Rayanaldo
Member
Since that memorable night at Telstra Stadium in which Australia ended 32 years of heartbreak to qualify for the 2006 World Cup.
I was lucky enough to be in attendance on "that night" and what a day it was. The best night of my life.
The day started when I woke up at 10am to get ready for my uni exam which started at 2.55pm. I had breakfast, went to uni at around 11.30am. Then studied for a bit at uni and had the exam at 2.55pm.
When that finished at around 5.30pm, my mind switched straight to the big match. I got dropped off at the train station and when I got on the train, I could feel the hype with all the other Australian fans on board.
Got to the stadium at around 6.30pm and the atmosphere was building up. I was feeling more nervous.
Then, kick off approached. And an unforgettable moment happened when I and the other 80000+ Australian fans booed the Uruguayan national anthem. It was an amazing feeling. We did it for obvious reasons.
Then the game kicked off. And Bresciano's goal was brilliant. The stadium went off. What a feeling.
Then, there were no goals for the rest of the match. I and all the others in the stadium had heart attacks from the Uruguayan opportunities. Luck was on our side however.
Then, the dreaded penalty shootout. Schwarzers two saves were HUGE.
And of course, that penalty. Aloisi stepping up, slotting the ball to his right and the whole of Australia went crazy. 32 years of hurt finally ended.
Words can't describe how I felt when that penalty went in. The emotion was just unbelieveable. Hugging other supporters around me, jumping around with jubilation.
And what a 12 months its been for football in Australia. Entry into Asia, the Asian Cup qualifying draw where my two nations Australia and Lebanon were drawn in the same group (although i was very upset later on when Lebanon pulled out of the qualifiers due to the conflict in the country), the friendly in May against Greece, the friendly v Holland a few days before the World Cup, the amazing comeback victory over Japan, the match v Brazil, the draw v Croatia that got us to the second round (a match that had everything) and of course, our heartbreaking loss to Italy. The boys did us very proud.
What a ride it's been.
I just watched the Australia v Uruguay penalty shootout a few minutes ago. I almost cried at the time, but I did have tears falling down after watching the tape today. I still get goosebumps watching it, or even just thinking about it.
I was lucky enough to be in attendance on "that night" and what a day it was. The best night of my life.
The day started when I woke up at 10am to get ready for my uni exam which started at 2.55pm. I had breakfast, went to uni at around 11.30am. Then studied for a bit at uni and had the exam at 2.55pm.
When that finished at around 5.30pm, my mind switched straight to the big match. I got dropped off at the train station and when I got on the train, I could feel the hype with all the other Australian fans on board.
Got to the stadium at around 6.30pm and the atmosphere was building up. I was feeling more nervous.
Then, kick off approached. And an unforgettable moment happened when I and the other 80000+ Australian fans booed the Uruguayan national anthem. It was an amazing feeling. We did it for obvious reasons.
Then the game kicked off. And Bresciano's goal was brilliant. The stadium went off. What a feeling.
Then, there were no goals for the rest of the match. I and all the others in the stadium had heart attacks from the Uruguayan opportunities. Luck was on our side however.
Then, the dreaded penalty shootout. Schwarzers two saves were HUGE.
And of course, that penalty. Aloisi stepping up, slotting the ball to his right and the whole of Australia went crazy. 32 years of hurt finally ended.
Words can't describe how I felt when that penalty went in. The emotion was just unbelieveable. Hugging other supporters around me, jumping around with jubilation.
And what a 12 months its been for football in Australia. Entry into Asia, the Asian Cup qualifying draw where my two nations Australia and Lebanon were drawn in the same group (although i was very upset later on when Lebanon pulled out of the qualifiers due to the conflict in the country), the friendly in May against Greece, the friendly v Holland a few days before the World Cup, the amazing comeback victory over Japan, the match v Brazil, the draw v Croatia that got us to the second round (a match that had everything) and of course, our heartbreaking loss to Italy. The boys did us very proud.
What a ride it's been.
I just watched the Australia v Uruguay penalty shootout a few minutes ago. I almost cried at the time, but I did have tears falling down after watching the tape today. I still get goosebumps watching it, or even just thinking about it.
