There's nothing quite like Australian football (née soccer). The paradoxical nature of the beautiful game and its place in the lucky country makes for the best stories. Yes, it's the Big Global Game… but it's also often beset by growing pains, provincial silliness and struggles with the tyranny of distance.
At their best, the Socceroos can unite and galvanise a sporting nation. This is a team that just attracted 60-thousand people midweek to Perth Stadium. That's the same stadium that has struggled to sell out a day's play in Test cricket because locals were allegedly sad that Cricket Australia was mean to Justin Langer.
Aziz Behich is a small case study in that Australian football experience. The son of Turkish-Cypriot migrants, the diminutive left-back has played 80 times for the Socceroos. Last week he captained Melbourne City to an A-League title. He has shared a dressing room with Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabian club football. He clashed with Lionel Messi at the last FIFA World Cup. This is a man who has mixed it with footballing gods.
It hasn't been universal glamour and joy. Behich talks about the early days of his A-League where he rocked up to train at a Melbourne Heart, to find a burnt-out car in the middle of the pitch. He endured nomadic stretches overseas, at one point bouncing between Turkey, the Netherlands and Scotland as he represented six clubs in four years.
Throughout it all he kept striving for national team selection.
"Even my dad said, 'the best decision you made was playing for Australia'. Australia gave us a chance. I've always felt like I had to give something back."
He certainly gave something back this week as he scored a wonderful goal to help a previously grim Socceroos side beat Japan and almost certainly qualify for the World Cup.
Mark Schwarzer. Josh Kennedy. John Aloisi. Andrew 'Grey Wiggle' Redmayne. The qualification heroes live in our hearts almost more dearly that those who star at the main stage. Add to that list: Aziz Behich. | 
