Sydney Morning Herald and Age reporters chart the highs and lows of 2022, and pick out the most memorable sporting moments from a year full of them.
Word of the year
Belief. For years, Graham Arnold has talked about this being the most important factor for the Socceroos, and for years he’s been criticised for putting too much emphasis on wishy-washy mentality talk and not enough on technical and tactical factors. But at the World Cup, it all came together, and it was the belief he instilled in his players – along with their unity and togetherness – that drove them to Australia’s best-ever campaign, with two wins over Tunisia and Denmark trumping the 2006 achievements of the “golden generation”. It was complete and utter vindication for Arnold, who had endured a rocky second stint in the Socceroos dugout, but everything came together for him perfectly in Qatar – and it was all because he believed in himself, his methods, and his team, when no one else did.
Graham Arnold believed in himself, his players and his methods when no one else would.Credit:Getty
The winners
The Socceroos. As above. This was a team that the Australian public had fallen out of love with, who had barely played at home for years due to the pandemic and were at massive risk of missing out on the World Cup altogether. But not only have they reintroduced themselves to the country with their terrific run in Qatar, with players like Harry Souttar, Mitchell Duke and Mathew Leckie becoming household names, but they were champions off the field, too, by way of their three-minute video statement of protest against Qatar’s deplorable human rights record and stance against same-sex relationships.
Ange Postecoglou lifts the Scottish Premiership trophy with Celtic last season.Credit:Getty
Ange Postecoglou. Surely by now we can all agree that he is the greatest coach Australia has produced in any sport. Last year he joined Celtic as manager – this year, he secured his first Scottish Premiership title, claimed his first rival scalp after the sacking of Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst, made history as the first Aussie to work as a senior coach in the UEFA Champions League, was elevated into Football Australia’s hall of fame, and has started being linked to pretty much every English Premier League vacancy that comes up, which tells you everything about his fast-rising reputation in British football.
Central Coast Mariners. It’s easy to forget that not so long ago, this club was probably the biggest joke in all of Australian sport. And that’s only partly because they once opened the dressing room doors for Usain Bolt. But so much has changed, thankfully, and the Mariners are just about leading the way when it comes to development under coach Nick Montgomery. Alou and Garang Kuol are the tip of the iceberg – there are so many terrific kids coming through the ranks of the Gosford-based club, who defied their minuscule budget to reach last season’s finals, make the 2021 Australia Cup decider, and set a record with three of their players (G Kuol, Jason Cummings and Danny Vukovic) picked for Australia’s World Cup squad. Next season they’ll have an A-League Women’s team, too.
The losers
Tom Rogic. Appeared to be in career-best form and fitness across the first part of the year, making more appearances in the 2021-22 season for Celtic than any of his previous nine at the club. Reuniting with former Socceroos boss Ange Postecoglou was bringing the best out of him. Then he sat out Australia’s crucial World Cup qualifiers for personal reasons, which left some of his teammates miffed, and was off everyone’s radar for months, until he signed for West Bromwich Albion with the hopes of regaining his international jersey – only for Steve Bruce, the coach who signed him, to be sacked, and for Graham Arnold to rightly overlook him. How the mighty have fallen.
It has been a year of ups and downs for the Matildas and coach Tony Gustavsson.Credit:Getty
The Matildas (sort of). Look, it feels a bit harsh to put them here given how strongly they finished the year, with four consecutive friendly defeats that have restored hope in Tony Gustavsson’s side. But we’re taking a look at the entirety of 2022, and they started it really poorly at the Asian Cup, where Australia beat up on minnows in the group stage then couldn’t score in their quarter-final against South Korea, and lost to a last-minute goal. In all honesty, they should have won the trophy, and the pressure on Gustavsson was immense afterwards; so it should have been. They would go on to win only two of their next six matches, and both were against New Zealand, but fortunately things took a turn for the better thereafter and the Matildas seem reasonably well-placed heading into their home World Cup year.
Perth Glory. Title contenders not so long ago in the men’s competition, it’s been an awful couple of years for the Glory, who have spent months locked out of their own state – and when they were finally let back in, they stunk it up in the A-League, going on a run of 16 games without a win towards the back end of last season. They’ve started this one poorly, too, although it’s only partly their fault – again, they’ve been unable to play at HBF Park due to extended renovations for the Women’s World Cup, which have run well past deadline, and have forced them into turning little-known NPL venue Macedonia Park into a temporary home. Oh, and their signing of Daniel Sturridge proved to be an unmitigated disaster, with the former Liverpool striker joining Mario Jardel in the A-League’s marquee hall of shame.
Controversy corner
Just as the domestic game was riding a wave of goodwill generated by the Socceroos’ heroics in Qatar, it all came crashing down in Melbourne. A violent pitch invasion at the Melbourne derby, in which City goalkeeper Tom Glover was hospitalised after being struck on the head by a bucket, forced the game to be abandoned and set the local game back years. The background to the violence was boiling fan anger at a decision by the Australian Professional Leagues – which now runs the A-Leagues – to sell the next three grand finals to Sydney. But there can be no excuses for what happened. At the time of writing, Melbourne Victory had been hit with heavy crowd sanctions and 10 people had been handed multi-year bans by Football Australia, with two banned for life. It’s unlikely they will be the last.
The Australia Cup final should have been a historic occasion for the sport, as Sydney United 58 became the first NPL team to reach the final and helped attract a cracking crowd of more than 15,000 for their showdown with Macarthur FC. But the Bulls’ 2-0 triumph was sullied by those who performed Nazi salutes and waved flags featuring fascist insignia, while the ex-NSL club has since made public apologies to not only the Jewish community, but to the Dharug people and the broader Indigenous community after the pre-match Welcome to Country was at best ignored, and at worst, actively disrespected. A terrible night that cannot be allowed to happen again.
Man of the year
Take a moment to reflect on how far Garang Kuol has come, how quickly. His first A-League appearance for the Central Coast Mariners was in April. Since then, he’s scored six goals in 326 minutes off the bench, stunned Barcelona in an off-season friendly, earned a life-changing contract with Newcastle United in the English Premier League, became the youngest Socceroo since Harry Kewell in 1996, the youngest player to feature in the World Cup knockout round since Pele in 1958, and so very nearly scored a dramatic late equaliser for Australia in their round of 16 clash with Argentina. What a journey so far, and there’s still so much more to come.
Garang Kuol is denied an equaliser by Argentina keeper Emi Martinez.Credit:Getty
Woman of the year
At this point, it’s a given, isn’t it? Sam Kerr has been one of the most consistent players on the planet for a few years now, and she’s continued banging in the goals for Chelsea as they won the FA Women’s Super League and the FA Cup, as well as tipping in 12 goals for the Matildas in as many matches this calendar year. There are only a few things missing from her resume: success in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, which isn’t entirely up to her (she’s been doing her bit), a Ballon d’Or (she’s been nominated four times now), and a World Cup win with the Matildas, which will hopefully come in 2023.
Quote of the year
“I’m no hero, I just played my role – like everyone else did tonight.“
Andrew Redmayne. Sounds like the kind of thing a hero would say. If it wasn’t for his miraculous involvement in Australia’s penalty shootout win over Peru in June, the Socceroos wouldn’t have gotten to the World Cup, and all the good stuff they did in Qatar would never have happened.
Crystal ball
The Matildas win the Women’s World Cup, prompting Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to declare a week-long public holiday. Sam Kerr finally wins the Ballon d’Or. Graham Arnold is re-appointed Socceroos coach for another four years. Harry Souttar replaces Harry Maguire in Manchester United’s defence. Ange Postecoglou gets a new gig at a top-half Premier League club. Paramount+ finally lets viewers play, pause and rewind live matches.
For good or bad, 2022 will long be remembered by Australian football fans for the Socceroos’ finest hour and one of the A-League’s darkest days – and that was all in the year’s final month.
Watch every match of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League on Stan Sport. Returns for the Round of 16 in February 2023, with all matches streaming ad-free, live and on demand.
