Schwarzer's shoes - and gloves - hard to fill Schwarzer retires from the Socceroos We revisit some career highlights as goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer decides to end his time with the Socceroos after representing Australia 109 times. PT1M24S http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/action/externalEmbeddedPlayer?id=d-2x0sm 620 349 November 6, 2013 - 1:36PM New Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou got it right when he called the former - and how strange it is to think of him that way - national team No. 1 Mark Schwarzer an icon of the sport in Australia. The 41-year-old Chelsea goalkeeper has been a permanent fixture in the Socceroos line-up for most of the past decade and more, having succeeded Mark Bosnich after his retirement. He then saw off the challenge from his long-running rival Zeljko Kalac, who retired after the 2006 World Cup. Mark Schwarzer leaves big gloves to fill. Schwarzer's consistency, longevity and ability have rightly earned him legendary status in the Australian game. For virtually all of his career he has played at the highest level, in the English Premier League, for Middlesbrough, Fulham and now Chelsea. He has starred for Australia in two World Cups and two Asian Cups and has been the hero on more than one occasion with a series of spectacular saves that kept the Socceroos in matches they had no right to get anything out of. Everyone remembers that night of heroism in Sydney in November 2005 when Schwarzer excelled in the penalty shootout, although it very nearly didn't happen as then Socceroos coach Guus Hiddink had planned to substitute Kalac for Schwarzer. He believed the even taller "Spider" made him a better bet in the circumstances. But Schwarzer proved himself in no uncertain terms: he saved two Uruguayan spot kicks in that sudden-death play-off, paving the way for John Aloisi's winning strike that sent the Socceroos through to the World Cup in Germany for the first time in 32 years. It wasn't the first time Schwarzer had shown his prowess in the shootout lottery. In 1993, in only his second game for the national team, he saved two penalties against Canada to help the Socceroos through to a continental play-off against Argentina. But Schwarzer was much more than a penalty king, although his record in saving spot kicks was very respectable - as anyone who saw him stop one in Kunming against China in a 2010 World Cup qualifier can testify. Had Australia lost its route to South Africa could have been much more difficult. His save earned the Socceroos a point in a 0-0 draw. Most of us have favourite Schwarzer moments. Mine is more than a moment, it was an entire 90 minutes, again, in a World Cup qualifier, this time in Manama, Bahrain. Australia's squad of Premier League professionals was expected to dispose of the Bahrainis with a minimum of fuss and continue its progress to a first attempt at World Cup qualification through the Asian confederation. The reality was somewhat different. As Arabic music and chanting blasted through the loudspeakers, Schwarzer maintained concentration for 90 minutes. Australia was dreadfully out of sorts as the unranked Bahrainis dominated the match, forcing the Socceroos goalkeeper to make countless saves. He did his job and, against the run of play, Mark Bresciano grabbed a 90th-minute winner. Without Schwarzer the game would have had a very different complexion. Schwarzer "won" games from the spot, and rescued his country on numerous occasions as he earned his record 109 caps. His are big gloves to fill.