For part 9 of the series, I interviewed Graham Drummond. A huge Australia and West Ham United fan, Graham ,was addicted to the 98 World Cup and got to watching Premiership
highlights on TV. Graham is the webmaster and one of the contributors to the Australian West Ham blog.

I thank Graham for agreeing to the interview.

Tell us a bit about Australia’s football history and the football culture which exists down under.

We first (and last, till now) qualified for the World Cup, also in Germany, in 1974. We didn’t score a goal. Traditionally football (”soccer”) wasn’t considered tough or cool to play or watch. People here watch various forms of oval ball thuggery instead. However, that’s starting to change. The fever has caught on for two main reasons: one is the new A-League which has been a startling success so far, and the other of course is qualification for the World Cup.

Tell us a bit about the Road to the World Cup – the qualification, and the emotions the fans went through at the time.

We just missed qualification for WC98 thanks to an idiot who ruined the game in Iran when Australia were almost certain to go through. We went to Uruguay the next time round for WC02 with a good chance of qualifying but they overran us. Because of this, we had a lot of pent-up frustration about the World Cup, since the previous two times (and many previous to that) we’d failed at the finalhurdle.

This time, we held our own in Uruguay and had a stellar second round in Australia, managing to get through on penalties. Cue a huge party. Everyone loves it, even some of the oval ball fans, and it’s great. If we do well, thesport will really take off here.

Emotions? I can’t even begin to describe it. It’s overtaken the whole country. Everyone’s buying the jerseys. Everyone’s talking about it in the newspapers and on the street. It actually took a few days for the realisation to set in.

If you ever get a chance to watch a video of the Australia-Uruguay game in Sydney, watch it - you’ll see the emotion in the fans, the players and even in the commentators, who were close to tears. It’s an experience I will never forget. It was a pretty entertaining game too - a real cliffhanger.

What style of football does the national team play?

English league, Division One. Some passing but mostly relying on strength and effort rather than guile. We mostly expect our players to have a good engine to make up for their inferior skill. Having said that, we do have some true world class talent in Kewell, Viduka, Bresciano, Cahill, and one or two others. We’re relying on them to get us through. There’s too much emphasis on the physical game here, but there’s definitely a lot of talent floating about. I think we tend to hack and kick our way through sometimes, rather than really develop the talent. Give us a few years and, if things go right, I honestly believe
Australia can be a top 10 world side.

How do you think Australia will fare at the World Cup?

Not too bad. We’re up against Brazil, Japan and Croatia - a tough draw. But we could win a game or two, and maybe draw one, so I think we’ve got as good a chance as the other sides in our group (except Brazil). I would be very happy if we made it out of the group phase. In fact I would be happy if we just gave a good account of ourselves. It’s our chance to show that we can play footballeven if we lose all our matches.

Who will be the most important player for your country?

Either Kewell or Viduka. Kewell was instrumental in our success against Uruguay, and if he finds that form again he (and we) will be virtually unstoppable. Viduka has been a very special player for Australia recently, a real leader. Weneed him to be on form.

Which player in your country’s side would you most like to get rid of?

Our defence is experienced but quite shaky. They were good in their day but are getting older. Craig Moore is still very good, but the older lads are just a bit too slow on their feet and I’d like to see some new blood come through such as Michael Beauchamp, Michael Thwaite, Iain Fyfe, and Michael Valkanis. (so many Michaels!). I think if I had to name someone it would be Tony Popovic. Ithink he’s a liability.

Who are the players to watch from the other countries?

Seriously, all of them. You always discover new talent at a World Cup and that’s one reason why we love it so much.

If I want to name names, the ones I’m most looking forward to watching would be Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Andrei Shevchenko, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho, Steven Gerrard, Michael Ballack, Ronaldo, Kaka, John Terry, Ruud van Nistelrooy… heaps more.

What will be your excuse in the event of of failure?

I’ll blame our national team management system, which doesn’t allow players to train or play together often enough, and doesn’t recognise decent players whenthey are young.

Have you got the right manager?

Absolutely yes. It’s Guus Hiddink, the genius.

What advice would you give him?

Play some new blood in defence before it’s too late, i.e. before the World Cup. Keep our team playing cleanly, not dirty. Keep the ball on the ground and pass it (although he’s trying to get them to do that already). And whatever you put in Harry Kewell’s drink before the Uruguay game, give some of it to the rest ofthe squad!

Which team do you most want to beat?

The best team, for sure - Brazil. Besides them, England and Croatia (a lot of our players are of Croatian heritage).

Which opposition player will get the most stick?

Probably anyone who dives.

Where will you watch the matches?

At home, on TV.

How keenly will the World Cup be followed in your country?

Very. Everyone will be watching it - at least 2/3 of the country.

Who will be the player of the tournament?

Hard to go past Ronaldinho, but if England do well I wouldn’t be surprised to see Rooney, Lampard, or Terry up there with the best of them.

Who will win the Golden Boot?

Probably Ronaldo, but Owen and van Nistelrooy might edge it. Adriano, if he finds form, could do it - and Shevchenko might also be in with a chance butonly if his country go through to the latter stages.

Which team will disappoint the most?

Probably England! They have a brilliant team, but an awful manager. I don’t think Germany will do as well as last time. Italy look a bit flat lately tooand are in a difficult group.

Who will be the surprise team of the tournament?

I know they have a good reputation but Holland seem a bit underrated to me this year. Portugal, Mexico and Sweden might go a long way. As for the real underdogs, I seriously wouldn’t ignore Saudi Arabia or Togo. I don’t think theIvory Coast is as good as everyone says.

Finally, Who will win the World Cup?
Most people would say Brazil, and I’m one of them. They’re just insanely talented. If not them, then Holland. These teams have the most natural talent and the best managers.

***

I hope you enjoyed part 9. Follow up questions for Graham can be emailed to me at pratyushkhaitan[@]gmail[.]com Also, feel free to contact me if you would like to be interviewed or know a friend who would like/could be interviewed. Specific questions for specific countries which might pop in your mind in due course may also be sent. Coming up next is the interview from they country which calls it soccer. Yes, the U.S.A.

For the rest of the interviews, check out the World Cup interview series page.

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