1969 ST GEORGE & WORLD CUP DRAMA

After the horrors of 1968, St George Budapest dramatically returned to form in 1969 and the appointment of new coach Frank Arok worked wonders. With the basis of the successful 1967 St George side still present, St George finished second in the premiership to South Coast United by just one point and Hakoah Eastern Suburbs were a further point back in third. The St George team (pictured below) included captain Johnny Warren, Manfred Schaefer, David Cliss, Roger Hillary, Don Sandell, Geoff bird, Michael Denton, Herbet Stegbauer, Atti Abonyi, George Yardley, Victor Fernandez and goalkeeper Frank Haffey. It was only some inconsistency that cost St George the title as they tellingly finished with the most goals scored (56) and the least conceded (17). What impressed most about St George on their day was their scintillating style of ‘total football’ and devastating attack, as evidenced in their opening game of the season with an 11-1 thumping of Yugal-Ryde. 

St George Budapest 1969

Ultimately St George played APIA Leichardt in the Grand Final and the match ended 1-1 after extra time, a replay being necessary three days later because penalty kicks weren’t used as the decider in those days. Unfortunately the Australian team was due to fly out to play World Cup qualifiers in Seoul after the replay and both sides were consequently required by the Australian Soccer Federation (ASF) to rest their representative players. All of Australia’s best players in those times were still playing in the local domestic competitions and none were based overseas. With each side losing three of their top players, St George led 2-0 in a strangely muted atmosphere until future Socceroo Ernie Campbell intervened to unbelievably score a hat trick in the last eleven minutes, giving APIA an unlikely 2-3 win. As a St George supporter, it was traumatic to watch and the APIA fans celebrated with astonishing gusto.

St George's Atti Abonyi during the Grand Final, scorer in the 1-1 draw 

APIA's Ernie Campbell (left), hat trick scorer in the Grand Final replay

Coach Frank Arok came to the St George club from Yugoslavia at the age of 37. His extensive resume included studies in Physical Culture at the University of Belgrade, experience as a high school Sport’s Master, the distinction of becoming the youngest coach in the Yugoslav First Division at age 26 and a parallel career as a soccer writer for a European newspaper in the Hungarian language. Arok had an immediate and positive effect on the St George team in every respect and he wrote an article for Soccer Monthly News (June 1969) outlining his coaching manifesto. It entailed spending two years in Sydney to give St George a modern, well drilled, tactical game with an individual style. This would involve fluent changes in style and tactics as necessary and encourage more aggressive attacking play by defenders and midfielders. Allied with that would be a modern, well planned, development scheme for juniors and young players connected with St George, introducing professional coaching methods instead of what he called the very amateurish methods adopted by too many coaches in Australia. He had a favourable initial impression of Sydney Soccer and felt that Hakoah had the best player material in NSW to the extent that with the addition of two or three top class players, could hold their own in the First Division of practically any European country. He also correctly predicted that Australia would not qualify for the 1970 World Cup because the Australian Soccer Federation appeared unable to bring the national squad together for adequate preparation and went on to explain that with proper preparation and a new approach that Australia could be just as big a World Cup surprise packet as North Korea in 1966. 

Frank Arok

I first met Frank Arok in mid-1969 when I was 13 years old, goalkeeper Frank Haffey having invited me to a St George training session. Frank Haffey intended to put me through my paces after the first team squad had finished but Frank Arok appeared and waved him away, taking my goalkeeper training session himself. At one stage he instructed me to make a small correction in technique, repeating it MUCH more loudly to ensure the adjustment was duly made. After about twenty minutes he stopped and explained how he’d set up a training squad for promising young players and would like me to attend. A few days later Johnny Warren phoned my parents and was excited to tell them how I’d impressed Frank Arok with my impromptu audition. Those team training sessions with Frank Arok proved to be the most intensive and high quality for young players that I was to ever encounter. He was an impressive, imposing and flamboyant figure. I always remember at shooting practice how he would urge the strikers to hit the ball at me in goal with venom, “kill him” was the coach’s cry! By the end of the year I was 14 years old and playing training games against the St George first team players including internationals like Johnny Warren, Manfred Schaefer and Atti Abonyi. I’d come a long way in less than a year from the Lugarno under 15 side to the St George Under 16 Interdistrict team and on to St George Budapest.

Johnny Warren (right) contests the ball for St George

At the start of 1970 Frank Arok’s attention had been diverted to the St George first team and I wasn’t sure in the end whether I’d be offered a contract. Frank Haffey by then had transferred to Hakoah Eastern Suburbs and he suggested having a trial with them – I was signed by Hakoah within a week. A few weeks later I was told that the St George assistant coach Tibor Zuckerman had been looking for me but by then I was already a Hakoah player. After two successive seconds in the 1969 and 1970 premierships, Frank Arok returned to St George after a one year break to finally take the club to the Premiership in 1972, along with victory in the Ampol Cup and the NSW State Cup. He would return again to win the National League title with St George in 1983 and would go on to coach the Socceroos from 1983 to 1990. Arok’s most notable achievements with the Socceroos were to reach the quarterfinals of the 1988 Olympic Games tournament and a monumental 4-1 defeat of World Cup holders Argentina in the Bicentennial Gold Cup in 1988. Whatever might be said of Frank Arok, he had an extraordinary knowledge of the game and a passionate determination to promote Australian soccer like few others could.

St George's Manfred Schaefer (right) heads the ball back to goalkeeper Frank Haffey

World Cup Qualifying Drama  

Australia played three matches at home against Greece in mid-1969, the results being one win apiece and a draw. It importantly produced Australia’s first win against a European nation at full international level with a 1-0 win at the Sydney Cricket Ground on 19 July 1969 before a crowd of 30,000. It was exciting to watch Australia dominate the match and have several chances to widen the margin before having to make do with the one goal from a second half penalty by Atti Abonyi. Coached by Joe Vlasits, this Australian team was arguably at least equal in talent to the side that later qualified for the 1974 World Cup with players including captain Johnny Warren, Ray Baartz, John Watkiss, Allan Marnoch, Manfred Schaefer, Stan Ackerley, Danny Walsh, Adrian Alston, Billy Vojtek and goalkeeper Ron Corry. Indeed many of these players were still in the squad five years later. Andrew Dettre (aka Paul Dean) in Soccer World described Johnny Warren’s performance as “his most unforgettable…he seemed yards faster than any other player on the field…tackling, intercepting, prompting and occasionally letting fly some pile drivers.”

Johnny Warren thwarted by the keeper for Greece in the 1-0 win for Australia at the SCG

It was essentially the same Australian team that departed Sydney on 1 October 1969 bound for Seoul, South Korea in an attempt to qualify for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. It was the start of a marathon campaign that would call into question the ethics of FIFA in determining the draw and match schedules. The first stage involved playing against Japan (3-1, 1-1) and South Korea (2-1, 1-1) in a round robin tournament in Seoul, Australia emerging triumphant after defeating both countries and drawing the return matches. The headlines in Soccer World said “Forceful Australians Too Strong For Japan” and “Our Finest Hour Near – Set To Win Cup Group” (against South Korea). It was a major accomplishment away from home but not without drama. In the final drawn match against South Korea, Johnny Warren beat five or six defenders before slamming the ball into the net, only to incredibly have it disallowed for some reason that was never clear. The penalty awarded against Australia was similarly dodgy but was superbly saved by Ron Corry under immense pressure. The Soccer World headline said “Referees Were Ghastly” and the normally calm editor Paul Dean wrote: “(the referee) wasn’t just biased - he was plain cheating and so were his two linesman and in all my years of soccer I have never seen a more blatant attempt by a referee to shape a result”. It was only just a sample of the shenanigans that Australia would encounter in its World Cup endeavours. Dean also observed: “Despite the win we must not forget that our preparations were shoddy and totally inadequate. This was admitted by coach Joe Vlasits and all the players. One can only speculate what the team would have been capable of with a more thorough, more carefully planned program”.

Ray Baartz with the ball for Australia in the 2-1 win over South Korea

The next qualifying step for Australia was to play against Rhodesia (later known as Zimbabwe) in two matches to be held in neutral Laurenco Marques in Mozambique, virtually next door to Rhodesia. The winner would then play Israel to determine who would qualify for the World Cup. Rhodesia was originally to have been included in the group matches in Seoul but the other three countries involved (including Australia) refused to play against them due to political concerns regarding apartheid. However, after the matches in Seoul were completed, FIFA in its wisdom determined that Australia would still have to meet Rhodesia or face withdrawal from the World Cup. It was to be a long and expensive journey. Lou Gautier in Soccer World wrote of “FIFA’s scandalous decision to press ahead with plans to stage a play-off with Rhodesia…FIFA’s frantic efforts to accommodate Rhodesia would be laughable if they weren’t so tragic”.

The Australian squad prior to departing for the World Cup encounter with Rhodesia

Although Australia was expected to readily account for Rhodesia, it was an unnecessarily arduous task away from home and proved to be a stubborn encounter with two draws before Australia eventually won the extra unscheduled third match 3-1. The pressing problem was that Australia then only had a few days to arrive in Tel Aviv to meet with Israel, the 36 hour journey amazingly taking the team from Mozambique to Johannesburg (South Africa) to Luanda (Angola) to Lisbon (Portugal) to Rome (Italy) and then to Athens (Greece) before arriving a mere 24 hours prior to the match. It had taken the Australian team half way around the world thanks to politics and detours around trouble spots. It was little wonder that the team was exhausted and two of Australia’s best players in Ray Baartz and Allan Marnoch became ill and couldn’t play. Israel on the other hand had a much more simple path to the World Cup, having only to defeat New Zealand in two matches in Tel Aviv to earn the right to play Australia on a home and away basis, making a total of only four matches with three played at home (N.B. North Korea was originally to have also played against Israel but withdrew for political reasons). The total tally for Australia would be nine matches with only one played at home. It must be acknowledged that Australia agreed to the initial matches being played in Seoul but how FIFA calculated that the overall progam was somehow fair and reasonable is incomprehensible. A press interview with FIFA Secretary General Dr Helmut Kaser confirmed a blithe disregard for the obvious inequity despite howls of protest.

Australia's captain Johnny Warren in possession against Israel in Sydney 1969

History shows that Israel defeated Australia 1-0 in Tel Aviv at the Ramat Gan stadium in front of 60,000 people, the only goal coming from a deflected free kick. The match in Sydney ten days later ended in a 1-1 draw, Israel scoring first with twelve minutes left after defender George Keith inexplicably missed a regulation clearance and Mordechai Spiegler smashed the ball into the roof of the net. Australia certainly had its chances including a powerful Ray Baartz shot in the first five minutes that hurtled towards the top right corner and was brilliantly saved by the Israel keeper Visoker. It was left to John Watkiss to snatch the equalizer on the angle from close range with two minutes still on the clock. It had been a spectacle of high drama and the first time I’d ever seen such a partisan Australian crowd filling the Sydney Sportsground to its 32,500 capacity.

Israel keeper Visoker safely takes a high cross against Australia in Sydney  

John Watkiss (on ground) scores the equalizer for Australia's 1-1 draw with Israel at the Sydney Sportsground

Despite all of the problems emanating from those FIFA decisions, the contest had been decided by the barest of margins. Astute FIFA coach Dettmar Cramer commented that “the Australians used the wrong tactics” and explained that stopper Zvi Rosen should have been marked out of the game to disrupt Israel’s play. Yet we can only wonder as to what might have happened if the ASF had agreed to the Australian team entering camp immediately upon arriving home rather than waiting until two days before the match. Or if the travel arrangements had been more expertly organized. From a supporters point of view the whole campaign left a bad taste in the mouth, especially after the Australian team had performed admirably under trying circumstances.  

Johnny Warren (left) during a tense moment in the Sydney match against Israel

The only TV coverage of the overseas matches was shown months after the event in black & white by the ABC. There had been live coverage of the Rhodesia games by Martin Royal for ABC radio 2BL in Sydney, the link being made possible via radio telephone from Laurenco Marques. The only colour footage from this campaign that I ever saw came from Johnny Warren himself, a few minutes filmed on his home movie camera from one of the South Korea v Japan games in Seoul. What fascinated him and my family so much was the unison flag waving by the supporters in the stadium who were dressed in the respective team colours of both countries, something we hadn’t seen before but which of course is now commonplace.

Mexico 1970

Israel went on to perform capably at the World Cup in Mexico during June 1970, the competition at that time still being restricted to only sixteen teams. Although finishing fourth in their group, they achieved creditable draws against both Italy and Sweden with the only defeat being 2-0 to Uruguay. I’d been hoping to attend the World Cup myself after entering a Daily Mirror competition to win an all-expenses paid trip. Various photographs from the previous 1966 World Cup were published in the newspaper and one had to correctly identify the matches they represented. No easy task but I was convinced victory was in sight and I was proven to be correct – along with about 1200 other hopefuls. An additional tiebreaker series of photographs was then published, these considerably more oblique images defeating me only at the final hurdle – just like the Australian team.

 

 

 

1968 A CLEAN SWEEP

It was the year of Hakoah Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) in 1968 when the club achieved a clean sweep, winning every trophy on offer when there was more to be won than at any other time. It was an incredibly strong performance that has never been equalled when Hakoah won the Ampol Cup (v St George 1-0), Intercity Ampol Cup (v Melbourne Croatia 3-2), NSW Premiership (by two points from Pan Hellenic), Grand Final (v Pan Hellenic 4-2) and Australia Cup (v Melbourne Hakoah 3-0 & 3-1). The team was coached by Doug Holden (ex-Bolton Wanderers, Preston North End & England) and included Allan Marnoch, Ray Baartz, Willie Rutherford, Robbie Fekete, Ian Hillsdon, Dennis Yaager and goalkeeper Peter Fuzes. A significant addition to the Hakoah squad was John Watkiss, acquired from APIA Leichardt for an Australian record transfer fee.

Hakoah captain Allan Marnoch with the Grand Final trophy in 1968

John Watkiss (left) in imperious form for APIA

Hakoah’s closest rivals throughout the season were Pan Hellenic who could never quite bridge the gap. I remember watching their top of the table premiership clash at Wentworth Park in front of an expectant crowd of more than 20,000 when Pan Hellenic fielded highly rated Greek international Takis Loukanidis. The crunch moment came when Pan Hellenic were awarded a penalty and Loukanidis stepped forward to take the kick, feinting as if to be re-positioning the ball before toe-poking it straight into the hands of Hakoah keeper Peter Fuzes! The match ended 0-0. 

Willie Rutherford on the ball for Hakoah against Pan Hellenic in the 1968 Grand Final

The Australia Cup was an early attempt to create a form of national club competition but after Hakoah’s win in 1968, it was never contested again. St George suffered an inexplicable loss of form after their successes in 1967 and finished second last in the 1968 premiership. Yet the season had opened with promise when St George met Hakoah in the pre-season Ampol Cup final, Hakoah winning by the only goal after St George missed a penalty. It was another penalty saved by Hakoah’s Peter Fuzes, this time from St George’s Tibor Zuckerman who had never previously missed a spot kick!

Hakoah goalkeeper Peter Fuzes

Visitors to Australia that year were Welsh club Cardiff City who played in the English second division. By virtue of winning the Welsh Cup in 1976, they qualified for the European Cup Winners Cup and performed with distinction to make the semi-finals in 1967-68. They played several matches in Australia including two against NSW, resulting in a 1-1 draw and 3-1 Cardiff win. Coached by Joe Venglos (Sydney Prague), the NSW side included several Australian international players and both goals were scored by Brian Smith of the Pan Hellenic club.

Official program NSW v Cardiff City 1968

Manfred Schaefer (dark shorts) clears the ball for NSW against Cardiff City in the 1-1 draw at the Sydney Showground

On the full international scene, Australia played a three match series at home against Japan. Australia approached the games with optimism after lifting the Saigon tournament trophy the previous year but ultimately had to settle for a drawn series against Japan with one win apiece and a draw. The Japan side had used the matches as preparation for the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City where they would go on to win the bronze medal in a noteworthy performance.  

1967 AN IMPORTANT YEAR

The year 1967 ranks as very important in Australian soccer, even though it’s relevance has been somewhat obscured by the dust of time. In NSW the year kicked off with St George Budapest winning the pre-season Ampol Cup by defeating Hakoah Eastern Suburbs 2-0 in the final. The team was captained by the great Johnny Warren who was also the club’s full time public relations and marketing officer, an innovative move by a very progressive club. Indeed the Hungarian-sponsored St George club was a leader through encouraging expansive stylish soccer, establishing stable administration via its licensed Soccer House premises at Mortdale and promoting and developing the game through the many junior clubs in the area. I was an avid St George supporter and it’s unlikely any top Australian club since that time has been as influential and successful in all of those respects.

St George captain Johnny Warren with the Ampol Cup 

St George's Soccer House on the cover of the club journal

The 1967 St George team was a compelling combination of elegant skill and forcefulness. Coached by Laurie Hegyes, the team included Manfred Schaefer, David Cliss, Vic Fernandez, Herbert Stegbauer, Tibor Zuckerman, Sal Isaac, Roger Hillary and Frank Haffey. Yet it was Johnny Warren who stood above the rest, an exceptional dynamic player with the skill, strength and incredible determination to take a game by the scruff of the neck. I clearly remember a top of the table clash with South Sydney Croatia at St George’s home ground Hurstville Oval where he dominated the game and scored both goals for a 2-1 win. It was common for people in the crowd to shout out ‘give the ball to Warren’ such was his charisma. However, it wasn’t just one team playing entertaining soccer that year. As a young player it was a great education to watch as many matches as possible including an amazing clash between the two Greek-sponsored clubs Pan Hellenic and Canterbury at a packed Arlington Oval, Dulwich Hill. Pan Hellenic led 3-0 before finally succumbing 4-5 to Canterbury who refused to surrender, a mixture of high drama and exciting play.


St George Budapest 1967

St George finished second in the premiership but came back to win the Grand Final 5-2 against APIA in one of the all-time great club matches in Australia. Down 2-0 after only 23 minutes, St George rallied to be 2-1 at the break before devastating attacking play and a David Cliss hat trick sealed the win. St George keeper Frank Haffey famously celebrated by balancing on the cross bar with the Sydney Sportsground scoreboard in the background. Andrew Dettre writing in the international World Soccer magazine said: “The atmosphere, the setting and the game itself all blended into a memorable occasion, making it perhaps the best soccer match seen in Sydney for many a long year. Not since that great (World Cup) game at Goodison Park when Hungary trounced Brazil 3-1, did I witness such a dramatic, absorbing match”.

St George goalkeeper Frank Haffey celebrates after defeating APIA 5-2 in the 1967 Grand final

The ASF had reactivated Australian national team that year, starting with a three match series against Scotland. All three matches resulted in narrow losses for Australia and I remember watching the game at the old Sydney Showground at Moore Park in front of 35,000 people. There was little between the teams except for a single goal by Alex Ferguson, the same man who would later have astounding success as manager of Manchester United. For good measure he would come back to haunt Australia in 1985 as manager of Scotland, eliminating the Socceroos from World Cup qualification with a 0-0 draw in Melbourne that seemingly resulted from black magic in preventing our attempts at goal from hitting the back of the net.   

Australia (light shirts) against Scotland in Sydney 1967

The great Manchester United toured Australia for the first time in mid-1967 as no less than reigning league champions of England. Proudly led by legendary manager Matt Busby, their team was at full strength and included the likes of Bobby Charlton, Nobby Stiles, George Best, Dennis Law and Brian Kidd. They played eight matches against various state representative teams, amongst them a memorable 3-1 defeat of NSW at the Sydney Showground with two goals from the majestic Bobby Charlton and a thundering reply from more than 20 metres by Pat Hughes for NSW. I’ll never forget the sight of the remarkable George Best juggling the ball as he ran up the field. Manchester United would go on in the following season to win their first European Champions Cup.


Official program Manchester United Australian tour 1967

NSW goalkeeper Ron Corry saves against Manchester United in Sydney 1967

In November 1967 Australia participated in an international tournament held in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) while the Vietnam War was still being waged. The concept came about as a means of showing support to South Vietnam as part of the war effort and the invitation came via the Australian government. While in a sense a grand adventure, it was in fact a serious excursion into a war zone with a very conspicuous military presence and the matches were played at the Cong Hoa Stadium within earshot of gunfire. The coach of Australia Joe Vlasits was known for his work with the Canterbury club in developing young players and he selected a youthful squad who had mostly learned the game in Australia including captain Johnny Warren, Manfred Schaefer, John Watkiss, Ray Baartz, Atti Abonyi and Ron Corry. After the ill-fated games against North Korea in 1965, team management was better prepared and Dr Brian Corrigan accompanied the side to ensure that player illness wasn’t a factor.

Australian captain Johnny Warren with the South Korean captain before the final in Saigon 1967 

The larger than life atmosphere in Saigon helped to generate an incredible team spirit and Johnny Warren later credited the tour as being the real birth of the “Socceroos”, a name for Australia’s national soccer team that was bestowed by Daily Mirror journalist Tony Horstead (writing as ‘Hotspur’) in 1971.  On the field the Australian team delivered the goods, winning all five tournament games against teams such as New Zealand, South Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia, including the final 3-2 against South Korea. Australian striker Atti Abonyi won the award for top goalscorer with a tally of seven. With other friendly games afterwards, the tour record was played 10 and won 10, including Australia’s first national team trophy in Asia. It showed what could be done with the right team and the right preparation, even under the most difficult conditions. I was one of a large crowd that welcomed the Australian team home at Sydney Airport, a pity that the mainstream media didn’t make more of the achievement. It was nevertheless an exciting and inspirational season for a 12 year old boy playing soccer. 

The Australian team returning home from Saigon with the tournament trophy in 1967

It must be remembered that all players from the top NSW clubs had other jobs at this time and players such as Vic Povey (winger Sydney Prague & Pan Hellenic) and Johnny Warren could be seen working part-time in Arthur Chapman’s sports store at Rockdale on a Saturday morning, together with other famous sportsmen including those from the very successful St George Rugby League team. That situation might seem hard to believe in the present day but this was before big business came to sport in Australia and before the pay cheques became exponentially larger.

Dynamic winger Vic Povey (stripes) in action for Pan Hellenic

Johnny Warren & Frank Haffey

Johnny Warren (team captain St George & Australia) and Frank Haffey (goalkeeper Celtic, Scotland, St George & Hakoah) were friends of our family and it wasn’t unusual that they would visit our home at Monterey in the St George area in Sydney. On one very unforgettable occasion when I was 14 years old, I’d arrived home after soccer training only to find all of the house lights out. I was soon rendered speechless when the lights came on to find that it was a surprise party and both Johnny & Frank were there to wish me happy birthday. To this day, Johnny is the only person I could never beat at table soccer and I tried a few times on different occasions. His passion for soccer and determination to promote the game was extraordinary and it was an inspiration to spend time with him. Johnny Warren went on to win several cups and a premiership with St George Budapest, participated in three World Cup campaigns with the Socceroos, was named dux of the international FIFA coaching course conducted by Dettmar Cramer and became a great icon of Australian soccer, both on and off the field.


Johnny Warren in 1969

Prior to the 1969 season in Australia, Johnny Warren spent five months in England to learn about playing, coaching and management in the UK. He wrote of his experience in the April 1969 edition of Soccer Monthly News: “I do not agree that British youngsters are superior (to those in Australia) in the normal skills of the game…the big difference is the way British lads apply themselves…the coaches deserve credit for this. They take a bunch of kids at the right age, spend hour after hour working with them, and deliberately set out to mould them into an inter-dependent unit. If Australian clubs worked on these lines and if they had such willing pupils, there is no reason at all why we shouldn’t emerge as a soccer country of consequence. Australia, and in particular NSW, has quality among the youngsters. It also has quantity. What we are terribly short of is professional know-how, which can only be picked up through experience in a truly professional soccer set-up”.  

Johnny Warren with the youngsters at a coaching clinic in Rockdale, Sydney 

Frank Haffey was a born showman and he delighted in giving meaning to the old adage ‘goalkeepers are crazy’. Yet he was a brilliant player on his day and had the best technical knowledge of goalkeeping that I’ve ever encountered, along with the ability to impart the knowledge. I was very fortunate that he became my goalkeeping mentor. It’s a good start to have natural ability but honing it with first class technique is essential. Frank made some 200 appearances for Glasgow Celtic and played twice for Scotland in full internationals, along with three appearances at Under 23 level. He had the misfortune of being on the wrong end of Scotland’s heavy loss to England at Wembley in 1961, a goalkeeper’s worst nightmare to be playing behind a defence that turns to water on a big occasion and when the opposition includes a legendary goal scorer like Jimmy Greaves. Somewhat typically of the press, Frank’s first appearance for Scotland at Hampden Park was less mentioned, being a creditable 1-1 draw with England that included a penalty save from a future World Cup winner in Bobby Charlton. Frank came to Australia in 1965 after an ankle injury prematurely ended his tenure at Celtic and he went on to play for both St George Budapest and Hakoah Eastern Suburbs, with representative honours for Sydney in 1969. He was an Ampol Cup & Grand Final winner with St George in 1967 and later with Hakoah won two premierships in 1970 and 1971, along with the State Cup in 1971.

Frank Haffey during one of our backyard training sessions in Monterey, Sydney

Myself at age 12 with Frank Haffey before playing a match at Scarborough Park, Kogarah

Frank Haffey playing for Celtic against Rangers in the early 1960s

 

1965-66 BEGINNINGS

Australia had a very active soccer scene long before the advent of the ‘A-League’ in 2005 and before the Socceroos spectacularly qualified for the 2006 World Cup. Domestic Australian soccer in the mid-1960s at the elite level was dominated by semi-professional ethnic-based clubs and they played in the various state league competitions around the country. While there had been an Australian national soccer team competing in official international matches as far back as the 1920s, there had not been a consistent national team program beyond periodic meetings with mostly other British Commonwealth countries such as New Zealand, South Africa and India. Against that back drop, this is my journal (as a supporter and player) of an important period from 1965 to 1977 – the era leading to Australia’s first World Cup appearance in 1974 and the first Australian National League in 1977.

In 1965 I commenced playing competitive soccer for the Ramsgate under 10 team in the St George area in Sydney. It was coincidentally the first year that Australia attempted to qualify for the World Cup, the only task being to defeat the ‘unknown’ North Korea in order to play in the finals to be held in England in July 1966. The two matches were played in November 1965 in neutral Phnom-Penh Cambodia, ending with Australia being comprehensively beaten 6-1 and 3-1. Johnny Warren was one of two vice captains in the squad and although not selected in either game, he later commented that the Australian team had been thrown in at the deep end and likened the situation to walking into an ambush. The side contained some talented players such as captain Les Scheinflug, John Watkiss, Roy Blitz, Pat Hughes, Stan Ackerley and Bill Rorke but there had been a comprehensive lack of preparation along with inexperience. The Australian national team spirit or culture had also yet to really evolve. 

Johnny Warren

While the 1965 team had trained for a month in Cairns to prepare under Yugoslav coach Tiko Jelisavcic from the Hakoah Eastern Suburbs club, there had been no serious practice matches and indeed very few international matches in the period after Australia was re-admitted to FIFA in 1963. Australia had been excluded from FIFA in the late 1950s because the ethnic-supported Australian Soccer Federation (ASF) had usurped the Australian Soccer Association who had previously administered the game. Unfortunately the ASF was so inexperienced that they didn’t schedule any warm up games in Asia prior to the World Cup matches. The hot and humid conditions in Cambodia, together with the health hazards posed by the local food and water, seriously affected the Australian team. And the capacity crowd of 60,000 in the stadium was expected to be neutral but instead vociferously supported North Korea. The Australian players in this era were part timers with limited experience while the North Koreans were revealed in the official match program to be highly disciplined fulltime professionals with up to 70 international caps apiece who doubled as army personnel. The enormity of the challenge only became obvious when it was too late.

Defender Stan Ackerley played for APIA & Australia

Learning these hard lessons would help Australia considerably in the years ahead although curiously, some Australian coaches in the 21st^t century have lamented our lack of experience in Asia. A degree of consolation could be taken from North Korea’s subsequent performance at the 1966 World Cup when the team shocked the world by defeating Italy 1-0 and led Portugal 3-0 in a quarterfinal before succumbing 3-5 thanks to four goals from the mighty Eusebio.

North Korea at the 1966 World Cup in England

At club level in NSW the Italian-sponsored APIA Leichardt was a dominant force, winning the 1965 Grand Final with a 2-0 victory over St George Budapest. The following 1966 season produced a bumper haul of trophies for APIA including the Ampol Cup (v Hakoah 1-0), Federation Cup (v St George 3-2), Australia Cup (v Hakoah 2-0) and the Premiership. The club attracted a large following, being blessed with an array of skilful and formidable players such as Phil Bottalico, Johnny Giacometti, Ricardo Campana, Archie Blue, John Watkiss, Pat Hughes, Stan Ackerley, Cliff Van Blerk and goalkeeper Bill Rorke. The 1966 Grand Final appropriately brought together APIA and Hakoah Eastern Suburbs who were the top two teams in the premiership that year. It was the first Grand Final I’d attended and it was played in torrential rain at the Sydney Sports Ground, the best soccer ground in Sydney in those days for both spectators and players. One memorable incident occurred when APIA striker Giacometti took a free kick from the edge of the penalty area and nonchalantly placed it over the defensive wall into the top right hand corner past Hakoah goalkeeper Peter Fuzes. The referee immediately found a problem and ordered the kick to be retaken with Giacometti calmly putting the ball into the exactly the same place and this time the goal stood! It was audacious skill worthy of the premiership’s top scorer with 22 goals for the season. Hakoah were nevertheless not going to be denied and they stole the show with a late disputed goal by Gerry Hood to record a 2-1 win. The early sending off Ricardo Campana never helped APIA’s cause. Johnny Giacometti went on to finish with a remarkable 103 goals in 104 matches for APIA in the 1963 to 1968 period.

Johnny Giacometti



APIA Leichardt

Soccer has evolved over the years and the style of the game has changed but many would be surprised at entertainment value of the best games of those times. Unfortunately very little film or video footage exists from NSW club matches in the 1960s and 1970s. The ABC televised some of the most important matches and some games were covered live, all in ‘glorious’ black & white with the smooth commentary of Martin Royal. The atmosphere at the grounds could often be electric with the ethnic rivalries between the teams adding substantial needle like a mini-World Cup, tempers occasionally bubbling over but nothing like some rugby league commentators of the day would have had you believe. The various sporting codes and media were very parochial and soccer had to fight for whatever coverage it could obtain. Each NSW first division club had a first grade, second grade and third grade team, providing a full day of entertainment for only a few dollars admission. Whoever wanted to view the games really had to be at the grounds because the internet, youtube, tablets and mobile phones had yet to be invented.



St George goalkeeper Frank Haffey in action against APIA in the 1965 Grand Final