ONCORD - For the 20 members of the Australian national soccer team, the 1999 Women's World Cup represents a chance at redemption.
Two of those players almost didn't get that chance.
Australia finished last out of 12 teams in the 1995 Women's World Cup, losing to Denmark, China, and the United States by a combined score of 13-3. When the team held its annual tryouts a short time later, then-coach Tommy Sermanni surprisingly decided not to keep captain Julie Murray and cocaptain Anissa Tann-Darby. For both players, it seemed to be the end of their international careers.
''When I was sitting out, I thought I would never play for the national team again,'' said Murray, whose team plays its first match Sunday against Ghana at Foxboro Stadium. ''But in hindsight, even though it was pretty sad and devasting for me, it was probably the best thing for me.''
Murray had been battling a number of ongoing injuries before she was cut. So she didn't try to play overseas or catch on with an Australian club team. Instead, she took a break from soccer. Tann-Darby, on the other hand, continued playing on the club level, but nonetheless, she, like Murray, was disappointed about not making the team.
''I was pretty disappointed,'' said Tann-Darby after the team's practice yesterday at Middlesex School. Tann-Darby has played in more international matches (70) than anyone on the team. ''It looked like he [Sermanni] would be around until the [2000] Olympics [in Sydney], so I thought it was over for me. Then Greg came and gave me another chance.''
That Greg is coach Greg Brown. In April of 1997, Sermanni took a coaching job in Japan, and Brown took over as coach of the Australians. Brown contacted Murray and Tann-Darby and invited them to come back to the team. Murray is now the cocaptain.
''I spoke to the girls,'' said Brown, ''and I told them I only wanted them back if they were determined to do well. I didn't want players who didn't want to put everything into it or who weren't going to be in it for the long haul. I was looking for players who were going to commit themselves to the program for the next two to three years.''
Murray, 29, and Tann-Darby, 31, helped the Australians romp through the Oceania qualifying tournament last October. The Australians scored 49 goals in four games, including a 3-1 win over New Zealand in the championship game. Murray scored in that game, while Tann-Darby led a defense that allowed only one goal in qualifying for the WWC.
Now Murray, whom Brown moved from midfielder to striker, and Tann-Darby will lead Australia against a tough group D that also includes Sweden and China. Only this time, they don't intend to finish last.
''This is my second chance at it,'' said Murray. ''I gave it everything I had in the last World Cup. It was such a disappointing tour all around. It was a pretty sad effort. But I think this one is going to be a lot different.''
