Socceroos Greats - Where are they now: Paul Okon

The World Game pays its monthly tribute to the Socceroos stars of yesteryear who left their mark on football down under. Stylish midfielder Paul Okon says the painful World Cup qualifying defeat against Uruguay in 2001 laid the foundations for Australia's epic victory over the South American giants four years later.

Okon

Source: Getty Images

Former Socceroos star Paul Okon believes that the FIFA World Cup debacle against Uruguay in Montevideo in 2001 was the 'recession' Australia had to have in order to be able to reach the promised land four years later.

The Socceroos fell at the last hurdle in their bid to reach the 2002 finals before turning the tables on the South Americans by winning an epic penalty shootout in Sydney in the next campaign.

Okon, who is now 46, was captain of the side in the initial home and away clash against 'La Celeste' and after winning the first leg in Melbourne 1-0 thanks to a Kevin Muscat penalty, the Socceroos succumbed to a 3-0 defeat that shattered their dreams of reaching the first finals since 1974.

Okon reckons that the painful loss in front of a blood-thirsty crowd at the old Centenario paved the way for the Socceroos' success in the following tournament.

"In terms of the individual strength of our team we had a big chance to qualify, absolutely," he said.

"But when it came to everything else we were very naive. And when I say 'everything' I mean everything ... preparations, tactics, expectations, FFA support ... you name it.

"We were not ready to qualify in 2001. We were still four years too early and Australia needed to experience another disappointment of not qualifying before we could make the giant step that took us to Germany.

"We needed to fail and learn from our failure to be able to understand what was needed to get there in 2005. When Australia faced Uruguay the second time around no stone was left unturned in our bid to qualify. There were a lot more resources thrown at the team and that is not an excuse for our loss in 2001 but a reality.

"I would add that the Centenario is the most intimidating stadium I have ever played in."
Okon, who took part in 28 full internationals and played for several famous clubs in Europe, was happy to reminisce on a fragmented career that was blighted by injury.

What are you up to these days?

"At the moment I'm quite busy with four sons who are taking up a lot of my time. It's great because I have been coaching for a number of years and it has been difficult to spend as much time with them as I would have liked. From a professional point of view I have been travelling to have a look at football from the outside. When you are looking at your own team you do not have time to be observing what else is going on. I try to understand the game around me as much as possible "

You made your name as an elegant sweeper and were instantly touted as the 'Australian Beckenbauer'. Did that put you under added pressure to perform?

"No, I did not read too much into those things. I just enjoyed playing the game I loved. At that time Australian footballers were not on the map as they are now and I never let any sort of praise get to my head."

What was it like in Belgium where you had the best years of your club career. You were player of the year in 1995 as a Brugge defender?

"Belgium was probably the best place to start my European adventure. Two very good Australian players - Vlado Bozinovski and Frank Farina - preceded me at Brugge and did very well so the club had high regard for Australian footballers. Belgium is very similar to Australia in a lot of ways. The country is well organised, most people speak English and it is one of the easiest places in which to make the transition to European football. You cannot underestimate how difficult it is to move to a new country at any level and be successful."

You also played many games in midfield at club and international level. Where did you feel most comfortable?

"As a young kid growing up in Sydney's west I played most of my football in midfield but when I turned professional I became a defender. I felt comfortable in either role but to be perfectly honest I probably enjoyed the midfield role much more."

Three years in Rome playing for Lazio must have toughened you as a player and a person.

"Yes, especially as a person, probably due to the fact that I had a serious knee injury there and missed a lot of football at an important time in my career. It made me learn a lot of things very quickly. At the time I did not fully understand why this was happening but later on I grew to appreciate the importance of being able to deal with all the adversity life can throw at you."

Were you ever looked down on by star players for the simple reason you came from Australia, which at that time was not known for its football?

"I never felt that, certainly not in Belgium and England. Maybe a little bit in Italy because not many Aussies played in Serie A before I arrived. Italian football was at its peak from the mid-1980s to the late1990s and blessed with the best players in the world."

You got to play Barcelona for Fiorentina in the 1999-2000 UEFA Champions League group stage. What was that like?

"It was an amazing experience. Barca were coached by Louis Van Goal at the time and they had some big names like Rivaldo, Luis Figo, Patrick Kluivert and emerging star Xavi Hernandez in the side. I think that was the start of the team that would go on and take over world football."

Which was the highlight of your club career?

"There were two. actually. Being awarded the Golden Boot in Belgium for my performances in the calendar 1995 was special mainly because I was the first non-European player to become player of the year. In Belgium this award is very prestigious.

"The other was my Serie A debut for Lazio against Inter at the Meazza stadium. It was crazy ... here was this kid from Bossley Park mixing it with some of the world's best players at the San Siro, one of the cathedrals of world football. I grew up watching Serie A on SBS television every Sunday morning and here was I actually being part of it all. We drew 1-1. We scored first through Giuseppe Signori but Inter levelled with a goal from Jocelyn Angloma. I remember it like yesterday."

The high point of your Socceroos career must have been the 1-0 victory over world champions France at the 2001 Confederations Cup.

"That was massive. They had some players missing but we are talking about the world champions here and they probably had 40 or 50 top class players to choose from, anyway."

Beating England 3-1 in London in 2003 was another Socceroos match you probably will never forget, right?

"Of course. I think that was the match that proved beyond doubt that Australia could play football. There were a lot of Aussies playing in Europe at the time and we showed that night that we can be just as good as the Europeans."

Your career was plagued by injuries that restricted you to just 28 senior caps. Did Australia get to see the best of Paul Okon?

"I don't think so. At youth and Olympic I played at my best but not at senior level. Injuries did not allow me to reach my full potential. That's probably one of my biggest regrets, although in fairness I do not have many."

You played under many coaches, among them Giovanni Trapattoni, Sven-Goran Eriksson and Terry Venables. Who left the biggest impression on you?

"Venables clearly stands out. He was probably the most complete coach I ever had. He was a very nice person, he was a great communicator, he always had time for everyone and he was a very good tactician. I always had the feeling when I worked under him at Middlesbrough and with Australia that with him on the bench we were playing 12 versus 11. I did not actually play under him for the Socceroos in 1997 but I could see how he operated. At the Riverside he transformed our team when he replaced Bryan Robson. We had 11 points from 17 games and heading for relegation yet in a matter of weeks he changed everything and we managed to finish in the middle of the table, beating Arsenal away in the process."

You turned to coaching in the last decade or so. Do you reckon that we as Australians tend to be paranoid about the 'Australian way' at the behest of trying to play the right way, whatever that might be?

"I do believe that Australian footballers have a winning mentality and a commendable 'have a go' approach but these are not the only factors we should rely on. That is part of our DNA that helped us achieve certain results but now we need a lot more than that ... like pure quality."

Surely, after quitting Central Coast Mariners last year you are biding your time and waiting for someone to call you with a job offer.

"I'd love to get back into coaching, which is something I enjoy. I would love to get another chance but it would have to be an opportunity where I feel I can really do my job to the best of my ability."

Finally, who were the best players you have played with and against?

"The greatest player I faced was Zinedine Zidane, whom I came across in Melbourne when Australia played a 1-1 draw with France in late 2001.

"I remember a couple of occasions when 'Zizou' was dribbling towards our goal and I thought I had a chance of taking the ball off him by either sticking my foot in or kicking it. He would just wait for that moment and flick the ball away. I was convinced I would win the ball but all of a sudden it wasn't there any more. I felt like an idiot.

"I had so many fantastic teammates but two internationals were special. Belgian Franky Van Der Elst, who was my captain at Brugge, was the complete midfielder and my Lazio teammate Pavel Nedved of the Czech Republic was just incredible with the ball."

PAUL OKON FACTFILE

Club career
1989-1991: Marconi
1991-1996: FC Brugge
1996-1999: Lazio
1999-2000: Fiorentina
2000-2002: Middlesbrough
2002: Watford (loan)
2002-2003: Leeds Utd
2003-2004: Vicenza
2004-2005: Oostende
2005-2006: APOEL
2006-2007: Newcastle Jets

International career
1991-2003: Australia (28 matches)

Honours
Australia: OFC Nations Cup 2000. Brugge: Belgian Pro League 1995-1996. Belgian Cup 1994-1995, 1995-1996. Belgian Super Cup 1991, 1992, 1994. Lazio: UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1998-1999. Italian Cup 1997-1998, Italian Super Cup 1998. APOEL: Cypriot Cup 2005-2006.


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9 min read
Published 15 January 2019 5:06pm
By Philip Micallef


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