The reputation he has cultivated may be austere, but Tony Popovic isn’t made of stone. So when Aziz Behich scored what will go down as one of the more famous goals in Socceroos history last week, there was scope to celebrate and enjoy the moment amid a late night back at the team hotel. Players and coaches stayed up to see if Bahrain would do them a favour by taking points off Saudi Arabia, but when the Green Falcons secured a 2-0 win in Riffa, focus shifted to getting to bed, recovery and the task that awaited them in Jeddah. As Neil Warnock once said: “By all means enjoy it, but enjoy it by being fucking disciplined.”
Five days on, as Australia’s men prepare to face Saudi Arabia at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium with a spot in the World Cup on the line, there are scant signs of any kind of physical or mental hangover from that evening in Perth. Largely restricted to their accommodations overlooking the Red Sea due to the fierce June heat buffeting the city – a heat that feels amplified when bouncing off the vast network of concrete highways and construction sites dotted around – there has been little to distract players from the task at hand. Their lives have become a cycle of rest, recovery, media for the unlucky few, and training.
