A look back at the night Australia qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup

A DECADE on from that night at ANZ Stadium, the Socceroos who ended so years of failure and secured a place at the World Cup know it is still a pivotal moment.

NEWS: Socceroos players celebrate after John Aloisi kicked winning penalty goal as Australia defeated Uruguay 4-2 in a penalt...

EVEN now, 10 years later, it doesn’t take much for them to gaze into the middle distance and recall it all once more. The night their lives, and millions of others, changed irrevocably, in a way that only sport can.

A decade on from that night of nights at ANZ Stadium, the Socceroos who ended so many years of failure and secured a place at the World Cup know it is still a pivotal moment. For them, and their country.

One by one the class of 2005 have retired, so that only a handful — Tim Cahill, Mark Schwarzer and Mark Bresciano — are still playing professionally. In fact professional commitments are why the first two of that trio will be missing tonight, when the bulk of the squad that qualified for a first World Cup in 32 years reconvenes on exactly the same pitch to mark the passage of a decade.

A few others are missing besides — Lucas Neill has some business commitments in the Middle East, while Mark Viduka might be in Croatia, depending on who you ask. Harry Kewell is in mid-season coaching the U21 side at EPL club Watford. It’s a shame from their point of view, because the reminiscences will flow thick and fast on Monday night.

John Aloisi slots the winning penalty.

A cottage industry has already grown up around those memories, with a book and documentary separately being launched in recent days, but that’s only right for such a seminal occasion. Those in-depth reviews also remind you of some key moments that have been submerged by the focus on the triumph — like the penalty Mark Schwarzer could have conceded in the first leg, or the free header that Morales fluffed in the second leg. All heart-in-the-mouth flashpoints that can still bring out beads of sweat even now.

It’s also great fun to remember the epic battle going on away from the pitch: all the “shenanigans”, as this newspaper memorably described it, when the apparently dastardly Uruguayans tried every trick in the book to disrupt Australia, and the dogged Socceroo officials plotted charter flights, secret camps and FIFA lobbying to keep things aboveboard.

Tonight’s dinner has the air of a school reunion in some ways, though it’s hardly a secret what most of the graduates are doing now. Cahill’s 42nd goal for his country came on Thursday, and he will be in Bangladesh with the new generation of Socceroos at the point the entrees are served tonight.

Tony Popovic will be at ANZ Stadium, just a few kilometres away from the scene of Western Sydney Wanderers’ remarkable success since he agreed to take on the A-League’s newest club. Never one to enjoy the media spotlight as a player, it is something he has had to adapt to since becoming a head coach.

Others will enjoy the recollections without needing the fanfare — like Josip Skoko, Vince Grella, or Jason Culina. Not all are solely engaged in football anymore: Joel Griffiths sells mortgages, Stan Lazaridis is in property. But that’s all about the now.

Tonight is all about 10 years ago, and the membership of a club that cannot be bought.

Originally published as A look back at the night Australia qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup