Goodbyes are never easy, especially when the parties involved have been as intertwined as Graham Arnold and the Socceroos over the past 39 years. It is remarkable that for nearly half a century, the one-time Gwawley Bay junior and the men’s national team have been almost inextricably linked. But following Friday’s announcement of Arnold’s immediate resignation as coach, it appears this bond has finally ended.
Arnold’s journey began on 23 October 1985, scoring the first of what would be 19 international goals in a 7-0 win over Taiwan. In the years that followed he would forge a celebrated playing career across Australia, Europe, and Japan and play a further 56 times in green and gold, but an elusive World Cup berth would consistently evade him. Cruelly, his final game in the shirt he loved so dearly was marked by tears: he introduced as a desperate late substitute by Terry Venables on an infamous night in Melbourne in 1997, when Iran came back from two goals down to secure a draw that denied Australia a place at the 1998 World Cup.
