Written by Thomas Esamie and Paul Goodwin. For more details see credits.
| As part of the Socceroos buildup for the FIFA All Star game coach Raul Blanco took the opportunity to get some match practice both for the overseas stars and the Olympic team who were in camp at the same time. | ||||
| Played : June | Venue : Marconi Stadium, Sydney | |||
| Australia Mark Bosnich (Zeljko Kalac), Kevin Muscat, Alex Tobin, Tony Popovic, Josip Skoko (Hayden Foxe), Tony Vidmar, Aurelio Vidmar, Ned Zelic (Vincent Grella), Mark Viduka (Brett Emerton), Steve Corica, Harry Kewell (Simon Colosimo) |
0 | - | 1 | Australian U23's Danny Milosevic (Joe Didiluca), Jacob Burns, Michael Garcia, Buddy Farah, Ivan Zelic, Stephen Laybutt, Michael Curcija, Kasey Wehrman, Clayton Zane, Zeljko Susa, Mile Sterjovski subs Dragi Nastevski, George Goutzoulis, Nick Carle, Nick Sabljak Goal : Wehrman |
| Coaches : Raul Blanco (Australia),
Adrian Santrac (U23's) Attendance : 800 | ||||
| Report by Paul Goodwin | ||||
| To mark the official opening of the main Sydney Olympic Stadium a match between the Socceroos and a FIFA World XI was scheduled along with various ceremonies and other entertainment. Of course the cancellations came thick and fast to the stage where FIFA no longer wanted to call the team "All Stars" and since the term "No Stars" is a marketing nightmare ... well you know. | ||||
| Played : June 12 | Venue : Stadium Australia, Sydney | |||
| Australia Mark Bosnich (Zeljko Kalac 55), Steve Corica, Harry Kewell (Brett Emerton 56), Stan Lazaridis, Paul Okon, Tony Popovic (Hayden Foxe 72), Alex Tobin, Mark Viduka (Aurelio Vidmar 46), Ned Zelic (Vincent Grella 84), Tony Vidmar (Kevin Muscat 65), John Aloisi Goals : Zelic 46, Emerton 57, Margas 66og |
3 | - | 2 | World Stars Bernard Lama (Jorge Campos 46), Okan Buruk (Shaun Bartlett 46), Julio Cesar, Leonardo, Lucas Radebe (Hany Ramzy 46), Rigobert Song, Taribo West (Javier Margas 46), Ilya Tsymbalar (Wynton Rufer 63), Christian Vieri, Murat Yakin (Matthew Le Tissier 78), Juergen Klinsmann (Marco Branka 46) Goals : Yakin 9, Rufer 89 |
| Coaches : Raul Blanco (Australia),
Roy Hodgson (World Stars) Referee : Masoyoshi Okada (Japan) Attendance : 88101 | ||||
| Report by Thomas Esamie Report by David Arnold Report by Warren Green Report by {name withheld by request} Report by Chris Dunkerley Report by Peter Ashby Report by Fred Leggett | ||||
| In an irritating reversal of attitude Soccer Australia consented to the Socceroos playing against newly crowned triple (Cup/League/Euro) champions Manchester United, having previously indicated that matches between the national team and club sides was a thing of the past. Furthermore the beneficiaries for this match was, largely, the promoter, not Soccer Australia. | ||||
| Played : July 15 | Venue : Melbourne Cricket Ground | |||
| Australia Michael Petkovic, Simon Colosimo, Stan Lazaridis, Hayden Foxe, Alex Tobin, Stephen Laybutt, Brett Emerton, Vince Grella (Kasey Wehrman 71), Aurelio Vidmar (Clayton Zane 88), Ross Aloisi, Danny Tiatto (Jacob Burns 82) |
0 | - | 2 | Manchester United Mark Bosnich, Phil Neville, Denis Irwin (John Curtis 65), David May (Jaap Stam 79), Henning Berg (Wes Brown 79), Mark Wilson (Michael Clegg 82), Jonathan Greening (Ryan Giggs 77), Nicky Butt, Dwight Yorke, Teddy Sheringham, Jesper Blomqvist (Jordi Cruijff 74) Goals : Blomqvist 45+, Butt 76 |
| Coaches : Raul Blanco (Australia),
Alex Ferguson (Manchester Utd) Referee : Mark Shield Linesmen : Carlo Graser, Andy Stacey Attendance : 60000 | ||||
| Andy Cole is a thug, just ask Simon. | ||||
| Played : July 18 | Venue : Stadium Australia, Sydney | |||
| Australia (lineup incomplete) Jason Petkovic, Simon Colosimo (Jacob Burns 31), Stan Lazaridis, Hayden Foxe, Alex Tobin, Stephen Laybutt, Brett Emerton (Vince Grella 74), Ross Aloisi (Clayton Zane 74), Aurelio Vidmar (Michael Curcija 86) |
0 | - | 1 | Manchester United Mark Bosnich (Raimond van der Gouw 79), Phil Neville, Denis Irwin, Henning Berg, Jaap Stam, Mark Wilson (Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 66), Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Jordi Cruijff (Jonathan Greening 70), Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole (Teddy Sheringham 73) Goals : Yorke 25 |
| Coaches : Raul Blanco (Australia),
Alex Ferguson (Manchester Utd) Referee : unknown Attendance : unknown | ||||
| Although the claim is made that this is the full Brazilian 'A' side the fact is that Brazil is to play Spain a day or two before this match puts that claim into question. Unless the CBF confirm this as a full international it is likely, a few stars notwithstanding, this was the Brazilian Olympic team on a scouting mission. These matches are the first for Australia under the guidance of Frank Farina who managed to beat out other candidates for the coaching position including the post Venables caretaker coach Raul Blanco. This was a Friendly match. | ||||
| Played : November 14 | Venue : Stadium Australia, Sydney | |||
| Australia Mark Bosnich (Zeljko Kalac 77), Paul Okon (brett Emerton 76), Tony Vidmar, Craig Moore, Danny Tiatto, Kevin Muscat, Ned Zelic, Richard Johnson, Steve Corica, Paul Agostino (Zeljko Babic 76), Damian Mori (Brad Maloney 46) |
0 | - | 2 | Brazil Silvio Luis Oliveira, Alessandro Faiolhe Amantino "Mancini", Fabio Alves da Silva, Alvaro Luiz Maior de Aquino, Marcos Paulo Alves, Leonardo de Deus Santos "Dede" (Athirson Mazolli E Oliveira 15) Ronaldo de Assis Moreira "Ronaldinho" (Carlos Adriano de Souza Vieira 63), Mozart Santos Batista Junior, Fabio Junior Pereira (Warley Silva Dos Santos 63), Alexsandro de Souza "Alex" (Lincoln Cassio de Souza Soares 81), Denilson de Oliveira Goals : Alvaro 32, Alex 39 |
| Referee : Brett Hugo Linesmen : John Bowdler, Alex Spiroski Attendance : 50325 Coaches : Frank Farina (Australia), Wanderley Luxemburgo (Brazil) | ||||
| Squad listings | Harry Kewell Report by many Syndey Morning Herald Report by Richard Hinds Match report by Tony Calder Match report by Tancred Fergus Match report by Markian Jaworsky Match report by Mark Bowman | |||
| The second match took place in Melbourne. This was a Friendly match. | ||||
| Played : November 17 | Venue : Melbourne Cricket Ground | |||
| Australia Zeljko Kalac, Kevin Muscat, Craig Moore, Paul Okon (Richard Johnson 80), Tony Vidmar, Josip Skoko (Hayden Foxe 80), Mark Viduka (Zeljko Babic 74), Paul Agostino, Steven Laybutt, Brad Maloney (Brett Emerton 86), Danny Tiatto Goals : Agostino 11,60 |
2 | - | 2 | Brazil Alexandre Favaro Correa, Michel dos Reis Santana (Fabio Junior Pereira 63), Jean (Alvaro Luiz Maior de Aquino 60), Milton Rogerio Harassen do O, Marcos Paulo Alves, Athirson Mazolli E Oliveira, Carlos Adriano de Souza Vieira (Ronaldo de Assis Moreira "Ronaldhino" 58), Mozart Santos Batista Junior, Warley Silva Dos Santos (Alessandro Faiolhe Amantino "Mancini" 63), Lincoln Cassio de Souza Soares, Denilson de Oliveira Goals : Ronaldinho 74, Fabio Junior 86 |
| Referee : Eddie Lennie Linesmen : Carlo Graser, Patrick McCaffery Attendance : 70795 Coaches : Frank Farina (Australia), Wanderley Luxemburgo (Brazil) | ||||
| Squad listings | Ned Zelic walkout comment by Peter Thorpe Match Report by {name withheld by request} Match Report by David Arnold Match Report by Alan Clark | |||