Euphoria Posted November 6, 2004 Share Posted November 6, 2004 Australias greatest soccer ambassador died today. R.I.P Johnny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euphoria Posted November 6, 2004 Author Share Posted November 6, 2004 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXX-18T Posted November 6, 2004 Share Posted November 6, 2004 so upsetting i saw him about 2 weeks ago on TV and he didnt look too well :( Very sad day RIP mate :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Protathlitis Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 May he rest in peace. he did great things for the world game in Australia. I got a lot of respect for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northerner Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Can somebody summarize him for me a real quick? I have no idea who he is, but RIP anyway because he seems to have been a great man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Protathlitis Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 http://sportsaustralia.com/articles/nov04/.../artid2277.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXX-18T Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 Warren leaves legacy that won't be forgotten By Joel Zander Goal-keeper Mark Bosnich lay spread-eagled on the turf at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1997 as Iran scored the dreaded equaliser to book a place in soccer's World Cup the following year. Former Socceroos captain Johnny Warren, in his capacity as a commentator for SBS television, was watching on from the sidelines. Australia had squandered a 2-0 lead, drawing 2-2, and once again would not be going to the World Cup finals. It was something Warren had witnessed on more than one occasion, and he could not bear it. When the camera panned to him after the match, tears were welling in his eyes. The fact that Australia had once again missed out on a chance to prove itself on world soccer's biggest stage cut Captain Socceroo deep, and he could not hide his emotions. He took part in Australia's only World Cup finals campaign in 1974, but was adamant it would not be the last. "I want Australia to embrace this fabulous game," he said after receiving FIFA's Centennial Order of Merit, his most cherished award, earlier this year. "It's not 'wog-ball'. This is the game of the world. "We [Australia] are on the verge of doing big things. I'm sure it will happen." Fellow commentator and long-time friend Les Murray said Warren always wanted to see Australian soccer at the pinnacle of the sport. "The dream was of course for his beloved Socceroos to have a tilt at the World Cup and by a tilt, I mean not just qualify, because what he preached is that we should dream about winning the World Cup as a self respecting, winning nation should, rather than just qualifying for it," Murray said. Warren was born in Sydney in 1943 and began playing club soccer at age 10. By 1960 he was playing first grade soccer in the New South Wales state league, first with Canterbury and then St George, with whom he won three grand finals. He debuted for his country against Cambodia in 1965 and was made captain in 1967, before a career-threatening knee injury sustained in 1970 sidelined him for 15 months. He came back to play a part in Australia's successful qualifying campaign for the 1974 World Cup, suffering a foot injury during the 2-0 loss to East Germany in the tournament proper which ruled him out of Australia's remaining games. He hung up his boots after the tournament, having played 62 internationals, 42 classed as A-internationals. The rest of his life was filled with coaching, preaching and commentating on the game he loved. He was made a Member of the British Empire in 1974, and signed on as coach of Canberra City following the formation of the National Soccer League in 1977. In 1988 he was one of 200 sports stars to be inducted into Australia's Hall of Fame, and two years later the NSL announced the Warren Medal as its player of the year award. He was one of the inaugural inductees into the Australian Soccer Hall of Fame in 1999, and was included on the Queen's birthday honours list in 2002, receiving a Medal of the Order of Australia. In the same year he released the best-selling book, Sheilas, wogs and poofters, which detailed his experiences and visions for the game in Australia. Visionary Warren played a big part in the establishment of the new A-League, born out of the remains of the now defunct NSL. Former Socceroo and media colleague Andy Harper, who helped Warren pen his book, said he would be remembered as a visionary. "As always with Johnny, he saw things that many of us couldn't, and I guess that's one of the things that will be inscribed on the epitaph that sits over his legacy," Harper told ABC Grandstand's Karen Tighe. "He had a great vision and there was a couple of things that he probably would have taken issue with [in the new league], and well let him take them with him now. "But I think overall he was very positive about where football can go. "He's always known of course that, as a matter of course, Australia would, he called it 'come to its senses', and embrace this massive international movement of people. "Moreso than anything else he saw how much Australia needed it, how much Australian culture needed it, even though were talking about sport, just the way this sport is so international and how it can change peoples lives. "It was so important to him that Australians embraced that, and that embodied the 40 years of his professional life." Harper said Warren's absence would leave a big hole in Australian soccer that could not be filled. "He has inspired enormous loyalty in people over the 40 years, from [age] 20 to 60, and even beyond when he was a child prodigy starting out in the New South Wales State League," Harper said. "You'll find no one will speak ill of him ... you'll find plenty of people who've had a ding-dong argument with him because he speaks his mind. "But in time his common touch and his unwavering belief in doing the right thing and serving humanity wins out. "[He was] terribly loyal with a very, very sharp sense of humour, a very, very funny man with a deep intellect and incredible broad vision, and he's one of those rare gems that won't be replaced, but his legacy will live. "His parting message would be to make sure you leave the place better than you found it ... and that sums up Johnny Warren's life." Australian Soccer Association (ASA) chief executive John O'Neill said the organisation would consider naming the A-League trophy after Warren. "Oh absolutely, I think it's a very appropriate way for Johnny to be remembered," Mr O'Neill said. "He's a reformer, a man for his time, a man who only ever wanted the best for his game, and I think that sort of change would be very appropriate." Warren died on Saturday afternoon after a two-year battle with lung cancer. He was 61. :nw: :nw: :nw: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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