Socceroos Greats - Where are they now: Stan Ackerley

The World Game continues its monthly tribute to the Socceroos stars of yesteryear who left their mark on football down under. Defender Stan Ackerley believes FIFA made it almost impossible for Australia to reach the 1970 World Cup but at the end of a long and treacherous campaign only one goal separated the team from a spot in the finals in Mexico.

ackerley

Stan Ackerley still receives a Manchester United calendar every year as a former club player Source: Supplied

Former Australia captain Stan Ackerley is adamant the national team would have qualified for the 1970 World Cup had they not become helpless victims of FIFA politics.

The Socceroos were on course to play in their first World Cup after emerging victorious from a round-robin against Japan and Korea Republic.

Israel were supposed to be the next and last hurdle in their campaign to reach Mexico but FIFA forced them to play Rhodesia - now Zimbabwe - in neutral Mozambique in a quickly arranged tie with the winners to face the Israelis.

FIFA had a Rhodesia problem on their hands at the time and resolved the sensitive issue by placing them in the Asia/Oceania qualifying section since the rest of Africa did not recognise Rhodesia's independence from Britain and would not play them.

The extra tie that ended just five days before the Socceroos were due to meet Israel in Ramat Gan fully tested the Australians' physical resources.

The side led by coach Joe Vlasits were overwhelming favourites to beat Rhodesia but they could only draw both matches and were forced into a decider two days later and won 3-1.

The unforeseen third match put extra pressure on the part-time Socceroos because they had to face Israel after five days instead of seven.
A physically drained team did well under the circumstances to lose 1-0 through an own goal but were unable to go beyond a 1-1 draw in the return in Sydney and bowed out.

"Of course we would have qualified without the extra trip to Mozambique and the third match that could have been avoided," Ackerley, now 77, said.

"We would have got to Israel well in advance and prepared better with fresher legs. The long hours in planes did not help us.

"It was crazy ... we had to go around the world to qualify for the World Cup.

"The loss to Israel was devastating. The players had given everything in the pursuit of their dream and a lot of them even lost their jobs for being away for a long time. It was a big ask. I worked for Randwick Council and I was lucky not to lose my job because we had a mortgage to pay."

Manchester-born Acklerley, who played his youth football at Manchester United and took part in two World Cup campaigns, gladly reminisced on his career spent mostly at APIA Leichhardt.

What are you doing now?

"I've been retired for 12 years and since then I've been doing some club coaching. I also run a small academy in the Penrith district and basically keep myself busy. I enjoy it basically because I do not have to put up any more with committee men who tell you what to do and how to do it. So I'm happy doing what I'm doing."

What were your strengths as a defender?

"I was technically a left back and I saw myself as a good athlete and a good tackler but the game has changed totally and many people today say I was more of a left-sided attacking halfback. I loved to attack because that is how I was brought up. I played on the wing at Manchester United, which was my first club as a pro."

You made your name with APIA, where you spent 10 years. What are your fondest memories from playing at the famous club?

"It was an extremely good club to play for and they looked after me really well. APIA were the top team them days and were winning most of the time. When I joined the club they were always in the limelight because some of the competition's best players like Johnny Giacometti, Ricardo Campana, Herbert Ninaus and Pat Hughes called Lambert Park their home.

"Whenever any representative or international matches came up and the squad needed picking, selectors would come to our games and they always selected a strong contingent from our club for the rep games."

Who were APIA's biggest rivals in the 1960s and early 1970s?

"Pan Hellenic, who would later become Sydney Olympic, were our biggest rivals and matches between the two sides would draw a guaranteed 20,000 crowd even in a non-finals scenario. It used to be the same when Hellenic were at home at Wentworth Park.

"Whenever we played at Lambert Park and the kick-off was, say, 3pm you needed to get to the ground at 1pm. At times our home games were moved to the bigger Sydney Sports Ground to satisfy the demand. This was very good for the game.

"Hakoah also had a great side but their support base was rather small. They used to get 5000 people for their home games against APIA and the spectators were mostly Italian."

You were close to playing in the 1966 World Cup in England but North Korea proved to be an insurmountable hurdle in the two-legged playoff in neutral Cambodia. Did Australia ever have a realistic chance?

"Had we gone to Asia for our preparation and played tough opponents instead of staying in Cairns and thrashing local sides we would have had a better chance. The federation probably could not afford to send us away for a whole month.

"Anyway, we knew absolutely nothing about the Koreans and when we got to the capital Phnom Penh we learned that the Koreans had been preparing together for a whole month. It was no surprise we got a 6-1 hiding, although we improved somewhat in the 'return' and lost only 3-1."

Did the boys go into that play-off with a degree of over-confidence? The Age reported at the time you guys arrived at the stadium in a confident mood and belting out 'It's a long way to Tipperary'.

"I don't think so, mainly because we knew nothing about the Koreans. The bottom line is they were far better prepared than we were."

In the finals, the Koreans would knock out Italy and scare the living daylights out of Portugal. Were you surprised by their performances in England?

"Not really. I actually got to the World Cup as a spectator, along with my wife Irene, whose family in England were in the media game. When I was in England I was asked by The Daily Express to write three columns about North Korea, who were 500/1 to even score a goal. Nobody knew anything about them. I wrote amongst other things that I would not be surprised if they made the semi-finals. Well, they were three up in the quarter-final against Portugal so I was not far off the mark. The newspaper articles were a consolation of sorts because I got paid much more than I would have been had we qualified. I was able to extend our holiday."

After 13 internationals abroad, you finally got to play for the green and gold in Australia in a three-match series against Japan in 1968. It must have been very special.

"Playing for your adopted country is always special, particularly if it's on home soil. I was made captain for the series against Japan which made it all the more memorable. You cannot do better than that. We drew the series after a 2-2 draw in Sydney, a 3-1 win in Melbourne and a 1-3 loss in Adelaide."

Many stories have been told about the friendship tournament in Saigon - now Ho Chi Minh City - in 1967. What is your recollection of the event that took place while the Vietnam War was raging?

"We were used by the federal government for political purposes, no question about it. We were young and ambitious then and if we knew what we were getting ourselves into we would not have agreed to go. We had no say in it. At the request of the government we were asked to play in the tournament in order to build the morale of the Australian soldiers in Vietnam.

"It was dangerous - no two ways about it - and I won't go into the perils we faced every day because they are well documented. The disappointing thing is that we were never officially thanked for risking our lives. Entertainers who went there to perform for the troops were all recognised and given medals but not us.

"We went on to win the competition by beating South Korea in the final. We became the first Australian team to win an international tournament abroad but we received scant recognition from the federation for one hell of an achievement. The tournament was special for me personally because I played in every game but for our victory not to be recognised officially was frustrating, to say the least."

What was Vlasits like as a person and a coach?

"As a person you could not ask for a better coach. 'Uncle Joe' was tremendous. I got on with him like a house on fire. He was the perfect man manager who had this ability to make the players want to do it for him.

"Our previous coach Tiko Jelisavcic was much stricter and not as approachable but he was a better tactician and had a superior football knowledge.

"Tiko said things to some of his players in public and that was something 'Uncle Joe' would never do. He would pull you aside and tell you what was on this mind."

How come you were not picked again after the tie with Israel?

"I never quit. New coach Rale Rasic came in but I was not selected again. I got word that the federation was treating an upcoming world tour as a means to blood some young players but I was never told by the federation why I was not selected. If you are going to get rid of somebody who had played for and captained his country, a simple phone call would be nice.

"I still consider that as the low point of my career."

You had a reputation for being outspoken. Could this have been the reason you were not picked more often?

"Yeah, definitely. But that's the way I was brought up as a pro in England. I always spoke my mind and if I saw something I did not like I spoke out for the players at team meetings."

Which was the highlight of your playing career?

"Captaining Australia, definitely."

What about today's football?

"I think young players with plenty of individual ability are over-coached in Australia. If you have a naturally gifted player let him play and show you what he's got. You go to matches and whenever a talented player gets the ball you expect something exciting but, no, half the time he turns back and passes it backwards. I go to England quite regularly and I like to watch the under-14s to the under-16s train and they are encouraged to take people on and enjoy themselves."

Who were the best players you played with and against?

"The two men I will mention were my teammates at rep level and opponents at club level at the same time.

"Roy Blitz, who played for Prague, was a very good footballer. He was a right-winger and of course, as a left back, I faced him many times.

"Then there was Hakoah's Willie Rutherford, another winger who was so fast he could catch pigeons.

"I played alongside both of them at representative level for NSW and Australia."

STAN ACKERLEY FACTFILE

Club career
1961-1962: Oldham Athletic
1962-1963: Altrincham
1963: Slavia
1964-1972: APIA
1973: Sydney Croatia
1974-1975: Toongabbie

International career
1965-1969: Australia (27 matches)


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10 min read
Published 2 April 2019 1:47pm
By Philip Micallef

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