ARE the Socceroos jinxed?
In 1974, a fledgling Socceroos team travelled to West Germany and faced the hosts in the group stage. The Aussies lost 3-0 – their heaviest loss in the tournament – and finished bottom of Group 1 with a solitary point. But the West Germans, no doubt buoyed by their contemptuous dismissal of the upstart Aussies, went on to win the tournament, beating the Netherlands 2-1 in the final. Thirty-two long years later, the Socceroos qualified for their second World Cup – Germany 2006. Mark Viduka’s men were predicted to struggle but performed heroically to qualify in second place from a tough Group F, at the expense of Croatia and Japan. In the Round of 16 they confronted the highly rated Italy. Australia played much of the match against 10 men after Marco Materazzi was shown a red card – but despite having some great chances were unable to break down the dogged Italian rearguard.
