The much heralded 2006 Australian World Cup Squad for some within Arnold’s camp is the source of inspiration to maintain their footballing endeavours.

Under a much maligned and heavily scrutinised qualification campaign, whereby the culmination of deleterious effects led to Arnold’s potential departure, nine months onwards its preposterous to foresee a scenario in which the Socceroos were to eclipse the ‘Golden Generation’.

A squad going into the tournament defined by some as the weakest on paper in recent memory accomplishing an inconceivable outcome posits the question.

The independence brokered between Football Australia and the APL in relation to the oversight of the A-League assured a new ‘era’ under FA CEO James Johnson.

As a by-product of independence there was a delineation of roles and responsibilities which placed an engrained focus on academy structures, enabling in part the maturation of youth development within Australia. Yet at present, these structures aren’t remotely close arriving at a spot of utopia.

The Socceroos success can be in part attributed to the extensive depth curated by through Across last season, Australia’s top tier ranked seventh worldwide in the percentage of minutes played by U21 players with 11.1%, more than all of the top five leagues.

45 percent of players contracted in the league at the start of the season were under the age of 23, detailing the league as a breeding ground for young talent.

A litany of issues and certain markers of improvement will almost always face administrators within the game be it Football Australia, the APL or the state federations themselves.

Exorbitant high costs of playing remains steadfastly a pressing issue that even former Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, something he himself defined as ‘highway robbery’.