May 4, 2023 • 10 mins
It's no secret that Australian soccer has had it tough over the years. You only need to look at the 32-year World Cup drought, where Australia failed to qualify again and again…and again. But some people believe there's a simple explanation for those long and painful years. In 1969, a desperate Socceroos team came up with a devious plot to overcome their opposition. But the plan unexpectedly backfired, haunting Australian soccer for decades.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
It's November nineteen sixty nine, Australia in the middle of
World Cup qualifying. They've traveled to Mozambique for a best
of two series against Rhodesia. The soccers are easy favorites,
but things start to go wrong right from the get go.
With their World Cup dreams under threat, the soccers look
for an edge, anything that can help them secure or win.
(00:29):
What they do next will haunt Australian soccer for decades. Hey,
I'm Tony Armstrong and welcome to the pull Room. This
is where we celebrate the winners, losers and the weird
stuff between. Australia has long been a successful sporting nation,
(01:04):
but the growth of soccer has been slow and painful.
In nineteen sixty nine, it was only Australia's second attempt
to qualify for a fee for World Cup. Even then,
though the young squad was full of confidence. Qualifying began
with a trip to Seoul in October. Now this was
for matches against South Korea and Japan. They were going
(01:26):
to play both teams twice. The soccers didn't lose a match,
moving on to the second round comfortably. Next up that
trip to Mozambique, where Australia would face Rhodesia now known
as Zimbabwe for a two game series. The first match
(01:49):
is tight, both teams have scoredless a half time, then
shortly after the break, Rdesia take the lead. The Aussies
are stunned. Roodesa's goal was the wake up called the
soccer Who's need. Five minutes later scores a level, but
as the second half continues, neither side can find the
back of the onion bag. To Australia shock and dismay.
(02:12):
The games in a draw one all. Australia have another
chance to set things right in the second match that's
coming four days later. When match day arrives again, Australia
are determined to win. They know they're the better team,
but this time neither side manages to score a goal.
(02:34):
Another draw, so they need to play for a third
time to determine a winner. The soccer Who's are fuming.
They think they should already be on the plane home.
Truth is, though they haven't really been good enough. The
locals were also surprised, including a journalist who'd been covering
the matches. He decides to give the Aussie players a tip.
(02:57):
The reporter suggests the soccer who is hire a shaman
to curse the Rhodesian team. The journalist tells the players
that this happens all the time in Mozambique. Of course,
it's unfamiliar to the Aussis and they're a little unsure,
but desperate for any advantage, the players decide to give
it a go. They agree to see the shaman, known
(03:19):
as an Younger, that night. Then Younger goes to the
stadium where the game is going to be played and
bury some bones near the goals. The ritual supposedly places
a curse on the Rhodesian team and sets the Aussies
up for success. A couple of days later and it's
game day again. This time it's the Aussies who strike
(03:41):
first early in the first half, one nil. The Soccaroos
are composed and they're feeling assured. Just a few minutes
later to nil Australia thanks to an own goal. The
Aussies couldn't believe their luck. Halftime rolls around and the
Socceros are only forty five minutes away from victory. Out
of the second half, though, Rodesa come out firing just
(04:05):
a few minutes past before they managed to pull back
a goal two to one. Soccer's are getting twitchy. Was
the curse really helping or are they on their own?
Australia may still have the lead, but they need to
find a way to keep the opposition at bay. Maybe
it was the supernatural or maybe it was something else,
(04:29):
but whatever forces are at work, it appears they're still
in favor of the soccer us because it's not long
till they're on the score sheet again. Three to one
Australia and that's the way it ends. Australia defeat Rhodesa
and they're through to the final round of World Cup qualifying.
The players are so keen to fly home and leave
(04:51):
the troubles of Mozambique behind them, but as they prepared
to depart, then Younger tracks the Aussie team down. He
demands to be paid for his services. The soccer wos
say they don't have the cash to pay them Younger,
so they refuse. Now if legends to be believed this
was a costly mistake, that's when the younger strikes back.
(05:13):
He says he's going to curse the Australians. At the time,
the players don't think much of it and they leave
the country. But from that moment on, things start to
go wrong for the Australian team. In the final round
of qualifying, Australia face Israel in a two leg playoff.
Israel wins the first match one nil. Now the socceros
(05:36):
have an uphill battle for the second match, which proves
just as challenging. The majority of the match remains scoreless,
but then Israel take the lead with just ten minutes remaining.
Then right at the end, the Soccero's managed to equalize,
but it's too little, too late. The game ends in
(05:58):
a draw and it's two one on aggregate for the series.
In other words, it's Israel that are going to the
nineteen to seventy World Cup and it's the soccer us
who are staying at home. The loss is a tough
one to take for the Aussies. Soccer Who's captain Johnny
Warren believes that his team is cursed. His theory is
(06:19):
put to the test four years later, when qualifying began
for the next World Cup, Australia had another challenging campaign
ahead of them, but this time the team was much
more experienced. The soccer U's topped their qualifying group without
losing a match and on. They went to the third round.
In a qualification final, they faced South Korea. After two
(06:40):
matches that ended in draws, the Aussies defeated them one
nil in the third game. Finally, Australia we threw to
their first ever World Cup. That defied the odds and
put an end to the curse. Right well, no, at
least that's what captain Johnny Warren's. Despite their qualification, Johnny
(07:03):
believed that the curse was still at play. He said
misfortune continued to plague the team whenever something went drastically
wrong for Australia, like you know, injuries to keep players
or copp and harsh penalties. Johnny said it was the
work of the younger persistently haunting them. Then, for the
next thirty two years Australia didn't qualify for a World Cup. Now, look,
(07:31):
the best example of the curse supposedly at work was
this soccer who's shocking upset against Iran in nineteen ninety seven.
Following a one all draw in the first game, Australia
were favorites to win the playoff. In game two, everything
looked to be going the Australian's way. In front of
us sold our home crowd at the MCG. At halftime,
(07:53):
the soccerers were up one nil. Then after the break
they scored another goal two nil. Now, surely the Assies
to go on through to the World Cup. But then,
sure as day follows night, disaster struck. A spectator ran
onto the field and tore the Iranian goalnet. The game
(08:16):
stopped for ages while the damage was fixed. It was
a major turning point in the match. Iran were able
to regain their focus and forged a late comeback. They
scored twice and the match ended in a draw, which
meant Iran qualified for the nineteen ninety eight World Cup. Now,
whether this curse was real or just symbolic, it seemed
(08:39):
to follow the soccer us until an unlikely character decided
to do something about it, and to documentary maker John Saffran.
In an episode of his two thousand and four TV
show John Saffran Versus God, John went to Mozambique. There
he met up with a pair of youngers on the
(09:00):
very same pitch that the soccer who has played on
in nineteen sixty nine. Then young has performed a ritual
to remove the curse. Did it work well? Not immediately
Shortly after the episode was filmed, Australia lost the match
to Turkey, but the following year things did start to change.
(09:21):
The soccer Who's got through to a final playoff with Uruguay.
This was for qualification for the two thousand and six
World Cup. After losing the first leg one nil, Diossi's
had everything to play for on the return leg inst Sydney,
and this time luck or perhaps the spirits were on
Australia's side. The soccer who has managed to overcome Uruguay
(09:42):
in a thrilling penalty shootout and they've qualified for every
World Cup since. After thirty two years of heartache, the
curse had finally been broken. Thanks for hanging out with
(10:27):
me in the poolroom. I hope you enjoyed this one.
I'm Tony Armstrong and this has been an iHeart production.
Catch you in the next one.
It's November nineteen sixty nine, Australia in the middle of
World Cup qualifying. They've traveled to Mozambique for a best
of two series against Rhodesia. The soccers are easy favorites,
but things start to go wrong right from the get go.
With their World Cup dreams under threat, the soccers look
for an edge, anything that can help them secure or win.
(00:29):
What they do next will haunt Australian soccer for decades. Hey,
I'm Tony Armstrong and welcome to the pull Room. This
is where we celebrate the winners, losers and the weird
stuff between. Australia has long been a successful sporting nation,
(01:04):
but the growth of soccer has been slow and painful.
In nineteen sixty nine, it was only Australia's second attempt
to qualify for a fee for World Cup. Even then,
though the young squad was full of confidence. Qualifying began
with a trip to Seoul in October. Now this was
for matches against South Korea and Japan. They were going
(01:26):
to play both teams twice. The soccers didn't lose a match,
moving on to the second round comfortably. Next up that
trip to Mozambique, where Australia would face Rhodesia now known
as Zimbabwe for a two game series. The first match
(01:49):
is tight, both teams have scoredless a half time, then
shortly after the break, Rdesia take the lead. The Aussies
are stunned. Roodesa's goal was the wake up called the
soccer Who's need. Five minutes later scores a level, but
as the second half continues, neither side can find the
back of the onion bag. To Australia shock and dismay.
(02:12):
The games in a draw one all. Australia have another
chance to set things right in the second match that's
coming four days later. When match day arrives again, Australia
are determined to win. They know they're the better team,
but this time neither side manages to score a goal.
(02:34):
Another draw, so they need to play for a third
time to determine a winner. The soccer Who's are fuming.
They think they should already be on the plane home.
Truth is, though they haven't really been good enough. The
locals were also surprised, including a journalist who'd been covering
the matches. He decides to give the Aussie players a tip.
(02:57):
The reporter suggests the soccer who is hire a shaman
to curse the Rhodesian team. The journalist tells the players
that this happens all the time in Mozambique. Of course,
it's unfamiliar to the Aussis and they're a little unsure,
but desperate for any advantage, the players decide to give
it a go. They agree to see the shaman, known
(03:19):
as an Younger, that night. Then Younger goes to the
stadium where the game is going to be played and
bury some bones near the goals. The ritual supposedly places
a curse on the Rhodesian team and sets the Aussies
up for success. A couple of days later and it's
game day again. This time it's the Aussies who strike
(03:41):
first early in the first half, one nil. The Soccaroos
are composed and they're feeling assured. Just a few minutes
later to nil Australia thanks to an own goal. The
Aussies couldn't believe their luck. Halftime rolls around and the
Socceros are only forty five minutes away from victory. Out
of the second half, though, Rodesa come out firing just
(04:05):
a few minutes past before they managed to pull back
a goal two to one. Soccer's are getting twitchy. Was
the curse really helping or are they on their own?
Australia may still have the lead, but they need to
find a way to keep the opposition at bay. Maybe
it was the supernatural or maybe it was something else,
(04:29):
but whatever forces are at work, it appears they're still
in favor of the soccer us because it's not long
till they're on the score sheet again. Three to one
Australia and that's the way it ends. Australia defeat Rhodesa
and they're through to the final round of World Cup qualifying.
The players are so keen to fly home and leave
(04:51):
the troubles of Mozambique behind them, but as they prepared
to depart, then Younger tracks the Aussie team down. He
demands to be paid for his services. The soccer wos
say they don't have the cash to pay them Younger,
so they refuse. Now if legends to be believed this
was a costly mistake, that's when the younger strikes back.
(05:13):
He says he's going to curse the Australians. At the time,
the players don't think much of it and they leave
the country. But from that moment on, things start to
go wrong for the Australian team. In the final round
of qualifying, Australia face Israel in a two leg playoff.
Israel wins the first match one nil. Now the socceros
(05:36):
have an uphill battle for the second match, which proves
just as challenging. The majority of the match remains scoreless,
but then Israel take the lead with just ten minutes remaining.
Then right at the end, the Soccero's managed to equalize,
but it's too little, too late. The game ends in
(05:58):
a draw and it's two one on aggregate for the series.
In other words, it's Israel that are going to the
nineteen to seventy World Cup and it's the soccer us
who are staying at home. The loss is a tough
one to take for the Aussies. Soccer Who's captain Johnny
Warren believes that his team is cursed. His theory is
(06:19):
put to the test four years later, when qualifying began
for the next World Cup, Australia had another challenging campaign
ahead of them, but this time the team was much
more experienced. The soccer U's topped their qualifying group without
losing a match and on. They went to the third round.
In a qualification final, they faced South Korea. After two
(06:40):
matches that ended in draws, the Aussies defeated them one
nil in the third game. Finally, Australia we threw to
their first ever World Cup. That defied the odds and
put an end to the curse. Right well, no, at
least that's what captain Johnny Warren's. Despite their qualification, Johnny
(07:03):
believed that the curse was still at play. He said
misfortune continued to plague the team whenever something went drastically
wrong for Australia, like you know, injuries to keep players
or copp and harsh penalties. Johnny said it was the
work of the younger persistently haunting them. Then, for the
next thirty two years Australia didn't qualify for a World Cup. Now, look,
(07:31):
the best example of the curse supposedly at work was
this soccer who's shocking upset against Iran in nineteen ninety seven.
Following a one all draw in the first game, Australia
were favorites to win the playoff. In game two, everything
looked to be going the Australian's way. In front of
us sold our home crowd at the MCG. At halftime,
(07:53):
the soccerers were up one nil. Then after the break
they scored another goal two nil. Now, surely the Assies
to go on through to the World Cup. But then,
sure as day follows night, disaster struck. A spectator ran
onto the field and tore the Iranian goalnet. The game
(08:16):
stopped for ages while the damage was fixed. It was
a major turning point in the match. Iran were able
to regain their focus and forged a late comeback. They
scored twice and the match ended in a draw, which
meant Iran qualified for the nineteen ninety eight World Cup. Now,
whether this curse was real or just symbolic, it seemed
(08:39):
to follow the soccer us until an unlikely character decided
to do something about it, and to documentary maker John Saffran.
In an episode of his two thousand and four TV
show John Saffran Versus God, John went to Mozambique. There
he met up with a pair of youngers on the
(09:00):
very same pitch that the soccer who has played on
in nineteen sixty nine. Then young has performed a ritual
to remove the curse. Did it work well? Not immediately
Shortly after the episode was filmed, Australia lost the match
to Turkey, but the following year things did start to change.
(09:21):
The soccer Who's got through to a final playoff with Uruguay.
This was for qualification for the two thousand and six
World Cup. After losing the first leg one nil, Diossi's
had everything to play for on the return leg inst Sydney,
and this time luck or perhaps the spirits were on
Australia's side. The soccer who has managed to overcome Uruguay
(09:42):
in a thrilling penalty shootout and they've qualified for every
World Cup since. After thirty two years of heartache, the
curse had finally been broken. Thanks for hanging out with
(10:27):
me in the poolroom. I hope you enjoyed this one.
I'm Tony Armstrong and this has been an iHeart production.
Catch you in the next one.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.