IF Ravuama Madigi had just but one wish which could be granted to him, it would be to re-live the year of 1988.
This was no ordinary year for Fiji but was one that will be remembered by everyone who was present at Prince Charles Park in Nadi on the afternoon of November 28 where Fiji defeated the Australian Socceroos 1-nil.
And what made this win so special was the fact that the Socceroos were one of the best teams in the World Cup at the time having defeated world champion Argentina with a unbelievable 4-nil victory and a 1-nil win over a mighty Yugoslavia at the Seoul Olympics that same year.
Though this may be nothing more than a distant memory in the minds of many, former team striker Madigi vividly remembers how things went down that afternoon like it was yesterday.
Madigi, during his prime years, was renowned for his dangerous left boot and had been a common name among commentators as “lethal Madigi” during the late 1980s.
“Yes, sometimes when I think back to that day, I can close my eyes and hear the cheers from the crowd as the final whistle went off,” the 57-year-old shared.
As you would have guessed it, the golden goal came from Madigi’s left boot in the 67th minute of the second spell.
“I just love shooting in goals, that feeling of running and cheering with your teammates had a different effect on me altogether.”
Though Frank Arok’s Socceroos side was studded with star players, our boys entered Prince Charles Park with hearts full of hunger, drive and determination to steal the win for the 8000 fans who were present that day.
Madigi is originally from Navutulevu Village in the province of Serua and shares maternal links to Ba. The ‘left footer’ grew up into a family where all three of his elder brothers and majority of his uncles had played soccer at provincial and national level. Therefore his interest for the sport grew from a very young age.
Since this was the case, Madigi was able to quickly climb the ladders from representing the district of Ba to forcing his way into the national squad. He was only 23 year old when he was selected.
“I loved the sport and the goal of one day reaching the national squad was always in mind. I started playing for Ba when I was only 19 years old, that was in 1984.”
He was able to make the Fiji Youth squad in 1985 (under-19) which toured Australia that year and was named in the men’s national soccer team the following year. With the whole of Fiji being shut down in the 1987 coup by Sitiveni Rabuka, the national team became active again in 1988.
Madigi said the boys were ready to do whatever it took to win that match. Having to win would mean more to the island nation than it would mean to them as a team.
The Billy Singh-coached side that was named to take on the Socceroos was, and is still considered the best team produced by Fiji to this day. For a whole month prior to game day, the team had been at camp, training full-time under Singh’s watchful eyes.
In lead-up to the action against the Socceroos, Fiji had just returned from winning the first-ever Melanesian Cup that was held in the Solomon Islands and had defeated New Zealand three times in a series.
“One thing that was special about that team was that all the players were proud and humbled at the same time having been able to don the white jersey and carry the fate of the country,” Madigi said.
“Everyone in the team had so much respect for each other and these strengthened our bond as team mates. And I think this was a huge factor that helped us win that day. Trusting one another was key.”
As the players jogged onto the Nadi turf, every player in the squad could smell victory while locking eyes with the every player in the squad could smell victory while locking eyes with the visitors
only seconds before the game.
Though Fiji came with a very young side with a few experienced players, the huge nturnout from the fans assured the team that they were destined to win that day.
“People from all the districts that played soccer were there that day. Even before the game started they had already started cheering for us, it was crazy,” Madigi said
He still remembers seeing people hanging from trees surrounding the ground trying to get a glimpse of what was to be “history in the making”.
“Just seeing the huge turnout and the support from the fans were overwhelming, there was no way we were going to lose that game.”
Fiji’s winner came through from the combination of the evergreen Ba counterparts Lote Delai, Vimal Sami and Madigi after executing a play that left their opponents scratching their heads in disbelief.
The trio had played together when they represented Ba in 1985 and was the ‘men in black’ deadliest combination and trump card when they won the Inter-District Championship that year. “This was a play that the three of us had come up with and was our ‘Ace Card’ in scoring goals against oppositions.”
The play was that when Lote would receive any inside ball from the mid-fielder during an over-lap run, he would then have to drive it to the outside flank while Sami and Madigi would position themselves on the inside, near the box of the goal.
A curved pass from Lote to Sami would be a dummy for the Socceroos who would rush for Sami, giving space for Madigi’s magical left boot.
Just like it had been a hundred times before, the play ran smoothly as Madigi connected his left boot with precision, leaving no chance for Socceroos keeper Jeff Olver to even make a move for the ball.
“I knew I had hit it well but I wasn’t sure it went in until I heard the cheers from the stands.”
After Fiji was able to break the Australia defence, they switched their game-play into defence mode, holding the fort until the sound of the final hooter.
Though the Socceroos had multiple opportunities near Fiji’s goal-mouth, fate seemed to have been diverting the ball away from it.
“We moved everyone to the back closer to our own goal and just had one striker up front. We wanted to defend our goal and prevent an equaliser.”
These missed opportunities had cost Australia the game when the final hooter went off, leaving Australian fans dumbstruck as to how their world-class team had lost to Fiji, who was around the 80th mark in the world rankings.
“As soon as the hooter went off everyone watching from the stands rushed into the turf and started celebrating with the Fijian players,” Madigi recalled.
The mighty Socceroos had fallen at the hands of our Fiji nteam on our own turf — victory was ours.
“We were crying and hugging one another, we had done it. The ambition we had in mind had finally materialised before our eyes.”
According to Madigi, this was one of the best experiences he had ever had.
It was also the second time Fiji had beaten the Socceroos by the same margin 11 years prior.
Singh, also originally from Ba, was carried from the sideline unto the shoulders of his players as the Socceroos disappeared to their changing room.
“We later went on to play the Socceroos again in Newcastle in Australia but we lost 5-nil.”
These days Madigi lives in Ba and is the assistant coach for the district team but still takes the time out for a little game of soccer every now and then.
Madigi retired from soccer when he was 37 years old after representing Rewa in 2001 where he helped the side win the IDC title after nailing an impressive penalty goal outside the 18-yard box. It broke the hearts of many Ba supporters as they watched their former “Ba hero” steal the title and end Rewa’s 29-year drought since they last won the IDC.
Though this historic win was a very long time ago, Madigi says teammates from the 1988 national squad would still meet up from time to time where they would sit down around a tanoa and reminisce on the ‘good old days’.
“The bond we have will never be broken; there was something special that sparked within us team members after winning against the Socceroos.”
But then again, it’s all but a faded memory that Madigi and his teammates from the 1988 squad can only ponder upon and laugh about as they slowly retire with age.
From time to time, images and snippets from that day still enters and reminds our heroes of ‘88 of the time when they carved their names in the Fiji football history books as some of the best soccer players to have graced our the field. But for Madigi, as he sits outside his Ba home porch, overlooking the rugged terrains of Ba – he keeps finding himself closing his eyes as the warm
Western breeze brushes his face, taking him back to that golden afternoon of November 28, 1988.
