'You're f***ing mad': Robbie Slater's beautiful tribute to his mate Arnie

“Two weeks before the game, when he told me his tactic of substituting on Andrew Redmayne for Mat Ryan if it went to penalties, I told him he was f****ng mad!”

So says Socceroos legend Robbie Slater as he recounts the story that his close mate, Graham Arnold, is best known for in Australia.

Or at least, that was the story Arnold was best known for before last week. Time will tell where Iraq’s World Cup qualification win over Bolivia will sit in the pantheon of Arnie mythology down under.

In Iraq, his time with the Socceroos will appear as a footnote in the broader story of how he helped the Middle Eastern nation qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 40 years.

But Slater, more than most, knows how intertwined Arnold’s achievements across a career in football spanning more than 40 years really are.

So many sliding doors moments. So many instances of one opportunity leading to another, which led to another.

Slater was by Arnold’s side for them all, if not physically, then certainly emotionally, the pair bound together by a shared history that dates back to their time playing for Sydney Croatia in the 1980s.

In his exclusive column for football360.com.au, Slater takes us on a rollicking ride through Arnold’s career, from being a player / coach duo at fledgling NSL club Northern Spirit, which they also happened to be co-owners of, to Arnold’s apprenticeship as Socceroos assistant under Frank Farina and Guus Hiddink, which in turn led to an ill-fated first stint as Australia’s head coach.

“He is not the coach he is today without those experiences,” Slater writes, and he would know that better than most.

I had a lot of fun just reading about these stories, so I can only imagine what it was like to live through them. Whatever your thoughts about Arnold as a coach, or of Slater as a pundit, I guarantee you’ll enjoy reading this one.

It’s not quite a worst nightmare, but it’s not far off.

Melbourne Victory confirmed yesterday that their Spanish superstar Juan Mata had surgery after fracturing his elbow during Sunday’s loss to Wellington Phoenix.

Heading into that game, Victory were looking like they might challenge for a spot in the top two; now that looks highly unlikely, and while they will probably still make the finals, it’s not clear if their biggest attacking weapon will be available for any of them.

“We remain hopeful of him rejoining the team during the 2025/26 season,” was the most optimistic thing coach Arthur Diles could say in a club statement released yesterday.

It caps a frustrating few days for Diles, who quipped that he “didn’t see that one coming” after the loss to Wellington who, as Mike Tuckerman wrote in his regular column for football360.com.au, should probably have won by more goals.

That result, coupled with Melbourne City’s crucial 2-1 win over Central Coast Mariners last night, means the gap between the two Melbourne clubs has narrowed to just three points, and two spots on a crowded A-League ladder.

City’s win last night came courtesy of goals from Andreas Kuen and Andrew Nabbout, and if they can avoid the same fate as their crosstown rivals when they take on the Phoenix this weekend, then Aurelio Vidmar’s men will be feeling very confident of sneaking into the finals after spending so much time this season outside the top six.

Watch the highlights from last night’s game in the video below.

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Speaking of Melbourne City, their success in Asia this season seems to have reawakened a desire in Australia to challenge for the biggest prizes on offer in club football in our confederation.

As it turns out, a team of semi-professionals might take up that mantle next season.

A report from ESPN yesterday revealed NPL Victoria side Heidelberg United are in the box seat to be handed Australia’s spot in the AFC Champions League Two for next season.

That’s owing to their performances in last year’s Australia Cup, where they beat three A-League clubs en route to the final, which they lost to Newcastle Jets after pushing the game to extra time.

Having also fallen short in the Australian Championship (they were knocked out at the semi-final stage), Asian qualification would be a pretty handy consolation prize for Heidelberg after their mind-blowingly lengthy campaign last year.

Tap here to read more on this very interesting turn of events.

This morning’s Champions League action in Europe just wrapped up, and here are the results from the quarter-final first leg matches:

Sporting Lisbon 0 - 1 Arsenal

Real Madrid 1 - 2 Bayern Munich

Arsenal’s victory came courtesy of a late goal from Kai Havertz, and will put paid to some of the chatter about the Gunners ‘choking’ late in the season after their defeats in the Carabao Cup final and FA Cup quarter-final.

Mikel Arteta’s men are now in the box seat for a Champions League semi-final spot, with the return leg to be played in front of their home crowd in London next week.

Meanwhile Harry Kane helped Bayern defeat Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, continuing an incredible season in which the England captain has now scored 49 goals.

There’s more Champions League action tomorrow, with PSG hosting Liverpool and an all-Spanish clash between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.

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And we thought the Matildas’ upcoming friendlies in Kenya were a sign of how quickly people move on in football.

Barely two weeks after helping guide Japan to glory at the Women’s Asian Cup, head coach Nils Nielsen and his Australian assistant Leah Blayney are now gone from the Japanese setup.

Blayney’s departure was confirmed yesterday, coming hot on the heels of the news that Nielsen would no longer be in charge of the Asian champions.

“At the conclusion of my time with Japan, I’m filled with a whole lot of pride for what has been an incredible and unforgettable chapter on my coaching journey,” Blayney wrote in an emotional message on Instagram yesterday.

“To spend a month alongside you at the Asian Cup in pursuit of our common goal, to watch you succeed in such style — scoring 29 goals and conceding 1 in 6 games — and to celebrate with you in my home country is a lifelong memory.”

We assume Blayney’s services will be in high demand, but it will be interesting to see where she ends up next - and whether it’s in Australia or another posting overseas.

Meanwhile in case you missed it yesterday, Sam Kerr’s goal-scoring hot streak continued as she helped Chelsea beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 to book a spot in the Women’s FA Cup semi-finals.

It was the perfect way for Kerr to respond to last week’s report claiming she was going to play for US club Denver Summit, a claim she denied in typical Sam Kerr fashion.