They came in their thousands to watch England hero Kevin Keegan but Macedonian master Zarko Odzakov stole the show with a superlative performance to celebrate his first selection in the Socceroos team.
The occasion was a National Soccer League match between Blacktown City and Sydney Croatia in May 1985.
The guest appearance for Blacktown of the English hero drew a big crowd of 14,220 at Marconi Stadium and hundreds were denied entry due to safety concerns.
Keegan, 34, had retired from competitive football a year before but was obviously still a crowd puller while Odzakov, who was then 29, was in his prime.
The Croatia playmaker had left his boyhood club Vardar Skopje for Preston Makedonia in 1983 and two years later he moved to Sydney Croatia where he would establish himself as one of the NSL's finest and most creative players.
Odazkov was in sparkling form for league leaders Croatia when they took on Blacktown and their star attraction Keegan who had helped Liverpool win their first European Champions' Cup in 1977.
The Sydney Morning Herald's Ray Gatt reported that "Odzakov dominated the midfield and continually set up his team's attacks with some masterly ball distribution".
Odzakov, who is now 63, remembers the occasion with pride.
"It was a big match, as you can imagine," Odzakov recalled.
"We had a strong team but, come on, we were facing Keegan who was one of the biggest names in the game, maybe not so much in the world but in Europe for sure.
"I'm happy to say that I played one of the best games of my career that day and I capped the occasion by scoring from an indirect free kick to earn Croatia a 1-1 draw.
"Zeljko Jurin passed the ball to me and I hit the net from about 25 or 30 metres. It was a proud moment.
"Some friends told me later that Keegan had said on television that apparently he was thrilled by my performance and my goal and he remarked 'what is he doing here in Australia? He should be playing somewhere else'.
"I have some great memories of playing for Croatia and that game is up there with the best."
Odzakov, who was named in Football Federation Australia's team of the eighties, was happy to reminisce on a career in the old Yugoslavia and Australia.
What are you doing now?
"Football wise I'm doing nothing. I went 'home' to Macedonia when I finished playing in 1990 and became a qualified coach at national representative level. Striker Goran Pandev, who would go on to win the UEFA Champions League with Inter, was one of the kids I helped develop. However in 2003 I stopped coaching because of the politics in the game. It was my decision but it probably was a big mistake.
"I have been living on my own in Sydney for the last nine months. In four years I will get my government pension and we'll see then what my family wants to do ... we are all Australian citizens so we either stay in Macedonia or come back to this beautiful country."
Tell us about your first steps as a footballer in Macedonia.
"I used to play every day on the streets of my home town near Skopje. I remember having problems with my parents because I never came straight back home after school but played soccer till late. At the age of 14 I signed for Vardar and at 17 I made the first team. Football in Yugoslavia was very strong in those days and in eight years at Vardar I had the privilege of playing many times against Hajduk Split at their Poljud stadium and Red Star Belgrade at their hostile ground the 'Maracana'."
You toured Australia twice in the late 1970s with Vardar. You must have liked it here because you signed for Preston in 1982.
"I instantly fell in love with Australia. We were on tour here with no pressure to win points and all we wanted was to play football and have a good time. Vardar were not a top team in Yugoslavia and Preston made me an offer I could not refuse so I decided to sign for two years. The fact that one of my best friends - Vardar teammate George Todorovski - had joined Preston a year before made it easier for me to say 'yes'."
It did not take you long to make a name for yourself in Australia's robust league, considering you came from a football school that favoured technique over physique.
"Somebody will probably have a laugh about this but I actually was a runner too ... not just someone who thinks and makes goals for other people. I was always more than 100 per cent prepared which was not surprising because I came here from a fully professional league where we trained five days a week and did nothing else. So I adapted very quickly to the physical demands of Australian soccer."
Your stint with Preston was quite successful but your career went up a notch when you joined Croatia in 1985. Would that be right?
"Yes, I had two good seasons with Preston. I never wanted to leave the club that was formed by and for my own people but I had some problems with the committee and, would you believe it, I ended up playing for the youth team. When Croatia asked me to join them I jumped on the opportunity but not before Preston made it difficult for me by asking for a high transfer of $23,000 after they got me for free. But it all worked out because Croatia were happy to pay.
"I was keen to join Croatia essentially because I knew the coach Vedran Rozic and some of the players. It was a great decision as I played my best football in Australia in the three seasons I spent at Edensor Park. It was just brilliant. It felt like I was flying."
In 1987 Croatia won the NSL Cup by beating South Melbourne over two legs. What was it like those days at Edensor and the King Tom Club after a big win?
"I have to say we were winning nearly every game. We had very strong support from the Croatian community and many Macedonians followed us because of me. We had nearly 10,000 people for every game. And to go at the club house after a game was something special. We could mingle freely with the supporters which was great. We never paid for a drink."
You were in Frank Arok's Socceroos team that was bidding for a place in the 1986 FIFA World Cup. Which were your fondest memories of playing for your adopted country?
"I was proud to play for Australia in 13 full internationals and other 'B' matches. In 1985 Arok brought in many new players for a home round-robin tournament against Vasco da Gama, Udinese and Tottenham Hotspur. We got to the final and we beat Vasco 2-1 with two goals from John Kosmina. I had a particularly good tournament and got excellent ratings in the media. I also did well in a four-match series with Red Star.
"The World Cup qualifying campaign started soon after. I was a regular in the team but for some reason I was omitted from the match that mattered most - the first leg of the final playoff with Scotland in Glasgow, where we lost 2-0. I could not understand why I did not play and I have been asking myself that question for 34 years. I suspect Arok was under pressure to pick certain players and in any case I believe he misread the match because the Socceroos played too cautiously.
"In the return in Melbourne we dominated and had our chances to score but we could only draw 0-0. I came on in the last 20 minutes but by then it was almost too late. Scotland were happy to let us have the ball because, in truth, they really only needed a draw and that is what they played for."
Which was your best game for Australia?
"There is no match that sticks out. All I will say is that I gave everything in every game and I hope I did not disappoint anyone. There was a lot of expectation on me and one day Arok came up to me after a game and asked 'what were you doing?'. I said 'what's wrong, Frank?' to which he replied 'you played two bad passes'. I said to him 'come on, man, I am allowed two bad passes in 90 minutes'."
"To be honest I had a ball in the green and gold jersey and I was grateful to many people especially Frank who helped me get my Australian citizenship. He also gave me a free role on the pitch."
What do you think of today's football from a club and national team perspective?
"I follow the A-League and the national team on television even when I'm in Skopje. I tell you, I wish I was playing now. It's a professional league and the money is much better but the quality of football is not much higher than when we played.
"There is an important reason for this, I think. In my days as a kid we played at every opportunity because we had a craving for the game. Today's kids seem to be more interested in computer games than real games. There is no hunger for football.
"Today young players come to training with their $60,000 cars and generally you can tell that they are not that desperate to succeed because they have everything. Their attitude seems to be 'if football does not work out I'll try something else'. They give up too easily. This is probably one of the reasons Australia is not producing as many good players as before.
"We have many academies all over the country but the question must be asked: 'what are the kids being taught?'. Something's missing."
Finally, who were the best players you have played with and against?
"My career can be divided in two: Yugoslavia and Australia. With Vardar I played against many great players who formed the backbone of the Yugoslav side that took part in the 1974 World Cup like Dragan Dzajic, Ivan Buljan, Branko Oblak, Ivica Surjak and Josip Katalinski.
"In Australia I enjoyed playing alongside 'big heart' George McMillan at Preston, guys like Tony Franken, Graham Jennings, Graham Arnold and Jurin at Croatia and Charlie Yankos and Lawrie McKinna at Blacktown.
"Alan Davidson, Oscar Crino and Kosmina were some of the opponents I admired very much."
ZARKO ODZAKOV FACTFILE
Club career
1974-1982: Vardar Skopje
1983-1984: Preston Makedonia
1985-1988: Sydney Croatia
1988-1990: Blacktown City
International career
1985-1987: Australia (13 matches)
Honours
NSL Cup: Sydney Croatia 1987
