In the final days leading up to the 2022 World Cup, foxsports.com.au takes a look at some of the biggest moments in Socceroos history to take place at football’s biggest show.
First up: Brett Holman’s incredible long-range goal against Serbia at the 2010 World Cup …
With a swing of his right leg and the sweetest of strikes on a Wednesday evening in Nelspruit, South Africa, Australian midfielder Brett Holman silenced 582 of his harshest critics and many, many more.
582 is the number of people who joined the “Brett Holman is a Joke” group on Facebook at one stage, per Fairfax, and you can bet your bottom dollar they departed it as quickly as they joined when the Bankstown boy scored what would prove to be the winner against Serbia at the 2010 World Cup.
It wasn’t just any goal, either.
It was a dipping, swerving thunderbolt – a standard goal at that World Cup due to the unpredictable flight path generated by the infamous Jabulani ball – that left Serbian goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic diving out of hope more than anything else.
The goal was Holman’s second at the tournament having scored the opener in the second group match against Ghana, a rebound hammered home where Grandma keeps the cookie jar.
Yet if it was up to the Australian public and not the intelligence or foresight of then-Socceroos boss Pim Verbeek, those two goals would never have happened.
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Holman was the scapegoat for many Australian football fans at the time.
The Facebook group was just one way for Aussies to demonstrate their bewilderment as to how he continued to make the Socceroos.
And in the lead-up to the 2010 World Cup, Holman conceded it was “disappointing” to see how many people disliked him and noted it started to affect his loving family.
“It became a bit of a thing, I guess you could call it,” Holman told the Greats With Garby podcast in 2020.
“And it wasn’t great, it wasn’t nice, because it started to affect my family more than anything.
“ … When I read things when you’re trying to represent people or fans, wherever that may be, that was the hardest thing – because you’re actually representing your country. You’re not going to want to travel all the way across the world to not play well.
“That was disappointing I suppose in a way, from supporters in general. But they’re probably minorities in regards to someone wanting your head on the chopping block and other players in.”
Much of the frustration regarding Holman’s inclusion and presence on the park for the Socceroos centred around his struggles on the technical side of the game.
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After all, what use is an attacking midfielder who doesn’t cushion the ball with his first touch every single time and can’t thread the ball through the needle when he has a teammate making a darting run?
But Holman knew what he was good at, and didn’t pretend to be something he wasn’t.
And it was a trait that proved pivotal at the 2010 World Cup and shut the mouths of his many detractors.
“Everybody’s a critic and a great thing about football is everybody’s got an opinion,” Holman said.
“I suppose the only thing I’ll always say, and anyone who knows me knows it; I left everything out on the grass and for somebody to have a dig at me about my playing skills, or my first touch, go for it. You know what I mean?
“Yeah, I didn’t have the same technical ability as Neymar, but I did give everything for the Aussie jersey and nobody can fault me for that.”
Having made the 23-man squad ahead of the likes of silky midfielder Nicky Carle, Holman was already facing an uphill battle to convince the nation he was worthy of a spot in South Africa.
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He came on as a half-time substitute when the Socceroos were down 2-0 to Germany, but a red card to Tim Cahill in the 56th minute meant Holman’s impact would matter little as Verbeek’s side conceded two more.
Knowing a second defeat would all but end the Aussies’ World Cup campaign as quickly as it began as well as making do without the talismanic Cahill, Verbeek handed Holman a start in the second group game against Ghana.
Within 11 minutes, Holman repaid the coach’s faith.
Midfielder Marc Bresciano fired a free kick that viciously dipped over the Ghanaian wall and took a harsh bounce just before it reached opposing goalkeeper Richard Kingson.
Kingson was unable to gobble the ball into his hands, and who was jogging on the spot, ready to slam home the rebound?
That would be Holman, of course.
His blonde locks held back by a headband, Holman sprinted with his arms outstretched in celebration to give the Aussies the lead, although Ghana would equalise just over 10 minutes later thanks to an Asamoah Gyan penalty.
The game would finish 1-1 and gift the Aussies one final chance of qualifying for the knockout stages against Serbia.
However, the 4-0 defeat to Germany meant the Socceroos had to conquer a goal difference swing the size of Everest against their Serbian rivals.
With Cahill back from suspension, it consigned Holman to a spot on the bench for the Socceroos’ final Group D match.
But once again, Verbeek turned to the trusted midfielder to inject something, anything into a contest that desperately needed a pulse.
Holman came on for Carl Valeri, a defensive midfielder, in the 66th minute.
Just three minutes later, Cahill scored the opener.
And only seven minutes after entering the fray, Holman had his moment to shine.
As a headed clearance from the Serbian backline found its way to halfway, Socceroos midfielder Jason Culina deftly flicked the ball in the path of Holman.
With the ball at his feet, the field opened up for Holman much like Moses and the Red Sea as several Serbian players were caught up field chasing an equaliser.
And from 25 yards out, Holman cocked his leg back and unleashed a shot that had the Socceroos faithful packed inside the Mbombela Stadium delirious with joy.
The New South Welshman sprinted to the corner with his arms outstretched once again like Christ the Redeemer and was embraced by his teammates who could clearly see what he brought to the team, even if the vast majority of Australians could not.
Holman’s wonder goal proved to be the winner as Marko Pantelic pegged one back for Serbia in the 84th minute.
Unfortunately, the victory was not enough to gain passage to the knockout stage as Ghana finished second and went on a remarkable run themselves to the quarter-finals, only to be knocked out in highly controversial circumstances by Uruguay.
Although it may not have been a successful World Cup campaign as a team, it was a special tournament for Holman who, despite only making one start, finished as the Socceroos’ top scorer and, alongside Mark Schwarzer, cracked the Capello Index system’s top 100 players of the tournament.
The goal against Serbia was just the cherry on top for a player who knew his limitations, but had lungs the size of Pharlap and would run until his seemingly-endless engine would finally go kaput.
“I think 9 out of 10 times I probably wouldn’t have even shot from there,” Holman said.
“But it all just fell in to place for me at that time. I think (the confidence) was born from the whole camp beforehand, scoring the winner against New Zealand before we left.
“I felt so great in our training camp. I was pumped, I was hungry and it was my time. That’s what I felt.”