It’s the moment that is etched into the memory of every Aussie football fan.
Stadium Australia, November 16 2005, John Aloisi steps up to take the most crucial spot-kick in Australian football history.
After 120 minutes of nail-biting action, the Socceroos are on the verge of qualifying for their first World Cup in 32 years.
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All that stands between them is 12 yards and a Uruguayan goalkeeper by the name of Fabian Carini.
Socceroos number one Mark Schwarzer had made two crucial saves and the penalty shootout score stands at 3-2.
The Aussie steps up to take the kick and slots it home into the top left corner.
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Queue, Simon Hill: “He scooooooooorrreeees.
“Australia have done it.”
82,000 fans jumping out of their seats and millions more at home jubilant.
It was perhaps the most iconic moment in Australian football history, and it happened 17 years ago to this day.
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The Socceroos went on to journey to Germany for the FIFA World Cup finals in what ended up being our best performance at the World Cup yet.
Tim Cahill bagged the Aussie’s first-ever goal at the tournament, and Harry Kewell secured our journey out of the group stage with an iconic equaliser against Croatia.
Pure ecstasy.
Of course, it all ended in heartbreak as Italy’s Fabio Grosso got tripped up by Lucas Neil in the Round of 16, and Francesco Totti slotted home the subsequent penalty.
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And while that moment still hurts, the pure joy of Aloisi’s penalty more than makes up for that hurt.
The scene of the now 46-year-old tearing off his top and sprinting the length of the field is equally as iconic.
Aloisi spoke of that moment years later, in 2022 on SEN’s This Is Your Sporting Life.
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He said: “As I hit it, I looked up and I can just see the ball going into the net.
“I’m pretty sure it’s a goal but I’m not 100 per cent sure, so I ran off to start celebrating but my face was a little bit stunned.
“Until probably half a second later I’ve seen the net move and then the crowd just erupt, that’s when I knew it was definitely in.
“And then all the emotions came out.
“Ripping off my top wasn’t something planned but where I was running to was planned because I knew where my family and the families of my teammates were sitting.
“That was a special moment, too.”
Australian football would never be the same again.
Featured Image Credit: SoccerooCHANNEL/YouTube/SBS.Topics: Football, Australia, Uruguay, Football World Cup
