SA Matildas great Di Alagich recalls the 2006 Women’s Asian Cup – the last time Australia played an international in Adelaide
She carried a broken nose and fractured wrist throughout the tournament, but SA great Di Alagich says memories of the Matildas’ last visit to Adelaide – the 2006 Asian Cup – are more painful.
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Emotionally drained and physically broken, Di Alagich set her sights on one last push for glory on home soil.
The SA-born defender had bravely helped the Matildas reach the final of the 2006 Women’s Asian Cup, despite carrying a fractured wrist and nose throughout the Adelaide tournament.
She again stood tall in the decider against reigning champion China, as Australia took a 2-0 half-time lead at Hindmarsh Stadium thanks to Caitlin Munoz and Joey Peters goals.
But with the hosts seemingly set for silverware, Alagich’s enforced substitution began a disastrous chain of events that haunt the national team great to this day.
“I still remember that final clearly,” Alagich, now 40, recalled.
“It was such a good tournament and being able to play at home at Hindmarsh was one of the most special moments I had as a Matilda.
“But I was emotionally and physically exhausted, and that’s why I came off at half-time.
“I was pretty spent by then, but I thought ‘we’re going to do this’.
“Maybe in our heads we’d already won it without going through the last 45 minutes of the game.”
China levelled the contest with two strikes in five minutes – the first goals Australia had conceded in six games – as Alagich watched on helplessly from the bench.
Worse was to come in the ensuing penalty shootout, when Collette McCallum and Peters missed their spot kicks to consign the Matildas to a heartbreaking loss in their last visit to SA.
“It’s still a sore spot,” said Alagich, who broke her nose in an accidental training ground clash with McCallum the day before the first match, having injured her wrist a month earlier.
“It was definitely a stepping stone to get to where the Matildas are now.
“But I still look back on it as one of my big regrets, that we didn’t end up finishing off the tournament.
“The worst thing about not being on the field is you don’t have any control over it.
“We could see it slipping through our fingers, but the girls on the field did all they could.
“Everyone put their heart and soul into the game, but it just wasn’t meant to be in the end.”
Alagich, now a detector dog handler with the Australian Border Force in Sydney, hoped to return to the home of SA soccer on Tuesday night for the Matildas’ friendly with Chile.
The world No. 8 was expected to attract more than 10,000 fans for its maiden Adelaide outing since the Asian Cup defeat.
It was a far cry from 13 years earlier, when just 1350 turned up for Australia’s opening victory over South Korea and 5168 attended the final.
“Female football in Adelaide was pretty fresh and we were actually pretty happy getting those sort of crowds at that time,” 86-cap international Alagich said.
“I still remember there was a big Chinese contingent there for the final.
“They made up the bulk of the crowd, so it was a pretty electric atmosphere.
“There was a little bit of promotion, but you could walk through the city and no one knew who you were.
“It’s a very different time now and people will definitely support the girls more this time around.”
The 2006 tournament, which doubled as a successful World Cup qualifying campaign for Australia, remained a landmark moment.
It was the nation’s first venture into a senior AFC competition, after switching from Oceania.
The fortnight-long event also laid the foundation for the Matildas’ Asian Cup triumph in China four years later.
Six players remained for the decider win over North Korea, again on penalties, and Alagich was an assistant coach, a year after retiring.
“We did lack experience at those sort of major tournaments,” said Alagich, who played in three World Cups and two Olympics.
“It was a little bit of the unknown (in 2006) and we probably didn’t really understand what the Asian Cup meant as a nation.
“But it definitely helped the team win that next Asian Cup.
“You look at where we had come from, and at that stage we were just starting to emerge.
“But now, it’s just gone next level.
“To finally see the Matildas back at Hindmarsh Stadium gives me immense pride.”