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John "Johnny" Warren (born May 17 1943 in Sydney , Australia ; died November 6 2004 in Sydney) was a Football (soccer) player, coach, administrator, writer and promoter of the Game In Australia . He is a member of the Football Federation Australia - Football Hall Of Fame . PLAYING CAREER Warren was a key member of the first Australian team to qualify for the World Cup finals. The Australian team, known as the Socceroos , competed at the 1974 World Cup in Group A with West Germany , East Germany and Chile . Australia's sole point came from a 0-0 draw with Chile. He did not live to see Australia qualify again for the World Cup with victory over Uruguay in November 2005 in Sydney. RETIREMENT AND BEYOND Warren retired after playing 62 games for Australia as a mid-fielder. After his playing career, Warren became a champion of the sport in Australia and spent his life trying to promote the game in a country dominated by other football codes. He was a regular television presenter on the SBS network as well as an administrator and public diplomat for the game. Warren frequently argued for abolition of the Oceania Football Confederation , claiming that the OFC offered nothing to either the world game nor to the nations that comprised the confederation. (The OFC currently does not have a direct qualification route to the World Cup. Instead, the OFC champion must play another sudden-death series against a single team from either South America or Asia team for the final World Cup berth.) Warren favoured a merger between the Oceania and Asian confederations that would allow the OFC nations to play in a regular qualification series, instead of the sudden-death matches playoffs. Australia eventually moved to the AFC in 2006. Warren's publicly held belief was that if Australia's strong sporting tradition was focused on the sport then Australia could be a world power in the game. One of his famous quotes on the matter was "I'm sick of us saying, 'When are we going to qualify for the World Cup'? When are we going to ''win'' the World Cup? ... Call me a dreamer." His comments came shortly after Australia had defeated England 3-1 in a friendly featuring a full-strength English side, and several Confederations Cup wins over France and Brazil when Australia took third place at the 2001 Confederations Cup in a 1-0 playoff win over Brazil. Warren claimed that these results showed that Australia was a much more powerful football nation than many gave it credit for. At the time, Australia was reigning world champion in the other international codes - Rugby Union and Rugby League . Many, however, believe that Australia will never be taken seriously as a football nation until it regularly qualifies for the World Cup Finals. STRUGGLE FOR NATIONAL SUCCESS Warren wept openly on national television in 1997 when two very late goals by Iran resulted in a 2-2 draw against the Socceroos in the final World Cup qualifying match and sent Iran to the . In 2002, Warren published a best selling book, ''Sheilas, Wogs and Poofters'', which traced the growth of football in Australia, especially in the post-WWII years. The title refers to alleged Racist and Sexist attitudes towards football exhibited frequently by many Australians and especially the major city media in Australia through this period. FINAL DAYS In 2003 Warren publicly announced that he had been diagnosed with Lung Cancer . Several months later FIFA president Sepp Blatter presented a frail Warren with the FIFA Centennial Order of Merit for his services to the game in Australia. His last public appearance was made during the launch of the new Australian domestic football league, branded the A-League (not to be confused with the American League that previously had the same name), which replaced the previous National Soccer League . He died of his cancer on 6 November 2004, at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney . EXTERNAL LINKS
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