Nick Bendel
Winning like Aussies, losing like Aussies
August 21st 2008 06:46
But how different the circumstances. The Olyroos played meekly and unimaginatively, so that not only did they get what they deserved, they deprived themselves of any meaningful opportunity to progress to the knockout rounds. The Boomers, by contrast, played with spirit and thought, understanding that not only was it better to go down fighting, but that in fighting they were less likely to go down.
Not coincidentally, the difference in the way the two teams played reflected a difference in the way the two teams were coached. Graham Arnold instructed his footballers to be negative; Brian Goorjian instructed his basketballers to be positive. Playing conservatively does not suit the Australian mentality, or at least the Australian sporting mentality. Having a crack, though, does, which goes a long way to explaining the discrepancy in performances. How ironic that Goorjian, a native American, should have understood that better than Arnold, the man whose passion is so routinely praised, and whose heart is said to pump green and gold blood.
The Boomers were substandard in their opening fixtures against Croatia and Argentina. Although not conservative, the most telling aspect of their basketball was its tentativeness, which may be attributed to nerves. Their passing was hesitant; their shooting uncertain; their decision making muddled. In being tentative, they were committing one of the most deadly of the sporting sins, because it is astonishing how rapidly this sense of doubt can spread amongst a team, and how thoroughly it can permeate every aspect of its play. When you are tentative, you are neither one thing nor the other. At least the Olyroos knew what they were supposed to do- congregate in their own half and boot the ball away as soon as they got it. The Boomers, however, were schizophrenic; they didn’t know whether to play slow or fast, whether to act deliberately or impetuously, or whether to move the ball inside or outside.
But in the third game against Iran, something changed. Presumably, now that the Australians realised they were up against an inferior outfit, their confidence returned, so that their tentativeness vanished. The passing became crisp, the shooting confident and the decision making sharp, resulting in a 106-68 thrashing of the group’s whipping boys. That authoritativeness was then carried into the subsequent fixtures against Russia and Lithuania, which yielded stirring victories of a combined 46 points.
The way in which the Boomers challenged those two European powers, compared with the manner in which the Olyroos took on the footballing aristocrats of Argentina, is significant. Arnold was focussed on trying to limit the damage; Goorjian, however, was hellbent on winning. While Arnold was determined to lose as respectably as possible, Goorjian had a crack, appreciating that although it might result in a bigger defeat, it would at least provide a realistic chance of victory. Goorjian knew that to instruct his men to play conservatively would be to make them tentative, and that to make them tentative could only produce one result.
Goorjian took the traditional Aussie approach, and his charges responded. The Europeans found themselves assailed by aggressive drives to the basket, hard running, confident ball movement and relentless defending, of the kind that could never have been produced by the conservative ‘safety first’ tactics that Arnold had employed. For all their talent, the Russians and Lithuanians were unable to resist the onslaught. The Boomers earned the plaudits for their heart, but it was Goorjian’s brain that had been the key.
Deservedly, where Arnold’s team had departed at the group stage, Goorjian’s progressed to the knockout rounds. It is a measure of the respect the Australians had garnered that although their American opponents were heavily favoured to win, people spoke seriously of the possibility of an upset. And it is a measure of Goorjian’s mettle that the gameplan he devised was based not around limiting the damage, but overcoming the odds and pulling off a famous victory. To his credit- and to his players’ credit- the Boomers refused to cower before their mighty rivals. They attacked the Americans in the same way that they had harried the Europeans, even in the final minute, when the contest had long ago been decided. The Dream Team was forced to play hard for the entire 40 minutes in order to secure its 116-85 triumph.
To watch the Olyroos and Boomers get knocked out of the Olympics was to experience very different emotions. Graham Arnold’s team was eliminated because it was outthought, outplayed and outclassed. Brian Goorjian’s team, on the other hand, was merely outclassed. Where one left the fans with a feeling of frustration, the other made their supporters glow with pride. Australians don’t like to see their athletes vanquished, but if it is their fate to lose, let them at least lose like Aussies.
| 97 |
| Vote |
Comment by sportsbar
Fret X
To play Argentina in a junior competition is the sporting equivalent of taking in Mt Everest. Their record is second to none, they win everything.
To lose 1-0 to Argentina is a solid performance... Not that you go in planning to lose, but to be realistic, it was mission impossible.
It was the other games that were disappointing. We lack the depth, quick passing and ability to keep possession to compete at this level. The style we played is a fair representation of where we are in the world of soccer. We lack the players that can take on players and as you said 'have a go'.
You could probably put Carney in that class, he is known for taking players on, but the rest of the squad were more of a holding team. In midfield we had very defense minded players, but then again, Australia in general lacks the flair players. Guys like a Nick Carle and Harry Kewell are rare...
We have been shown up in numerous competitions, we simply do not have the technical and strategical sophistication of the powerhouse nations. We were shown up in the Asian Championships, and to an extent in the World Cup.
Italy were down a man, and we could have played another 2 hours and never broken them down... yes we were robbed, but I think that game was heading to a Shoot-out. Italy down a man still had it all over us.
Our national team are becoming more formidable, but there is always a question of where our goals are going to come from... 'Our way of having a go' is to play physical, shoulder to shoulder with hard legal tackles... But we are a long way behind the rest of the world. We have a go, but how can you compete when it is basically our third or fourth sport against nations where it is a religion.
Having said that, we were very ordinary....
Comment by damian
Urban Telegraph
Sports and All
The Squirter McGee Diaries