Graham Arnold was on death row as Socceroos coach 18 months ago.
After a promising start in World Cup qualifying for Qatar 2022, Australia missed automatic qualification and only scraped into a playoff spot by a single point.
Needing to win two one-off playoffs to reach the World Cup - against UAE and the seventh-placed South American nation - it looked like the Socceroos' chances of reaching the World Cup were low.
MORE: Socceroos: Five players to watch in the World Cup qualifiers against Bangladesh and Palestine
Arnold would almost be certainly done as coach if Australia failed to reach Qatar and even if the unlikely did happen to qualify for the World Cup, it didn't seem the veteran would be the long-term leader of the team.
Fast forward to now and Arnold is about to become the Socceroos' most capped manager during Thursday night's World Cup qualifier versus Bangladesh, and there is a strong case for him being Australia's greatest-ever national team manager.
The turnaround is extraordinary with Arnold now holding a contract through until the 2026 World Cup in USA, Canada and Mexico.
And it began with a grind through the World Cup qualifying playoffs with an incredible tactical decision paving the road to Qatar.
MORE: Socceroos squad: Australia's players to face Bangladesh and Palestine in World Cup qualifiers
Australia ground out a 2-1 win against UAE in the playoff to determine the AFC's representative for the intercontinental playoff.
Ajdin Hrustic's 84th minute winner meant the Socceroos would face Peru in a one-off match for a spot in the World Cup.
After 120 minutes the match against Peru was deadlocked 0-0 but Arnold made the winning play shortly before the final whistle.
Taking off captain Maty Ryan for the penalty shootout and bringing on Andrew Redmayne for seemed like a nonsensical move.
But the Peruvians had prepared for Ryan and couldn't deal with Redmayne's eccentricities while in goal.
It's a substitution from Arnold that will go down in Australia footballing folklore.
After scraping in to Qatar, the next worry was that the Socceroos wouldn't be competitive on the world stage - especially in a group with France, Denmark and Tunisia.
With two top 10 nations in the group, finishing third would be a good achievement.
Instead Australia took the lead against France, despite eventually losing to the reigning champions, and defeated both Tunisia and Denmark 1-0 to reach the knockout stage for only the second time.
In the last 16, the Socceroos were expected to get thrashed by tournament favourite and eventual winner Argentina.
But instead they gave Messi and co. a torrid time, fighting back from a 2-0 deficit with a goal and being unlucky not to equalise through Garang Kuol in stoppage time.
Australia's fighting performances and eventual result in Qatar ensured Arnold's long-term future as Socceroos manager.
Now Arnold is overseeing the next generation of green and gold stars and there is definitely room for plenty of optimism.
Initially there appeared to be a dearth of talent in the top leagues of Europe, but as Arnold has always maintained there is plenty of players coming through.
Jordy Bos, 21, will be the nation's left-back, and possible left winger, for the next 10 years and he won't be playing in the Eredivisie for long.
Central defender Cameron Burgess has led Ipswich Town to be equal top in the Championship, with Massimo Luongo also finding form.
Another centre-half, 20-year-old Alessandro Circati is a starting player for Serie B leaders Parma, after opting to play for Australia over Italy.
Winger Sam Silvera has gone from a depth player at Newcastle Jets to a breakout Championship talent at Middlesbrough, making his Socceroos debut during the last window.
This is not to mention a swag of talent who are close to national team selection - including Bayern Munich-bound Nestory Irankunda, playmaker Alexander Robertson, winger Cristian Volpato and Kuol, who is now finding his feet in the Netherlands.
The Socceroos have gone from being a team seemingly missing the 2022 World Cup to a nation that has an exciting football future.
And a lot of the credit has to go to Arnold.
A figure that polarises opinion because of his association with Sydney FC.
But a leader that has earned the right of being Australia's greatest national team manager.
