As we celebrate the anniversary of our 2015 AFC Asian Cup success, we caught up with one of the key players of that Socceroos squad, Trent Sainsbury, to discuss his perspective of the tournament ten years on.
Sainsbury, one of the tournament's breakout stars, was awarded Player of the Match in the final and was named in the official Team of the Tournament, truly having a 2015 AFC Asian Cup to remember.
Having now returned to the club that helped launch his international career, the Central Coast Mariners, Sainsbury details all aspects of Australia's triumphant campaign as hosts of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, with commentary on every iconic moment throughout the tournament, both on and off the pitch.
Read on to see what he had to say when we sat down for an exclusive chat.
A 'fearless' pre-tournament mentality
Even though I had quite a lot of problems with my hamstrings at that time, there was this belief that I was fearless. There was no thought of anything happening or going wrong. I was always on the front foot. I didn't really feel like I was going to get beaten from behind. I think that came down to what Ange [Postecoglou] instilled in me.
For me, I was just soaking up the entire occasion. I was fresh, I was still learning."
Only a couple of games into my Socceroos career, every moment to me was fantastic, every game to me was like a final. The further we go in this tournament, the more games I get to play in front of my family. Everything was so raw for me at that time.
I had no fear because I had no upsets or letdowns at that time in my Socceroos career. It was a different mindset for me compared to the older lads who had suffered heartbreak in previous finals.
We had a lot of guys who were in Europe, a lot of experienced guys who had been in the Premier League. So for myself, Massimo [Luongo] and others, we were all learning the emotions of what it meant.
The message from the gaffer was 'I believe in you. I know what you can do, that's why you're here. That's why you're representing your country. So I expect, and I believe you'll go and do a good job'.
The Ange effect
Motivation
The Gaffer got all the boys to [speak about what being a Socceroo means] which was his way of getting everyone to buy into the shirt, showing how important it was. He said:
What we're going to do is stand up in front of everyone, and tell our individual stories, about how we got to be here today.
Because I know some guys here have played 100 games, I know some guys haven't played a game at all, but you're here at this tournament, we've all got the same goal, to win and hold the trophy up at the end."
And basically, I think it was Mile [Jedinak] who got up first. He's telling his story about his parents, and you start to see this emotional side to the guy. It's like, 'wow, this is real'.
Then came [Mark] Bresciano, the guy that doesn't talk, who is up there speaking about his old man, the trials and tribulations that him and his family went through. Everyone eventually got up there and said their piece.
Mine was about my dad at the time. It was really emotional and I don't think anyone held back because everyone was in the same boat. I was just all in from that moment.
Philosophy
I remember [Postecoglou] saying, 'I want to play on the offensive. If in doubt, we go forward.'
That stuck with me. I said to myself, as soon as I get that ball, I will see how fast I get that ball from A to B, further up the pitch. If I can get the ball out of my feet quickly to someone ahead of me, I've done my job.
That was ingrained into me as well, I was a blank canvas at that stage, so anything that was said to me, I was going to listen and take it on.
Group stage
Opening Game v Kuwait
I remember in the meeting the day before the game, we had a video of things from the pitch, and I hit a long ball, a big diagonal ball, and the gaffer lost his head at me. 'I don't want that, I don't want it.'
I remember I got the ball in the game. I hit this same big diagonal and as soon as I hit it, I remember looking around to the bench, and [Postecoglou] put his head down, then Kuwait went and scored from it. I thought to myself, 'so this is international football'.
Now, the pressure's on, but that goal was kind of what we needed to settle the nerves. I thought, 'all right, now I know what I need to do.'
Loss to Korea Republic
We lost the game, but I walked off that pitch thinking 'we're gonna win this tournament'. And I don't know why. I think it was just the way we played, the intensity we played at, peppering their goal and their keeper had an absolute worldie, save after save. I remember the game finished, and I just said to myself, yeah, we're going to win this tournament.
My biggest takeaway from that game was, we're gonna win it all."
Quarter-final v China PR
Timmy [Cahill] does what Timmy does. He scores goals in big tournaments, and you need your big players to step up, and that's exactly what he did. For how old he was, to be doing that at 35, pretty crazy. Fantastic goal and corner flag celebration. Iconic.
Credit to him, you can't ask anything more of him at the time, two big goals to send us through to the next round. The boys did what they had to do, they provided the chances for him to score the goals, and he scored them. I mean, at the end of the day, what more can you ask of your main man?
Semi-final v United Arab Emirates
Pre-match mind games
I remember making comments in the press conference before the game about their star player, Omar Abdulrahman. I spoke about him being lazy - a tactic to try and get him to defend deeper and stay as far away from our goal as possible. Sure enough, most of the time, he was in his own half.
He's their best player, he's what makes them tick. What's the one thing that I can do that can basically try and eliminate as much of his potential threat as possible? That was saying he doesn't defend. So then he's probably going to think, 'I have to put in a better defensive shift and prove them wrong.'
Sainsbury with the opener
I never get tired of watching it, to be honest."
Timmy [Cahill] always got a lot of attention from defenders, so I just sort of trailed him to get a bit of space. And it just seemed to work out that way.
I remember nothing. It was all fluid, seamless, there wasn't any thought to it. As soon as the ball came in, everything went clear, time stopped, and I knew before the ball had even arrived, I knew it was going in.
As soon as I scored, I thought to myself, 'all right don't go wild with the celebration, we've only just started the game'. I only raised the one finger.
Scoring that goal, and then [Davidson] with the second just after, meant we could then say 'all right, let's shut up shop.'
Final v Korea Republic
Pre-match
It's the calmest I've ever felt before a big game, the biggest in my career at that stage. I'd never been more calm for a game because I knew we were going to win. I had breakfast, a coffee, and would think to myself:
I wonder how heavy the trophy is going to be when I lift it above my head, I was just thinking about that the whole time, I know in my heart we're going to win."
Assist for Luongo
I remember [South Korea] had a chance early where they shot from a cutback that just went wide of the post. I thought to myself, 'it's our day, they're not going to score'. And then Massimo [Luongo] scores that goal. He turns on an absolute dime, bullies the marker, hits the ball bottom corner leaving the goalkeeper scrambling.
It was just a fantastic feeling, crowd erupting, boys celebrating. Decent pass by me but I think he made it look a lot better than what it was.
But I remember looking up and I knew that it's going to have to be straight down the middle to Luongo. I trust Massimo, he's done it all tournament.
Whack it into him, the perfect pass I'd say, he did a little turn and cracked it in.
Son Heung-min equaliser
I can't remember if I took it on my chest or my head, but I remember the ball bounced, and I went to go to attack it, however, they slipped it through and Son scored the goal. I don't know why, but in my mind, I was still very calm. I thought 'Oh, bugger, now we're just gonna have to win it an extra time'. There was still no doubt in my mind, we'd win the tournament.
Troisi wins it in extra-time
I get goosebumps every time I see it. I think it's one of those epic moments in Australian sporting history.
And how heavy was the trophy? The trophy was very heavy.
