1999 Joeys Head Coach Les Scheinflug looks back at 'greatest ...
In the end, the 1999 Joeys fell just short of the trophy - and in heartbreaking fashion - losing on penalties to Brazil.
Les Scheinflug was the coach of that history-making side, and we recently sat down with him to reflect on that quite remarkable achievement 25 years later.
Scheinflug the coach and the playerScheinflug was born in Germany, but his footballing career was wholly Australian.
"I would say I was an exceptional, intelligent midfield player," he told us.
"I could open the game up, I could defend. I was not the best tackler, but I could pinch the ball without going into a tackle and I was a utility player."
After representing Australia as a player, his coaching career spanned almost 40 years, including multiple stints with the national team.
It started to kick off in 1957, according to Scheinflug, when he was picked for the national team in the association.
"After the tournament, Australia started what we called the Federation, and I was one of the few players who ever got picked in the association.
"So I was full of pride and was happy to get chosen, and I was very dedicated."
During this time, Scheinflug played friendly games with the best team in Australia at the time, Sydney Prague, and played for New South Wales and, of course, Australia too.
"We played against Everton, Chelsea, Werder Bremen, Dynamo Moscow," he said.
"When Everton came out here, we lost both times, but their manager came to my place and spoke to my father.
"He wanted me to come back to Everton."
Despite the English Championship-winning Toffees knocking on Scheinflug's door, he decided to continue with his life in Australia.
The now 86-year-old tells us that his German background had a distinct influence on his coaching style.
“Respect and discipline is a big factor in preparing a good team. I was the bad coach, and my assistant used to go see the players and try to give them confidence again,” Scheinflug continued.
“I didn't like people not on the same level as myself, by wanting to be successful with the national team. That national team shirt meant everything, always to me, because I used to be captain of Australia.
“There were a few cheeky ones [players in the U17 team], but they're lucky. If they got caught, they would have been in trouble.”
Back to the Joeys' remarkable run at the 1999 FIFA World Cup, Scheinflug said he was pleased with the squad's preparation after their three South American warm-up games leading up to the tournament.
The Joeys were thrust into a tricky group that included tournament favourites Brazil and Germany as well as Mali.
Scheinflug said it was the most challenging group he had ever been in as a player or a coach.
Brazil were first up, and Scheinflug said his team were not intimidated by the prospect of facing one of the world’s best youth teams.
“We were the first team ever from any national team or youth team in Australia to attack Brazil,” he explained.
“We tried to close them in their own half. And then afterwards, we were excellent in our half.
“We played defensive football for a while, and then we went again to close them down because Brazilians don't like to be closed down too early.”
Brazil narrowly defeated the Joeys 2-1, leaving the side needing to produce results against Germany and Mali in their final two group matches, starting with a must-win against Germany.
Australia went behind against the Germans within 10 minutes, but two quickfire goals in the second half saw them claim victory.
“We were prepared to experience a very tough game against them [Germany],” Scheinflug said.
“Their coach always said they're going to win the World Cup. They felt they had a good youth squad.
“We were prepared. We were organised against them. We didn't give them an inch.
“They were so disappointed that a team from Australia could beat a team like Germany.”
The importance of penaltiesOverall, preparation was at the forefront of the coach’s philosophy.
The Joeys had to endure back-to-back penalty shootouts to finish their tournament, and for Scheinflug, it was key that they had prepared for such an occurrence.
“I was a great believer in giving players confidence when the pressure comes,” he said.
“It's a different thing when you're in a game situation and you have to win and you take a penalty. Or you take a penalty in training, but you still must go through the routine, and the more confidence a player has, the more successful you will be.”
This preparation paid off in the semi-finals as Australia beat the USA on spot-kicks, earning them a place in the final where they would face Brazil.
Scheinflug said that the team followed a similar approach to their opening-round match against Brazil, where they endeavoured to put their opponents under pressure.
“At no stage did I ever say to the players in training or the dressing room before or after the game that we should worry about them,” he said.
“We should play our own game, our own style and we knew we had to attack them quite a bit, because if you let them play, they can use the ball that well that they make you fall asleep.
“We closed them down. We had them in their own half many times, and then we dropped back as a unit. They didn't have one, not really one, clear chance.”
The whistle blew at the end of extra-time, and the scores were still locked at 0-0, meaning penalties were required to decide a winner.
After converting the side’s first spot-kick against the USA, captain Mark Byrne took responsibility once again, however, this time, he failed to find the net.
“Mark Byrne, for me, was an outstanding captain of all the captains I had, and if anybody should miss a penalty, it would not be him,” Scheinflug said.
“That [against Brazil] was one of those days. I still feel sorry for him because he was such a model of consistency and determination.”
The Aussies went on to lose the shootout but Scheinflug said that he still feels that his team more than exceeded expectations.
“We didn't have much money to spend and the team to go all that way with only a national coach, two assistants, a physio, a doctor and the gear manager; the six that carried 25,” he said.
“Nobody [before or since] went into the final, and they did it, and I would say, [it is] still the greatest achievement of football.
“I can't complain. I wouldn't change it any other way.”
