When did Australia take their first steps on the path to Asian Cup glory?
Was it after leaving the World Cup in Brazil with their heads held high but without a single point to show for their efforts from three matches played?
Perhaps it was when Football Federation Australia fired Holger Osieck and put the call in to Ange Postecoglou, the architect of Brisbane Roar's rise to A-League powerhouse status.
Finding the start of this story means following the Socceroos' newly appointed coach, tasked with the challenge of reinvigorating and restoring pride to the men in green and gold, back to the moment he first laid eyes on diminutive midfielder Massimo Luongo.
If you'd canvassed opinions 18 months ago, the slight-of-frame Swindon Town player, a discarded product of Tottenham's academy, would have been an unlikely candidate for the title of 'Asian Cup hero'.
But those are exactly the terms being applied to the 22-year-old after he capped off a breakout tournament with a goal in Australia's 2-1 extra-time win over South Korea in the final in Sydney on Saturday.
"I was cursing him," he said.
"It was a windy old day, it was a bit of a battle the actual game. It was freezing. I was wondering why he couldn't be playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona. He may be one day. But the fact he was in League One didn't put me off. We knew he was a guy who deserved an opportunity."
Luongo himself appears to be the perfect Postecoglou disciple.
"We set out on this journey before the World Cup," Luongo told the media late on Saturday.
"The boss put the main thing forward, 'we have to have belief in ourselves. Together, we can make history', he said. And we have. Today ... no words can describe it."
There were suggestions the desperation and urgency of the contest lessened its aesthetic appeal. Quite the opposite, as far as the winning coach was concerned.
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," Postecoglou said.
"I thought it was a beautiful game. It's two teams going at it, giving everything they've got because they know what's on the line. Today was about courage and belief ... the players had that in abundance."
