word "soccer" was added to the name in 1945, making it the U.S. Soccer Football Association, and it did not drop the word "football" until 1974, when it assumed its current name. Today, "soccer" is the standard name for the sport in the United States, with "football" referring instead to American football.
In Australian English, the word football usually means either Australian rules football or rugby league depending on the regional background of the speaker. Soccer is the name used for Association football by most Australians. The usage of football to mean Australian rules or rugby football was already fixed when the first reports of Association football in Australia occurred, in 1880. However, the popular usages are not fixed in any legal form, such as a trademark on the word "football", and by the late 20th century, a few Australian authorities began to use the word football in relation to soccer. For example, the sports department at the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), has always used the name "football". In 2004, the Australian Soccer Association changed its name to Football Federation Australia (FFA), and announced that the official name of the sport in Australia had been changed to "football". The FFA mounted a campaign for the new name to be adopted by its subsidiary state organisations and clubs, most of whom have changed their names and/or terminology (with exception of Soccer New South Wales). This was met with antipathy and/or bemusement by followers of Australian rules and rugby league and the game is still mostly known as soccer. Some media sources besides SBS adopted the new usage or used qualifiers such as "the world game", to avoid confusion with the more popular codes of football. However, most media outlets have not adopted the new usage. The national team is still commonly known by its longstanding nickname, The Socceroos.
In Canada, "football" (or le football) refers only to Canadian football or the closely related American football, in both of its national languages. The usage of "soccer" is so uniform that even in French-speaking Quebec, the game is known as le soccer and the provincial governing body is the Fédération de Soccer du Québec.
In Ireland, it is mainly called Soccer. When a person refers to Football, they are more likely to be refering to Gaelic Football. However the governing body The Football Association of Ireland uses the word Football. In the Irish language, the word for association football is sacar.
"Soccer" is the slightly more common name in South Africa, although black South Africans generally use "football" and the country's national association is called the South African Football Association. However, "soccer" is used by speakers of both English and Afrikaans, in which the name is sokker.
Outside of these countries the word "soccer" has not been commonly used and "football" remains by far the most common name to describe the sport, being the name officially used by both FIFA, the sport's world governing body, and the International Olympic Committee. However, the use of "soccer" is on the rise, perhaps due to the global influence of American culture on the English language.