Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has compared his tough upbringing under his late father to that of Jelena Dokic and Andre Agassi but concedes it made him the coach he is today.
In a confronting interview with the Good Weekend magazine and podcast ahead of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the 59-year-old also makes the astonishing claim his players told him “Australia doesn’t want us to qualify” heading into the must-win qualifying match against Peru in June.
Arnold is a polarising character in Australian football but even his harshest critics couldn’t doubt his resilience. His mother, Faye, died of cancer when he was 20 and his father, Barry, suffered a fatal heart attack five years later.
Barry was an alcoholic who rarely gave his son, who had genuine sporting talent, an inch, making him walk home from matches when he was a boy if he didn’t score enough goals.
“I’ve probably only ever been to the cemetery once or twice [to see his parents] because I can’t do it,” Arnold said. “It’s been hard all the way through, but you know, when I need their help, I look up. I know they’re always there. Dad, yes, was extremely hard [with] my upbringing. It was tough … We lived under the garage at my nan’s place, and that makes the family quite tight because there’s no room. He was hard on me but I look at it now and there was a method to his madness. That’s how fathers were. I’ve read about Jelena Dokic and her father and even Andre Agassi and those types. I think my dad was no different. He saw that I had a talent, he saw that I had something that I could achieve in my life. And he drove me really hard at a young age.”
Socceroos coach Graham ArnoldCredit:Tim Bauer
Those formative years steeled Arnold for his career as an international striker then as a coach. COVID-19 restrictions meant the Socceroos had to play 20 qualifying matches in 10 countries over two years, forcing them into a must-win match against Peru in Qatar.
With his Socceroos’ job on the line, Arnold made the bravest decision of his career when he replaced goalkeeper Mat Ryan with Andrew Redmayne for the penalty shootout, which Australia won.
“The players felt a complete lack of support from the nation [before that match],” he said. “All the players do social media. They were saying to me, ‘Arnie, Australia doesn’t want us to qualify. They’re not supporting us. People wanted us to fail.’ I honestly feel I can’t do anything right in this country any longer.”
The Socceroos open their World Cup campaign against defending champions France on November 23.
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