Graham Arnold doesn’t want to chide other sports in Australia.
But he reckons Melbourne’s Federation Square has become a symbol of success for the Socceroos.
“I know I keep saying this, but I have always said it,” Arnold told reporters.
“There’s only one team that unites the nation and one sport – and that is football in Australia and the Socceroos.
“I am not being negative here.
“But the rugby league World Cup was just on. Was Federation Square like that? Were the pubs like that?
“And they don’t play AFL anywhere else in the world except for Australia, so it just shows you how big football can be.”
Footage of wild celebrations following Australia’s World Cup wins over Tunisia and Denmark have been immediately viewed by players post-match.
“Just to see those videos and see those reactions is massive for us,” Arnold said.
“It just shows the boys how much support they have got back at home … to see all that just gives the players a lot of energy.
“And after the (Denmark) game and the boys are really quite emotional and Jackson Irvine is completely in tears and it was about the fans, it was about his family back home in Melbourne and they are watching him, being proud.”
Melburnian Mathew Leckie was Australia’s goalscorer in the 1-0 triumph over the Danes which sent the Socceroos into the round of 16 for just the second time.
“I have seen a few videos of Fed Square … flares, going crazy, the place erupting,” Leckie said.
“That is what the World Cup does. That is what the Socceroos at a World Cup does.
“It’s massive for the game, it’s massive for everything.
“It’s massive for kids that maybe don’t know too much and they see it and it inspires them to want to be footballers.
“We’re proud of that. I used to be a proud fan that was supporting them and now there’s a new generation and we’re lucky enough to be in a position where we can make an impact.”
Defender Milos Degenek described the Federation Square celebrations as “infectious”.
“A lot of the states have come out and said there’s going to be points throughout the country where people can come in and watch the (Argentina) game, which is going to be fantastic,” told reporters.
“Imagine in every state, there’s 10, 20, 30,000 people watching the game and we beat Argentina.
“Just think about how infectious that is, not for us, but for kids that are five, six-years-old and wanting to start playing football.
“That is going to be a nice dose of adrenalin for them.”
Fellow defender Harry Souttar said the reactions at Federation Square were the first thing the Socceroos watched in the changerooms after their wins against Tunisia and Denmark.
“Everyone was just saying, ‘Look at this, unbelievable’,” Souttar said.
“To know that us as a group have done that and made that happen, I can’t tell you how good that feels to be a part of a squad that makes that many people happy and that many people excited about football.”
