Best of 2007: Football Comes Into Its Own in Australia

Being an English football fan living in Australia can be a frustrating experience. 

The subtle nuances of a sterile 0-0 match are often lost on a sporting public thirsty for big points, big hits and big home-grown stars. 

But the 2006 World Cup began a shift in the public psyche, and in 2007 football became front page news. 

The arrival of David Beckham's LA Galaxy side was the catalyst.  Blanket media coverage was present in the week leading up to the game.  An 80,000 sell out in Sydney, live network television coverage and an 8-goal thriller was the result.  Football had truly arrived.

But the biggest indicator that something really is happening here in the land of cricket, rugby and Aussie Rules occurred long after Becks had left the country. 

Just a few days before Christmas, Central Coast and Sydney, two domestic teams in the local A-League, played out one of the most amazing game's you'll see anywhere in the world. 

Sydney triumphed 5-4 in a match that contained two red cards, stunning strikes, a record crowd and more drama than an episode of "Without a Trace."  I know this for a fact, as Anthony La Paglia, a Sydney shareholder, raced onto the pitch to hug his players with glee at the final whistle, with a look of sheer wonderment in his eyes.

On a weekend bereft of any other other sporting contests, people were enthralled.  The re-runs on Pay-TV were pored over as word of mouth made the game’s original audience double, then treble.  All across bars in the run up to Christmas, the talk was, "Did you see the A-League last night?" 

Football culture has finally become popular culture.  And that’s the best Christmas present football fans like me could ever have wished for.