For half a century Johnny Warren was synonymous with football in Australia. His often lonely mission to bring the beautiful game into the mainstream eventually made him one of the great characters of our sporting culture.

Despite his many achievements both on and off the pitch he was often seen as no more than an advocate for the game he loved, or an interesting bloke who once captained the tragically unsuccessful Socceroos.

When Johnny died in 2004, his home city of Sydney gave him the highest honour, a State Funeral. No one in their wildest imagination could have predicted the outpouring of grief and gratitude, sadness and admiration that followed.

How was it that a long-retired player from a supposedly minor sport, better known for its scandals than its achievements, could attract such an outpouring of genuine emotion from so many Australians?

As the bishop of South Sydney, Robert Forsyth, said at the ceremony, "you don't get a state funeral just for being able to kick a round ball".

Those who considered Warren only a sportsman had severely underestimated him and the esteem in which he was held. People knew Johnny's story and they admired him as a man even more than they loved him as a footballer.

And Johnny - you told us so.