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Australia Vs. Uruguay
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<blockquote data-quote="Wally" data-source="post: 36866"><p><strong>Recoba: Australia has no chance</strong></p><p>Philip Micallef <em>in Sydney</em></p><p></p><p>URUGUAYAN superstar Alvaro Recoba yesterday boldly declared his team has a divine right to play in the World Cup and Australia has no chance of getting through to the finals in Germany.</p><p></p><p>Recoba, 29, who plays his club football for Italian giants Inter Milan, claimed after a 90-minute training session at Aussie Stadium the Socceroos had gone backwards since 2001. </p><p></p><p>"I believe this Australian team is weaker than the one we faced four years ago," the striker said. </p><p></p><p>Recoba, the master craftsman they call "El Chino" because of his oriental looks, has hit some marvellous goals in a chequered career at club and national level. </p><p></p><p>But yesterday he came up with a diplomatic own goal when he announced: "<strong>We have a right to be at the World Cup.</strong> I'm not saying that we have to force our way into the finals, but it is normal for a country like ours to be at the game's biggest event. </p><p></p><p>"The Australians obviously will try their utmost to beat us and this is only logical. </p><p></p><p><strong>"But the fact is that Uruguay are Uruguay and the Australians should respect us for this. </strong></p><p></p><p>"We are a big country with a rich past, a major footballing country that has won far more (than Australia). </p><p></p><p>"I do not know what type of game we can expect on Wednesday â€" <strong>but what I am sure of is that we will get to Germany</strong>. </p><p></p><p>"We're a strong team and in a good position. One-nil should be enough for us." </p><p></p><p>As 200 drum-beating and chanting Uruguayan fans followed the training session, Recoba said it was "nice to come so many thousands of kilometres from home and be greeted by many Uruguayans living in Australia". </p><p></p><p>"We've got to give them a night to remember," he said. </p><p></p><p>Recoba, one of the finest footballers produced in Uruguay, was deemed to be the main difference when the two sides last met in 2001 for a place in the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan. </p><p></p><p>Australia won the first leg at the MCG in Melbourne 1-0 but Recoba and his amigos crushed the Socceroos 3-0 in the return at the Centenario Stadium. </p><p></p><p>And Recoba was again in sparkling form in the first leg in Montevideo at the weekend. It was from one of his wicked free kicks that attacking fullback Dario Rodriguez came in on the blindside of Australia's defence to head in the only goal of the match. </p><p></p><p>Recoba represents the finer side of Uruguayan football, which also has a reputation for gamesmanship and thuggery. </p><p></p><p>Only last week World Cup hero Ronaldo warned the Australians that Uruguay would use every trick in the book to get to Germany. </p><p></p><p>Recoba would not elaborate on the Brazilian's statements. </p><p></p><p>But his view about the weakness of the Australian team was contradicted by his teammate Dario Silva, who said he felt the Socceroos were an improved outfit. </p><p></p><p>Former Socceroos Robbie Slater and Craig Foster believe Harry Kewell must start again tomorrow night despite being short of match fitness. </p><p></p><p>"They're going to want to protect what they have, so Harry's going to be a lot better, he's going to have a lot more freedom," Slater said. </p><p></p><p>Foster said Australia could ill afford not to start a genuine matchwinner. </p><p></p><p>"The key for us will be to play as many matchwinners and potential goal scorers as we can possibly fit on the team sheet, and still be cohesive," Foster said.</p><p></p><p>_/</p><p></p><p>It's on like Donkey Kong.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Wally, post: 36866"] [b]Recoba: Australia has no chance[/b] Philip Micallef [i]in Sydney[/i] URUGUAYAN superstar Alvaro Recoba yesterday boldly declared his team has a divine right to play in the World Cup and Australia has no chance of getting through to the finals in Germany. Recoba, 29, who plays his club football for Italian giants Inter Milan, claimed after a 90-minute training session at Aussie Stadium the Socceroos had gone backwards since 2001. "I believe this Australian team is weaker than the one we faced four years ago," the striker said. Recoba, the master craftsman they call "El Chino" because of his oriental looks, has hit some marvellous goals in a chequered career at club and national level. But yesterday he came up with a diplomatic own goal when he announced: "[b]We have a right to be at the World Cup.[/b] I'm not saying that we have to force our way into the finals, but it is normal for a country like ours to be at the game's biggest event. "The Australians obviously will try their utmost to beat us and this is only logical. [b]"But the fact is that Uruguay are Uruguay and the Australians should respect us for this. [/b] "We are a big country with a rich past, a major footballing country that has won far more (than Australia). "I do not know what type of game we can expect on Wednesday – [b]but what I am sure of is that we will get to Germany[/b]. "We're a strong team and in a good position. One-nil should be enough for us." As 200 drum-beating and chanting Uruguayan fans followed the training session, Recoba said it was "nice to come so many thousands of kilometres from home and be greeted by many Uruguayans living in Australia". "We've got to give them a night to remember," he said. Recoba, one of the finest footballers produced in Uruguay, was deemed to be the main difference when the two sides last met in 2001 for a place in the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan. Australia won the first leg at the MCG in Melbourne 1-0 but Recoba and his amigos crushed the Socceroos 3-0 in the return at the Centenario Stadium. And Recoba was again in sparkling form in the first leg in Montevideo at the weekend. It was from one of his wicked free kicks that attacking fullback Dario Rodriguez came in on the blindside of Australia's defence to head in the only goal of the match. Recoba represents the finer side of Uruguayan football, which also has a reputation for gamesmanship and thuggery. Only last week World Cup hero Ronaldo warned the Australians that Uruguay would use every trick in the book to get to Germany. Recoba would not elaborate on the Brazilian's statements. But his view about the weakness of the Australian team was contradicted by his teammate Dario Silva, who said he felt the Socceroos were an improved outfit. Former Socceroos Robbie Slater and Craig Foster believe Harry Kewell must start again tomorrow night despite being short of match fitness. "They're going to want to protect what they have, so Harry's going to be a lot better, he's going to have a lot more freedom," Slater said. Foster said Australia could ill afford not to start a genuine matchwinner. "The key for us will be to play as many matchwinners and potential goal scorers as we can possibly fit on the team sheet, and still be cohesive," Foster said. _/ It's on like Donkey Kong. [/QUOTE]
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