Neill reaches pinnacle of expectations

The last year has been one to remember for the lad from the northern beaches of Sydney, but tonight at Aussie Stadium, Qantas Socceroo defender Lucas Neill will achieve one of his ultimate dreams.

The last year has been one to remember for the lad from the northern beaches of Sydney, but tonight at Aussie Stadium, Qantas Socceroo defender Lucas Neill will achieve one of his ultimate dreams.

He may have played his first game as captain of the national team last Saturday night against Paraguay, but when he leads the Australian team onto the pitch at Aussie Stadium, it will be one of the biggest moments of his career.

It-s not everyday that you can captain your side in your home town and it-s an honour that Neill, quite humbly says ‘is the pinnacle of all my expectations-.

“I just keep ticking off dreams and achieving milestones in the last couple of months,” Neill said when asked how this ranks with the best moments of his career.

“All my boyhood dreams have now been achieved and this is well and truly up there. This is as good, if not better than entry into the World Cup with the national team.

“I-m now officially at the pinnacle of all my expectations.”

The Blackburn Rovers defender is still trying to pinch himself with everything that has happened in that time, but one senses that gaining the captaincy of the Australian national team fills him with the most pride of all.

“It was a great honour for me personally; it was a very proud moment to lead the national team out into a game,” he said of the experience in Brisbane against Paraguay.

“The only slight disappointment was the last 30 seconds, but apart from that, I am truly honoured in the performance of the team I led out and the passion and character that we showed.”

While the Bahrain match will be significant personally for himself, any personal glory will be put aside pretty quickly, as he made no bones about what his expects on Wednesday night.

“(It-s the) same game as any other for Australia. You are playing for your country; it-s all about national pride and we need to win this game, because we are Australia and we are playing at home.

“It doesn-t matter what-s at stake, but the fact is, if we do win we will be seeded in the Asian Cup.

“By no means will it be an easy game and their (Bahrain's) future in the Asian Cup hangs in the balance. If they get pasted tomorrow night, then it puts them under pressure against Kuwait, but if we don-t approach it in the right manner, I think it could be a banana skin game.”