Australia is famous for its tropical beaches, marine reserves, Aboriginal culture, Koalas and Kangaroos, rolling wine country, lush rain forests, Ayers Rock, Sydney Opera house and a lot more. The main sports are Rugby League, Cricket, Swimming, Aussie Rules, Rugby Union, Tennis but they are also increasingly competitive at football.
The Australian Football Federation from 2006 is affiliated to the Asian Conference Federation. In precedence they were part of the Oceania Football Confederation.
Australia have taken part in six world cups. The Socceroos made their debut in 1974. Their best results have been the last 16 in 2006 and 2022. In 2006 they were unlucky to lose 0-1, to a 95th penalty, against eventual winners Italy.
Australia have played in six Oceania Cups, winning on four occasions (1980, 1996, 2000, 2004).
They have taken part in the Asian Cup five times, winning in 2015.
The Aussies have also participated in the Confederations Cup four times, finishing 2nd in 1997.
In the FIFA ranking the Australian's highest position was 21st in July 2009 while their lowest was 100th in July 2014. They are currently 23rd.
The best players in their history include Johnny Warren, Attila Abonyi, John Koshima, Alex Tobin, Paul Wade, Brett Emerton, Damian Mori, Craig Johnston, John Aloisi, Lucas Neill, Archie Thompson, Mark Bosnich, Mark Schwarzer, Mark Viduka, Harry Kewell, Mark Bresciano, Tim Cahill, Luke Wilkshire, Mark Milligan.
Some Australian players have also played in Serie A and Lazio.
1990's
Frank Farina - forward (Bari 1991-1992, 8 league games). He left in January 1992 for Notts County. He then played for Strasbourg and Lille before returning to Australia. He won 37 caps for Australia with 10 goals and won two Oceania Cups.
John Aloisi - forward (Cremonese 1995-98, 48 league games with 4 goals). He then played for Portsmouth, Coventry City, Osasuna and Alavés before returning to Australia. He won 55 caps for Australia with 27 goals and won an Oceanic Cup.
Paul Okon - midfielder - Lazio
Paul Okon arrived at Lazio in 1996 from Club Brugge where he had played five seasons (with 1 league title and 4 domestic cups). He stayed three years in Rome.
In 1996-97 the manager was first Zdenek Zeman and then Dino Zoff. Lazio finished 4th (UEFA Cup). The highlight was beating Milan 3-0 while both derbies were draws. Okon played 14 league games, 2 in Coppa Italia and 2 in the UEFA Cup. His playing time was limited by physical problems.
In 1997-98 Sven-Goran Eriksson arrived as manager. Lazio had a good season, finishing 7th in Serie A but winning the Coppa Italia and reaching the UEFA Cup final, losing to Inter in Paris. The Eagles also beat Roma a record four times in a season. Okon unfortunately was out all season injured.
In 1998-99 Lazio went close to the scudetto finishing 2nd but won the Supercoppa beating Juventus and the last ever Cup Winners Cup beating Mallorca 2-1. Again, Okon played little, only 5 league games due to injuries.
In 1999-2000 he played for Fiorentina under Giovanni Trapattoni. The Viola finished 7th (UEFA Cup ) and Okon played 11 league games, 1 in Coppa and 4 in the Champions League.
He then went to England and played for Middlesbrough, Watford on loan and Leeds United.
In 2003 he returned to Italy and played for Vicenza in Serie B. He played 11 league games, under manager Giuseppe Iachini, before returning to Belgium in January and joining Oostende, in the second tier, where he finally played regularly for a season and a half.
He then played a season in Cyprus for APOEL before returning to Australia and the Newcastle Jets for one last season.
He won 29 caps for Australia and reached the Olympic semi-final in Barcelona 1992.
Okon was a midfielder. He could play in various roles including playmaker. He was an excellent player with great feet, vision and tactical intelligence. In Belgium in 1995 he was awarded the Golden Boot for the best player of the season. His career however was limited by injuries and physical problems which did not allow him to reach his full potential.
At Lazio, especially in his first season, he showed glimpses of his immense class and talent. He was nicknamed "Il Poeta" while for others he was "The Australian Beckenbauer". At Lazio he won three cups.
After retiring he became a manager, working in Australia and Belgium.
Vincenzo Grella - midfielder (Empoli 1998-2000, Ternana 2000-2001, Empoli 2001-2004, Parma 2004-07, Torino 2007-08, 232 league games with 4 goals). He then played for Blackburn Rovers for four seasons before returning to Australia. He won 47 caps for Australia and won an Oceania Cup. He was one of the more successful Aussie players in Italy.
Mark Bresciano - midfielder - Lazio
Mark Bresciano arrived at Lazio in 2010 and stayed one season. He had already played three seasons at Empoli, four at Parma and four at Palermo, for a total of 307 league games and 48 goals. He had a unique way of celebrating his many goals, remaining completely immobile like a statue.
In 2010-11 at Lazio the manager was Edy Reja and the Biancocelesti finished 5th (Europa League). The highlights were winning in Florence and beating Napoli and Inter at home. Brescianl played 20 league games and 3 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Portogruaro).
He then played another season in the United Arab Emirates with Al-Nasr and three in Qatar with Al-Gharafa.
He won 84 caps for the Socceroos with 13 goals. He won an Oceania Cup and an Asian Cup.
Bresciano was a midfielder. He was an extremely versatile player and could play as winger, defensive or offensive midfielder, forward and even defender sometimes. His best position however was probably as left attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1. He combined quality and quantity. He was a success in Italy.
At Lazio he arrived late in his career and was past his peak. He was not often a regular and despite having a two -year contract he left after one for less competitive leagues.
Christian Vieri - of several clubs including Atalanta, Juventus, Atlético Madrid, Lazio, Inter and Milan was brought up in Australia. He is not Australian but lived down under from the ages of four to fourteen. He is therefore one of the few Italians to understand and love cricket.
2000's
Jess Vansrattan - goalkeeper (Hellas Verona 2001-08, Carrarese on loan 2003-04, Ancona on loan 2007, Juventus on loan 2007-08, 10 league games). He then returned to play in Australia.
Željko Kalac - goalkeeper (Perugia 2002-05, Milan 2005-09,118 league games and 1 Champions League, a UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup with Milan and an Intertoto Cup with Perugia). He had previously played in Holland with Roda JC and left Italy for a brief spell in Greece. He won 54 caps for Australia and won three Oceania Cups. He was the most winning Aussie to have played in Italy.
Chris Oikonomidis - midfielder - Lazio
He arrived at Atalanta' youth set up in 2011 and in 2013 joined Lazio's where he won the Primavera Coppa Italia twice (2014, 2015) and the Supercoppa (2014). Between 2014 and January 2016 he was also in Lazio's first team squad and played one game in the Europa League against Saint Etienne. In January 2016 he was loaned to Salernitana in Serie B where he played 14 league games with 1 goal. He then spent a season on loan with Aarhus in the Danish Superligaen. In 2017 he returned to Lazio but played no games under Simone Inzaghi and in January 2018 left for Australia and Western Sydney. He has since played for Perth Glory and the last three seasons for Melbourne Victory. He has won 16 caps for Australia with 2 goals (Oman and Syria).
James Troisi - midfielder (Atalanta 2012-13, Juventus 2014, 6 league games). He previously played in Turkey and after Italy had spells in Belgium, Saudi Arabia and China before returning to play in Australia. He won 37 caps for Australia with 5 goals and 1 Asian Cup win.
Joshua Brillante - midfielder (Fiorentina 2014-15, Empoli 2015, Como 2015-16, 24 league games). He went back to Australia apart from a brief stint in Greece. He played 5 times for Australia.
Trent Sainsbury - defender (Inter 2017, 1 league game). He then returned to China and later had spells in Switzerland, Holland, Belgium and now plays in Qatar. He has won 61 Australian caps with 4 goals and 1 Asian Cup win.
Adin Hrustic - midfielder (Hellas Verona 2022-24, 6 league games). He arrived from Eintracht Frankfurt (where he won a Europa League) and left for Holland (Heracles Almelo) where he had played before Germany (Groningen). He has won 26 caps for Australia with 3 goals.
For the 2024-25 season Roma have signed Australian keeper Mathew Ryan from Dutch side AZ Alkmaar. He has 92 caps for the Socceroos.
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