Golden Soft Sombrero Moment with John Kosmina

Overseas Clubs:                                 

Arsenal

NSL Clubs:                                         

Playing: West Adelaide Hellas, Sydney City Hakoah, Sydney Olympic  

NSL Clubs:                                         

Coaching: Newcastle Breakers, Brisbane Strikers, Adelaide United, Sydney FC

Green & Gold Honors:                        

Socceroo appearances:  102                 Goals:  45

World Cup campaigns: 1977, 1981 & 1985

Golden Sombrero Moment No.1: Brawling with Israeli centre halves for over a decade.

Golden Sombrero Moment No.2: Upsetting Scotland captain, Graham Souness at the coin toss before the Socceroos versus Scotland World Cup qualifier at Olympic Park in Melbourne in 1985.

Diegos Verdict:                                  

Talisman of the Socceroo attack during our really dark years pre 1986 (yes things were darker once when we were really crap).

Kossie earned some reward however for his efforts when Frank Arok and the Mad Dogs came along.

Unfortunately this didn’t include an appearance at the World Cup finals but did include the scalps of some of the biggest club and national team sides in the world.

Coached like he played – left no prisoners. In recent years a good dose of anger management therapy has left Kossie in a happier place which is unfortunate. The Diegos liked him better when he scared the living daylights out of the Israelis.

Congratulations Kossie, you’re a Four Diego legend amigo!

Some Golden Soft Sombrero Moments with John Kosmina

Kossie on his soft side…

Diegos: “Kossie you were always a tough man on the field and now as coach you occasionally show your tough side on the sidelines.

The Diegos want to know what the softer side of John Kosmina looks like. Is it classical music, ballet, bird-watching, stamp collecting or perhaps clay pottery?”

Kossie: “No, none of those Diegos.

I’m a family man. I’ve got four lovely children, two boys and two girls and I’m a little ‘googoo’ especially about my girls because they are only young.”

Soft Sombrero Moment 1997

Kossie on Iran…

Diegos: “The Aussies look like they will face the Iranians in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

In your time with the Socceroos you made the dreaded trip to Iran.

What can the Socceroos expect if they have to go into that region?”

Kossie: “The first thing I can tell you about Tehran is that the nightlife is a joke. No disrespect to anybody but there was nothing but bearded Arabs around the place.

It’s a fairly daunting sort of place.

I went there once but I didn’t actually play because I was suspended. There were 100,000 people at the main stadium and the atmosphere was thick and oppressive. 

We knew that we weren’t welcome. That in itself would get even the most seasoned professional edgy.”

Soft Sombrero Moment 1997

Kossie on the coin toss with Souness…

Diegos: “There is a famous picture on the Four Diegos office wall of you and Scotland captain, Graham Souness at the toss of the coin prior to the World Cup qualifier in Melbourne in 1985.

In the photo he is looking at you as if you’ve just given him an ear full of abuse. You looked pretty fired up too.

Remembering that we are a family website, what was that all about?”

Kossie: “I actually reminded him about when he spent time in Adelaide.

He played at West Adelaide as a guest player in 1977 and we were talking about a few nights we had out together.

I reminded him about a few friends I introduced him to. One was a big fat ugly one.”

Soft Sombrero Moment 1997

Kossie on the cutthroat games against Scotland in 1985…

Diegos: “On the night against Scotland it was apparent pretty early that the Socceroos were not going to take a step backwards.

Did the 2-0 loss in Scotland sting you into action and did you really feel like you could beat them on your own turf?”

Kossie: “We honestly believed that we could beat them.

Even the game in Scotland was 0-0 at half time. Both goals they scored in the second half were soft, one from a free kick that David Cooper scored and a second from Frank McAvennie with a lob.

We didn’t have many opportunities to score over there but I thought we fought hard enough to maybe get away with a draw.

Certainly the game at Olympic Park was a game we could’ve won.

I still have nightmares about the missed header. I looked at it one million times on tape and I still think that I would do the same thing if I had my time over again.

I don’t think that Jim Leighton even thought about how he was going to stop that ball but even so some go in and some don’t.

The Scots were dead lucky that night.

Jimmy Patikas hammered one at him in the second half that hit him in the head.  Unfortunately it just wasn’t going to fall for us that night.” 

Soft Sombrero Moment 1997

Kossie on his worst goal…

Diegos: “What’s the worst goal that you’ve ever scored?”

Kossie: “The luckiest one was when we were playing in a World Cup match against South Korea and we were down 1-0.

The ball was bouncing about the six yard box and one of the Koreans tried to clear it. It ended up hitting me in the chest and it went in.

I take them all. They all count.”   

Soft Sombrero Moment 1997