NATHAN Burns made himself part of Australian soccer history on Saturday night as he and his Socceroos side claimed the Asian Cup with a 2-1 extra time win over South Korea at Stadium Australia.
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The former Blayney junior’s stunning A-League season carried over into the national colours as he made himself a dangerous presence on the field over his three Asian Cup appearances.
He and the team claimed the cup for the first time since joining the Asian Football Confederation in 2006.
Burns may not have taken to the field for the final, but he enjoyed several appearances for the Socceroos over the course of the competition, mainly used as an impact winger off the bench.
Coach Ange Postecoglou said Australian soccer had finally overcome its inferiority complex thanks to the title.
And the triumphant coach warned the world his Socceroos would not take a backward step after their breakthrough Asian Cup victory.
“I really believe this was important from the moment I took the job – that we shed ourselves of this inferiority complex,” he said.
“The [complex that] Australian footballers can only do certain things and can only play a certain way.
“I have never believed that.
“And even Australian coaches – I put myself into that bracket that because I’m an Australian coach, I’m [supposedly] limited in what I can do.
“Every time I have coached, I’m always coaching against someone who is apparently smarter and better than me because they’re from overseas.”
Postecoglou’s fingerprints are all over the cup after what Socceroos superstar Tim Cahill described as “one of the biggest moments in sport in Australia”.
“This is a tournament we were never supposed to win with this group of players,” Cahill said.
“I am really proud of the boss. I am really proud of someone being Australian and really having the passion to believe in the youngsters, to believe in the talent and really take us to a different level.
“We have opened doors inside this team that people would never have known about until this man showed people.”
Postecoglou said he would never put limits on what the Socceroos could achieve, identifying giving World Cups a shake as the next objective.
“This is not where it ends for us. It’s the beginning,” he said.
“We go into a four-year cycle of World Cup qualification ... I want to go to the next World Cup to make an impact, not just to be there.
“Certainly the intent we have shown in this whole tournament is what we will do moving forward.
“We will try and play our football against the rest of the world with no fear of failure or fear of any retribution if things don’t work out.”
