Adrian Alston, commonly known as ‘Noddy’, was a key member of the semi-professional team that defied all the odds to become the first Australian team to reach the 1974 World Cup finals.
Noddy: the Untold Story of Adrian Alston is a tell-all account by Philip Micallef of the flamboyant striker who lit up the local football scene after moving from England to Australia in the late 1960s.
Alston looks back on a career that took him from the little ground of Woonona on the NSW south coast to the imperial Olympic Stadium in Berlin.
Noddy’s was a colourful and extraordinary career but when it came to an abrupt end after he suffered a serious injury, he was able to draw on the altruistic side of his temperament when he devoted his life after football to the special needs of intellectually disadvantaged people. It is a job that gives him as much satisfaction as when he used to bang in the goals for club and country.
As a 1974 Socceroo, Adrian Alston is a true legend of the game and Philip Micallef’s book will ensure that Noddy’s exploits for Australia are not forgotten.
Table of Content
Foreword
Introduction
It all started on the streets of Preston
The offer that changed Alston’s life
Prawn cocktails, sun and surf
Striker leaves his mark
Dream call-up for Australia
Rapid rise woos Arok, Rasic
All eyes on the 1974 World Cup
Socceroos savour trip of a lifetime
Alston the centre of attention
In the court of football royalty
Rasic unleashes his ‘three gangsters’
Alston snubs Bundesliga
Career at a crossroads
Flying the flag for Australia
Noddy answers SOS call
An American dream is crushed
Warren and Wilson, the born leaders
Lifting the gloom
Turning back the clock
Career at a crossroads
Alston scores his greatest goal
The ‘dream team’
The long road from Germany to Qatar
The last word: Thanks for everything, Boss
Acknowledgements
About the Author
About the author
Philip Micallef is a retired sports journalist who has worked full time for Fairfax (Illawarra Mercury) and News Ltd (Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph). He also was a long-time contributor to SBS (The World Game). He has covered many important football events such as the World Cup, the European Championships, the Copa America, the UEFA and AFC Champions League tournaments plus dozens of Socceroos, the National League, and the A-League matches.He also has interviewed enough top footballers to be able to compile a strong ‘World XI’. He is the author of ‘The World Cup Story, An Australian View’ (1994), as well as ‘Quote, Unquote’ (2022). Philip, who was born in Malta, migrated to Australia in 1981 and lives in Sydney.
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