Golden Soft Sombrero Moment with Paul Wade

Overseas Clubs:                                 

None. Apparently still waiting on a call from his beloved Liverpool.

NSL Clubs:                                         

Nearly as many as John Markovski…. Green Gully, Brunswick Juventus, South Melbourne, Heidelberg United, Canberra Cosmos…well not quite that many

Green & Gold Honors:                        

Socceroo appearances: 118                              Goals: 11

World Cup campaigns: 1989 & 1993     

Former long serving captain of the Socecroos.

Was all over Maradona like a cheap suit in the 1993 campaign against Argentina. Apparently Wadey still has clumps of his back hair, shreds of his shirt, a cracked shin guard and a jar of his urine as a memento of the occasion.

Diego also gave him a number of a guy who could get him some ‘stuff’ real cheap if he wanted it.

Diegos Verdict:                                   

High energy, get stuck in, ‘run, run and run’ some more, box to box player in his prime as a distinguished Socceroo and NSL star.

Unfortunately the only box to box stuff Wadey does these days is when he goes a few rounds with the precious current day Socceroos who have, on more than one occasion, black balled him after saying hurtful things about them in the commentary box.

Keep punching Wadey. You’ll never be banned by the Diegos (except of course if you bag us, then it’s over!).

Wadey congratulations. You’re a Four Diegos legend amigo!

Some Golden Soft Sombrero Moments with Paul Wade

Wadey on carrying the Olympic torch around the MCG…

Diegos: “The MCG has been the venue for some unforgettable events over the years.

The Pope and the Eucharistic Congress in the 1970’s, Australia versus Iran in 1997 and they say that they’ve played a little bit of AFL there over the years.

Perhaps though the most moving MCG moment of all time for the Diegos was when you carried the Olympic torch the length of the packed Great Southern stand.

What an incredible honour. Can you put into words how you felt?”

Wade: “At the moment I’m still pinching myself. Not the fact that I’ve done it but the fact that I was chosen.

Think of all the soccer legends that have played the game over the years, Johnny Warren, Jimmy Rooney, Jim Tansey, all those legends that deserve some recognitionl, and the selectors picked me. Now that’s a big honour.

People often say that they will never forget a moment like that but I can assure you I will take that one to the grave.”

Diegos: “So the rumour that your middle name is ‘Gosper’ is not true then?”

Wade: “It’s interesting you should say that because when I was told that I was going to be doing it Channel Seven rang me and said listen ‘who exactly asked you?’ because we might have to make some stories up just in case you’ve taken Kevin Gosper’s run.

It was actually the great Ron Clarke who rang me up and that’s a big enough honour indeed.”

Diegos: “Now Wadey we know that you aren’t a spiteful, angry man but in many ways you were in enemy territory, there at the MCG in front of an AFL crowd.

Knowing also that they will have to move the Aussie rules Grand final from the MCG this year if there is a draw because of the Olympic soccer were you tempted to wave a curse with that torch at the boys in Bay 13?”

Wade: “Well if the truth be known, you know how I bowed in front of them? Well I was actually ‘brown- eyeing’ the members. No I’m only kidding.

Every now and again we get this little lift that soccer is on the move. We don’t want to get too excited because we’ve been there and done that and then fallen on our face.

That was a special moment where soccer was recognized in the run of the full length of the Great Southern Stand and I think that in itself proves that it’s a world game.”

Diegos: “During your 500 metre run the Diegos saw more bows and curtsies than the Queen has seen in a lifetime.

You seemed determined to milk the moment for all it was worth.

Did you spend time in the backyard actually practicing the run or was it all spontaneous Paul Wade theatre?”

Wade: “I felt so humbled by the fact that I’d been chosen to run this and represent soccer, I thought how can I just run past them all without saying to them ‘thank you very much for this honour’? I thought the best way to do that was to just bow.

The thing that gave me the courage to actually do it was when I was passed the flame from Mark Taylor people in the crowd were actually applauding.

I really believed that they would be sitting there scratching their heads wondering who the hell is that.” 

Soft Sombrero Moment June 2000

Wadey on the Olympics in 1988…

Diegos: “Wadey you captained the ‘Mad Dogs’ Socecroos that made the quarter finals at the Seoul Olympics back in 1988.

What were your memories of that tournament? Was it the win against Yugoslavia, the spanking by the Russians or the fraternizing with the female synchronize swimmers in the Game’s Village in between games?”

Wade: “No there was none of that going on but there was a little bit of a problem on the flight over to the Olympics.

It was a long trip and you could say that we had had one drink of lemonade too many. We were taking up our crash positions and we hadn’t even left Sydney yet. So clearly we started getting a reputation before the Olympics had even started.

I would have to say the special moment was the win against Yugoslavia. The amount of time and effort that Frank Arok put into that game was incredible. We certainly deserved that 1-0 victory.

To prepare we’d do silly things like train on the St. George stadium car park which was really rough and grassy just so we could experience every type of surface that we might come up against at the Games. Crazy but very effective.”

Soft Sombrero Moment June 2000

Wadey on being the media face of Aussie soccer…

Diegos: "You've become a genuine TV star, a radio commentator of the highest repute, a soccer writer in the Stephen King 'Pet Cemetery' class, people want you to kiss their babies in the street - you've become the popular face of soccer to mainstream Australia.

In comparison to taking a cutthroat sudden death penalty in a World cup qualifier, is there any pressure in what you do now? 

 Wade: "Some thrive on pressure and I'd like to think I'm one of those people. When we do a first take on the show and the director says that its not live but pre-recorded, I tend to always stuff it up.

If I know that it's live and going all around Australia on C7 Sport or Channel 7 ' Sportsworld', it forces me to plug the old brain in and get it into gear. I think under those circumstances we all perform better."

Soft Sombrero Moment July 1999

Wadey on Channel Seven’s coverage of Aussie soccer before the AFL dumped them for Channel Nine, Channel Ten and Foxtel…

Diegos: “Whilst it’s great that two former Diego guests of the week, Bruce McAvaney and yourself, have been propelled to stardom after an appearance on our show, we'd be lying if we said that we've been happy with the amount of coverage given to the game on Channel 7. Go on Wadey, put your job on the line.

Do you think Channel 7 is doing justice to the game in this country?"

Wade: "I've told the Channel 7 powerbrokers that there are a lot of people not happy with the coverage of soccer. The boss replied by saying when the viewers get really, really angry then I'll put it on more often. I thought to myself that that's what commercial television is all about. If it doesn't rate then it's not going to get on.

If people are jumping up and down and saying 'Hey Channel 7 - We want it!', then there's a fair chance that it’s going to get on. They are only doing their job so that they can get more money out of the sponsors."

Soft Sombrero Moment July 1999

Wadey on media shy Socceroos….

Diegos: “During the recent Socceroos V FIFA All stars extravaganza, the Diegos were fortunate enough to share a Pina Colada moment with Brazilian captain, Leonardo and a spicy sauerkraut moment with German legend, Jurgen Klinsman.

Whilst we found them to be very accommodating and magnificent ambassadors for the game, we found the Aussies a little surly, disinterested and precious at times. Is this fair comment?"

Wade: "I'd like to be able to say that 'no you've got it all wrong' but l can't. Unfortunately you've hit the nail right on the head. Now that I'm on the other side of the fence I've found it exactly the same. We were trying to get Socceroos on 'Sportsworld' on the Sunday morning after the All Star game but were told that we couldn't because they would be either on a flight home or that they would be so drunk that they wouldn't be able to speak anyway.

It was the player's off-season so I suppose from that perspective, it was understandable. During the week leading up to the game however, there was a luncheon for the Socceroos and up on stage was Mark Bosnich and Harry Kewell. Their answers to questions were so guarded it was boring.

I know what the guy's are really like so it frustrates me when they don't relax and let the public know what they really feel about issues. I guess that this comes from the fact that the tabloids in the UK have slaughtered the players in the past.

It’s sad really because these players are really lively characters."

Soft Sombrero Moment July 1999

Wadey on the Australian National Soccer League…

Diegos: "Soccer Australia this week announced the make up of the Ericsson cup for next season. Parramatta Power and Auckland Kings are in, with no teams sacrificed.

What's your view on the new 17 team format?"

Wade: "Unfortunately too many teams Diegos. I was little bit nervous when David Hill originally came on board. We knew he was going to force changes and upset people but l think as a businessman he had the best interests of the game at heart.

He had a goal and he was going to achieve that goal. He now has departed and progress since has been slow. It seems to me that ‘slowly, slowly’ is not good enough even though l understand that there are many reasons why Soccer Australia had to make this decision. Unfortunately it's been going slowly, slowly ever since I've been playing in the National league.

It's not good enough. Paul Trimboli can't wait forever to be a national hero. He should be up there with Mark Taylor but he is not. The reason that he is not is because soccer hasn't got the profile that it should have. I think Soccer Australia should kick more heads.

They should kick teams out that are just not good enough. The ARL is a successful competition in NSW but are still axing teams because they are not up to scratch. If it's good enough for them then surely it should be good enough for us.

I understand the legal implications of such a move but if you don't play well as a Socceroo you get your backside kicked and the same should be the case for these under-performing clubs." 

Soft Sombrero Moment July 1999