The Subway Socceroos are back home ahead of two fixtures against Lebanon, a match-up with enhanced meaning due to the large number of Australians who possess Lebanese heritage.
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One of those is Socceroo #387 and former Central Coast Mariners Academy manager Abbas Saad.
Saad moved to Australia when he was just eight years old after fleeing war-torn Beirut in Lebanon.
He went on to play for several clubs in the National Soccer League, spent time playing in Asia and earned four caps for the Socceroos.
But his professional football career was a long way away from his upbringing in Lebanon, as he explained.
“I emigrated to Australia from Lebanon in 1977 and it's probably the happiest day of my life, coming to Australia, such a beautiful country, we owe so much as a family and as a whole to Australia,” he said.
“Obviously, things weren't great, leaving war-torn Beirut at the time, the war was just starting in ’76, so we were there for about a year. To get out of there at that time was probably a blessing in disguise.”
Despite those troubling times that forced Saad and his family to move 14,188 kilometres to Sydney, Lebanon will always be a home for him.
“Lebanon will always be my first home and Australia will be my second home, it's that simple."
“It's where I was brought up, it’s where my family was brought up, but saying that I'm grateful for the home that I have here in Australia and the life that I've lived so far."
“There were tough times back there, but you don't forget your heritage and that's one thing about me, I never forget where I come from, and I take everything as a positive.”
And that notion is something that Saad believes the Australian Lebanese community will show at CommBank Stadium in Parramatta on Thursday night when the two sides face-off in a FIFA World Cup qualifier.
“I thought it was a brilliant draw for Lebanon, and I think for the Lebanese community,” he said.
“We have so many Lebanese Australians that live in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and I think everybody will come from everywhere to come and support them.”
Saad spoke about the emotions that came back in 1992, when the striker earned his first Socceroos cap, in what was one of the proudest moments of his life.
“There was a lot of emotion, a lot of happiness and a lot of crying, just to get that first cap and to know that you're good enough and that you belong, I think that gave me the confidence to keep on going,” he said.
For Saad personally, there is an even closer connection to the game as the current Lebanon assistant manager, Youssef Mohamad, is his cousin.
The 81-capped Lebanon international captained FC Koln in the Bundesliga and has been involved in the national team backroom staff since 2016.
“One of my closest friends, my cousin, is the assistant coach and he's probably Lebanon’s greatest ever player,” Saad said.
“I’m looking forward to catching up with him and a lot of the players and I just hope they go out there and they compete.”
He admitted it won’t be an easy game for Lebanon as the Socceroos have been on a great run.
“It's a hard task to play against the Socceroos, they’re in the top three in Asia at the moment and rightly so, they've been on a great run,” he said.
“But it's great for those players to experience Australia and to get the support, and I think the stadium will probably be filled up with three quarters of the Lebanese community going and watching!”
To finish, Saad touched on the camaraderie within the Socceroos squad and how that links ever so closely back to his childhood as a young immigrant in Australia.
“I love the culture, that's why we all love the Socceroos because it's such a multicultural team,” he said.
“Kudos to Arnie (Graham Arnold), he's built a wonderful team at the moment and he's doing so well, but multiculturalism is such an important word I think in the current Socceroos setup.
“I embraced Australia and Australia embraced me and all I wanted to do was put the green and gold on and play for my country.”
Match Details
Subway Socceroos v Lebanon
Thursday, 21 March 2024
CommBank Stadium, Parramatta
Kick-off: 8.00pm AEDT
Tickets: Start from $20 Child, $25 Concession, $30 Adult, $80 Family via Ticketek
Broadcast: 10 Bold, 10 Play and Paramount+
Lebanon v Subway Socceroos
Tuesday, 26 March 2024
GIO Stadium, Canberra
Kick-off: 7.45pm AEDT
Tickets: Start from $15 Child, $20 Concession, $25 Adult, and $50 Family via Ticketek
Broadcast: 10 Bold, 10 Play and Paramount+