Stars shine at Johnny Warren Foundation Dinner
The significance of the venue was not lost on the patrons who were familiar with the premises when it was the thriving licensed establishment of the Apia ? Leichhardt Football Club during the 1970?s and 1980?s.
Johnny Warren had fought many battles with the great Apia teams during his career so the atmosphere which was created in the former football fortress was an ideal backdrop on the night.
Who could ever forget the great Apia players Pat Hughes, Fil Bottalico, George Blues, Archie Blue, Jim Sambrook, John Russell, Terry Butler, George Keith, Stan Ackerley, Cliff van Blerk, Willie Wallace and Marshall Soper who the true believers reflected about on the night.
This emotion was further strengthened by the ranks of the former players who attended in increasing numbers on the night.
The 1974 team was represented by coach Rale Rasic, Ray Richards and John Watkiss and George Harris, Jim Fraser and John Doyle who participated in the campaign in the lead up to qualifying for West Germany.
Also in the passing parade which ascended the staircase like a who?s who of football were Brad Maloney, Lawrie Mckinna, Kimon Taliadoros, Alex Tobin, Ahmad Elrich, Luke Casserley, Charlie Yankos, Nick Theodorakopolous,current Socceroo, Bruce Djite, and the young Liverpool goalkeeping starlet, Dean Bouzanis.
Craig Foster, the M.C. for the night, emphasised in his introduction that Johnny Warren saw the greatest thing in life was celebrating with football people and it wasn?t what the game could do for us but what we could do for the game, no matter matter what position you held in the game.
Brian Hastings, the Foundation Chairman, reiterated one of the main missions of the organisation was to provide young players from all backgrounds, irrespective of their economic circumstances, the opportunity to develop at the highest level.
Jamie Warren, Vice Chairman of the Foundation, was so overwhelmed by the great response on the night that he realised how much Johnny Warren meant to the Australian football community and this was a source of great encouragement for his uncle?s work to be carried on in contributing to the progress of the game.
To reinforce the success of the program, six young players who graduated from the Foundation program, were introduced to the audience by Craig Foster.
Jared Lum, Marc Warren, Nicola Stanjovic, Emily van Egmond, Helen Petinos and Nicola Stan have all represented Australia at their respective age levels.
Johnny Warren had many friends in football but he was respected in all walks of life which was confirmed by the NSW Minister for Sport and Recreation, Kevin Green who is an avid football supporter and coaches the Forest Rangers u/14A team in the St George Soccer Football Association .
In fact it was Kevin Green who asked Johnny Warren to put his name to the Hurstville Indoor Sports Centre in February, 2004.
A major highlight of the night was Les Murray?s interview with Sydney Olympic’s prized recruit Mark Bosnich about his development as a professional footballer ands the obstacles he encountered in selecting football rather than the traditional sports as his chosen career.
Bosnich drew parallels with the fight Johnny Warren experienced in the cause of football which was reinforced in his immortal biography, ?Sheilas, Wogs and Poofters?.
However, it was the arrival of Socceroo superstar, Timmy Cahill superstar which set the audience on fire when he arrived at the hallowed premises.
There wasn?t a mouth moving in the auditorium when Les Murray interviewed the great man about all in football, but significantly the recent World Cup campaign and the prospects for next year?s finals.
His comparison of coaches Guus Hiddink and Pim Verbeek were illuminating but one conclusion is unanimous; Cahill will never start on the bench for a Socceroo team again.
The presence of Cahill provided great impetus for the successful auction conducted by John Harker when a signed shirt of Kaka?s fetched $ 6,200 and two signed by Cahill reaped $4,200 each.
It was a night for mingling and the crowd couldn?t get enough of Cahill as they surrounded him for photos and their attention. True professional he is, he signed every autograph and participated in every photo request.
It was great to see his former coach and mentor, John Doyle, the former Socceroo, receiving much rewarded accolades and recognition in the presence of his prodigy.
CEO, Francis Awaritefe, and the Foundation Board, cannot be praised enough for carrying off this great coup in attracting Cahill on the night and also providing one of the most memorable football nights in many years.
Also the wonderful work carried out by Ice Events, the event organiser, led by Gemma Cordony, should be highly commended for contributing to the success of the night.
The final duty was to pick a team in 4-3-3 formation.
GOALKEEPER – Bouzanis
DEFENDERS – Elrich, Watkiss, Yankos, Harris.
MIDFIELD – Doyle, Cahill, Richards
STRIKERS – Taliadoros, Djite, Awaritefe
2ND HALF SUBS – Foster, Casserley, Maloney, Tobin.
COACHING STAFF – Rasic, McKinna, Theodorakopolous, Fraser.
-By Roger Sleeman
