Socceroos Greats - Where are they now: Craig Moore

The World Game pays its monthly tribute to the Socceroos stars of yesteryear who left their mark on football down under. Uncompromising World Cup defender Craig Moore tells of the battles he won on and off the field and offers some valid tips to rising star Daniel Arzani.

Group F Brazil v Australia - World Cup 2006

Craig Moore, right, challenges Brazil's Ronaldo at the 2006 World Cup Source: Getty Images

Australia's World Cup defender Craig Moore has lifted the lid on his acrimonious departure from Brisbane Roar as he sought to earn a place in Australia's 2010 FIFA World Cup squad.

Moore quit the A-League club soon after Ange Postecoglou was brought in to replace Frank Farina in 2009.

Postecoglou overhauled most of Brisbane's A-League squad on his way to winning two championships in 2011 and 2012.

Moore had retired in 2010 after playing for half a season with Kavala in Greece and for the Socceroos in South Africa.

Moore said the 'rift' with Postecoglou may have been the result of a clash of strong wills but it was never on a personal level.

"I was coming towards the end of my career and with the World Cup coming up I knew I needed regular game time because the A-League season did not quite prepare you for South Africa," Moore, 42, said.

"I was a bit naive and knew very little about Ange and I knew I was going to leave. We did not have any personal issues and perhaps I should have done things a bit better in terms of how I conducted myself.

"I was not in a great space at the time as far as me playing in the A-League and was a bit frustrated if I'm being honest. There was big talk of a clear-out and my focus shifted purely on the World Cup.

"But I finally got to know Ange and realised how professional a coach he is. I must admit I had judged him without really knowing him. That was wrong and it positively changed me as a person."

Moore, who forged a long and successful career with Rangers in Scotland, was a member of the 'golden generation' of Socceroos that reached the last 16 of the 2006 World Cup.

He wore the Socceroos jersey 52 times and is still regarded as one of Australia's finest and most combative defenders.

He reflected on his club and country career that reached incredible highs and a very unexpected low.

What are you doing now?

"I'm still living on the northern end of the Gold Coast which is where I moved to when I came back home. At the moment I am exploring the path towards becoming a football agent."

You were a product of the AIS. What was the most important thing you learned in Canberra?

"I learned the game. I guess I was very fortunate because any young player who showed potential in his respective state was given an opportunity to go and train and work with the best on a day-to-day basis. The coaching element had to be there as well and Ron Smith and Steve O'Connor taught the game at every single level and from every aspect. Les Scheinflug also did a great job and the flow from the AIS onto the national team worked really well".

How did the move to Rangers come about?

"It came on the back of the 1993 World Youth Cup in Australia. After the tournament I was approached by a couple of agents for trials with Arsenal and Rangers. I got offers from both clubs and I eventually chose Rangers, purely on instinct and gut feeling, even though I knew very little about Scottish football. I guess I made the right decision because I kind of did well there."

You played in many derbies during your 12-year stint at Ibrox but your first as a raw 19-year-old from Sydney's outer west must have been rather daunting.

"Until you actually play in an Old Firm derby you cannot appreciate what it really means to the fans of both sides. My first derby is a story in itself. It was a league match played at Hampden because Parkhead was being redeveloped. I scored an own goal and we got beat 3-0 by our biggest rivals. I had a good game but nobody remembers that. I tell you, that was a character-building experience for me. It taught me that you've got to fight for everything in football because nobody will do you any favours."

Was the Rangers side that won the treble in 2003 the best you were involved with?

"For me the finest Rangers team I played with was the one managed by Dick Advocaat in 1999-2000. We had won the league the season before and played in the UEFA Champions League against Bayern Munich, Valencia and PSV after beating Parma in the final qualifying round. That was an unbelievable team and I'm proud to say I was a regular in defence."

What was your lasting memory of the European Cup/Champions League?

"It was the quality you were up against. We obviously were quite dominant domestically but found it hard going against top notch teams who were tactically very, very strong. In my first years at the club we struggled a bit in Europe but the club and the players gradually grew into the competition and results started to improve."

You missed the two Socceroos games against Uruguay in 2005 due to a hamstring injury. Was that the biggest disappointment of your career?

"No, not really, because I was fortunate enough to actually play in the World Cup in Germany and in South Africa four years tater. For example, Tony Vidmar - who is a great friend of mine - was involved in those two games but missed out on the tournament due to a health issue. I remember watching the two play-off games on television from Newcastle in England. Like everybody in Australia I was a fan that night and I felt very much a part of that win.

"Interestingly, by not playing the two games against Uruguay I was able to recover and play the last eight or nine games for Newcastle, without which I would not have been selected to play in Germany because Guus Hiddink would pick only those who played regularly."

You became a key member of Australia's 'golden generation'. Are you satisfied with the team's achievement of reaching the last 16 of the World Cup or do you see the Italy game as a missed opportunity to go even further?

"Good question. We really felt we were going into the unknown in Germany and it was important that we had such an experienced and well-travelled coach as Hiddink. Nobody knew what was possible. It obviously ended in disappointment with the controversial, last-gasp defeat against Italy but at the same time we never did enough to win that game. I did not see that game as a lost opportunity but part of our learning curve. That match taught us what was needed to succeed at that level."

What made that 2006 team tick?

"Our togetherness. We were one and like almost any Australian side in the past, our strongest asset was the 'team'. We did not have superstars playing for Barcelona, Real Madrid or Manchester United but a group of very good players who loved to meet up in camps and try and achieve something together. That was our strongest asset."

Many fans believe the Socceroos should have had a real go at 10-man Italy while others suspect Hiddink was just waiting for extra-time. Your thoughts?

"We had a numerical advantage for a big part of the second half and we had an opportunity. We had lots of possession but in truth Italy looked really comfortable with anything we threw at them. They encouraged us to go wide and pump balls into the box but we generally got nowhere.

"We needed another presence up front so as to ask them more questions and we had ammunition on the bench - John Aloisi, for example - but there was a feeling among us that Hiddink wanted the game to go to extra time because we would have been fresher and could have run over the top of them. It was not to be."

Hiddink the gambler was seen as a hero but his no-risk successor Pim Verbeek became a villain. Was he treated fairly by the media and fans?

"I believe he was treated unfairly. I think if you look at the results and what he achieved in that period of time he did his job. For me he did everything that was asked of him but he fell victim to the 'argie bargie' and politics off the field and all of a sudden Pim Verbeek was not good enough any more."

Did the 4-0 defeat to Germany in 2010 influence people's opinion of him?

"Yes, probably. Again, for me that's a very short time in terms of thought process. It was just one game and, remember, we played most of the second half with 10 men but four days later we put in a top performance against Ghana (1-1) that everybody was raving about and was proud of. It was the same manager.

"At the end of the day the manager is not out on the field and if mistakes are made that's not the manager's fault. Players have to take responsibility."

Playing in two World Cups must have been the highlight of your career.

"As a young fella you always dream of representing your country and after that you wish to test yourself against the best in the world. And there is no better stage to do that than in a World Cup."

In between the 2006 and 2008 World Cups you had testicular cancer and beat it. How big a shock to the system was that?

"Mate, it was a massive shock. It came from nowhere and I had no idea what I would have to go through and to what extent. I was lucky we caught it early and I had successful surgery. I missed a Socceroos game but was back on the field for Brisbane a week later.

"What the episode did teach me, though, was that you should not worry about what people think and just give it all you've got."

How do you see the current Socceroos team?

"The current Socceroos are likely to undergo changes so we do not really know what they are going to look like at the AFC Asian Cup. The next few games will tell us a lot more about how Graham Arnold wants the team to play."

How good is Daniel Arzani and what advice would you give him as he seeks 'greener' pastures at Celtic?

"He's very talented and a player the like of which we have not seen for some time. He's got everybody's attention in Australia but in Scotland they will not be as excited about him as we are.
"He will have to start from scratch and work his backside off in order to get to the next level. Scottish football is faster and more intense and the players' decision-making needs to be quicker while retaining their quality. If he can tick off all those boxes he'll play and do really well at Celtic.

"But he's got to understand that, with all respect and despite what some people think, the standard of the A-League is not at the level of Europe. You may get a great game occasionally in Australia but if you take the duration of a season it's different.

"And this will be Arzani's biggest test: whatever you can get away with in the A-League you will not get away with in such a cut-throat environment where competition for places is fierce. European football is friendless and ruthless and he will have to do it all on his own."

You seem to have taken a liking to punditry. Does coaching not interest you?

"No. I thought that would be my path after retiring. I did my C and B badges as soon as I quit in 2010 but that was enough to show me that coaching was not for me. I was not excited by the courses. It was like being back at school. So I want to work hard to become an agent that does well."

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

"I had the honour and privilege to play alongside such world stars as Paul Gascoigne and Brian Laudrup at Rangers and Alan Shearer at Newcastle and that is something I will cherish for ever.

"I played against many top players and you've got to respect them all equally but Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Ronaldo, Henrik Larsson and Shearer are among those that stand out."

CRAIG MOORE FACTFILE

Club career
1994-1998: Rangers
1998-1999: Crystal Palace
1999-2005: Rangers
2005: Borussia Monchengladbach
2005-2007: Newcastle United
2007-2009: Brisbane Roar
2010: Kavala

International career
1995-2010: Australia (52 games)

Honours
Scottish League: 1994-1995, 1995-1006, 1996-1997, 1999-2000, 2002-2003
Scottish Cup: 1995-1996, 1999-2000, 2001-2002, 2002-2003
Scottish League Cup: 1996-1997, 2001-2002, 2002-2003


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10 min read
Published 25 September 2018 11:11am
By Philip Micallef

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