Adelaide’s success has covered up A-League’s problems
Roar Guru By Jesse Fink, 14 Jan 2009 Jesse Fink is a Roar Guru
- Tagged:
- Adelaide United, Aurelio Vidmar, Australia A, development, football, Germany, Guus Hiddink, Pim Verbeek, South Korea, Sydney Football Stadium
The problem with most clichés, as much as they are anathema to any writer, is that they are true. That point was brought home to me late last week when I met Afshin Ghotbi, the Iranian-American former coach of Persepolis FC who was in Sydney on holiday with his Dutch-Korean girlfriend, Yorum.
It is indeed a small world. And nowhere more than in football.
I’d first spoken to Afshin back in 2006 when he was assistant to Pim Verbeek in South Korea, the same time I’d first met the Dutchman. They lived in Seoul, I lived in Sydney and we might well as have been on separate planets. Their mission at the time, post Dick Advocaat at Germany 2006, was to win the Asian Cup.
Fast-forward three years and Pim is now coach of Australia and Afshin, as I reported on The World Game on Monday, wants to work in the A-League.
For now, Afshin is back at home in Dubai, cooling his heels and waiting for the right job offer. He’s already been approached to work in a cashed-up Middle Eastern league but has made it plain his preference is to work where there are opportunities for real change; where he can make a difference.
It is the same mentality that has guided the career paths of his mentors, Guus Hiddink, Verbeek and Advocaat and it is incumbent upon Australian football administrators to attract to our fledgling league this calibre of football adventurer that exists in and around the Asian/Middle Eastern football axis. Men like Ghotbi, like Jorvan Vieira.
Some would call them “mercenaries”, but that is unfair; mercenary suggests someone who is just there to do a job, get paid, then leave at the first opportunity.
Ghotbi, for one, stayed in Korea for the best part of a decade, as did Verbeek.
(Hiddink might be accused of being one for the speed by which he took and left the Australia job but those were the unique conditions of his assignment. Since then he appears to have bunkered down with some permanence in Russia.)
As I first wrote back in December, for a very young league still learning the ropes of professionalism and the Asian football scene the A-League has a dearth of good foreign coaches and we are losing ground to the Japanese by the day in persisting with local over quality.
There is no reason why foreign coaches can’t come here. They are more affordable than you might think and Australia offers lifestyle and educational opportunities not always available elsewhere in Asia and the Middle East that makes this country a very attractive option for them and their families.
But the overriding objective of our administrators seems to be fast-tracking the coaching careers of ex-players who still have a great deal to learn and an even greater deal of territory to cover before they should rightfully get the chance to call themselves a “coach”. Men like Paul Okon, like Alex Tobin, even Aurelio Vidmar.
In some ways the “success” of Vidmar’s Adelaide United in Asia has been one of the worst things that could happen to the development of the Australian game because it covers up a lot of what is wrong with the domestic league. There is still an all-pervasive kick-and-rush mentality and cult of physicality while slick, smart combination football and tactical smarts are placed at a low premium.
Ghotbi told me after the Sydney-Wellington game at the Sydney Football Stadium that what he’d seen was “absolutely horrible” and that there was scarcely a passage of play where more than five passes had been strung together.
The A-League can be better. We just need to open up our small minds to that small world.
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January 14th 2009 @ 9:26am
Koala Bear said | January 14th 2009 @ 9:26am | Report comment
I can’t agree with the statement that we need to import overseas coaches anymore.. This was the out cry in the 70′s, 80′s and 90′s and was the right call at the time .. However, today I think Vidmar has made that quantum leap forward to prove beyond doubt that the home grown manager, given the chance can cut it with the best…
As Dave has said or implied we have reached the point that a second tier overseas coach can’t offer anymore than our ex Roos who are in search for a manager’s career.. Unless we can attract the very top tier of managers; the likes of Campallo, Rafa, Hiddink, Fergie, or a Wenger.. Most certainly the elite super star mangers would be very welcomed, but undoubtedly unlikely.. What we do have coming through locally is far better than the second rate foreign manager we have had so far whom had very little to give in superior knowledge.. and did not stay to commit to Australian Football ..
The time has come to put our faith in the local lads, of the likes of Vidmar, GVE, Okon, Zelic, Tobin, a host of potential Roos looking for a chance to kick start a managerial career; these are the ones we need to foster .. We need a conveyor belt of our most Intellectually astute football, ex Roos given the very best opportunity to succeed.. An Australian home grown Football Culture from the grassroots; thru to a managerial career .. If we fail to do this; we have failed Australian Football…
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KB
January 14th 2009 @ 10:03am
Mick of Newie said | January 14th 2009 @ 10:03am | Report comment
KB
Our club coaches are very inexperienced, look at the CV’s for Vidmar, Okon, GVE, Mitchell, Ferguson. I support opportunities for them. But I think they would be better coaches if they were made to match wits with really experienced coaches week in week out. Those experienced coaches are not here. Our players would get a different perspective and would be better for their input.
Find me a SFC fan who desn’t wish that Littbarski was still coaching the choppers.
January 14th 2009 @ 10:07am
Dave said | January 14th 2009 @ 10:07am | Report comment
KB
Spot on KB
Unless the best are willing to come (and can be afforded) then l say keep giving the up and coming locals a go. Easy to say they need experience o/s but not always easy to arrange…that said l’m sure there would ba a number of Asian clubs perhaps willing to give Vidmar a go.
No one argues that we shouldn’t be aiming for the best possible standard in HAL. We already have a very strong Dutch influence at the Director of Coaching level…give this some time to filter through. Sure Oz coaches go overseas to coach but where? Thailand, Vietnam, Maybe China or Korea or Japan? Ange Postacoglu is coaching in Greece 2nd Div is that good enough? At this stage an Oz coaching in the elite Euro or Sth American leagues is light years away.
Do we really need 2nd tier foreign coaches to continue to come here, cost a fortune and leave with very few successes?
It is imperative that we learn from the best. The FFA are putting in place some structures to ensure this occurs. Continue to educate and if in the meantime a top quality, affordable foreign coach wants to come and coach here by all means…but lets not hold our breath that will be the panacea for the quality of the HAL.
MoN
So International coaches dont make mistakes? Scolari (World Cup winner) at Chelski? etc
GVE won a Prem and this season has been unlucky with injuries, failed foreign player and defections. He could have walked away at the start of the season as that is most likely what an experienced international coach may have done.
l am certainly no apologist for JK but even his harshest critic would have sympathy with devastating list of injuries retirements etc to the extent they are now playing 4 NYL players in the team! Certainly be an experience for a foreign coach to work under the salary cap…
As stated originally not opposed to foreign coaches but only the best please, otherwise training up and giving a go to the Oz coaches for me.
January 14th 2009 @ 10:15am
Towser said | January 14th 2009 @ 10:15am | Report comment
Jesse
It is impossible (unless you choose not to see the truth) not to see the deficiencies in the A-League.
I’m not talking Messi like skills here, I”m talking professional football basics. Examples booting the ball by a defender upfield when theres acres of space around him . I’m no professional coach, but surely its easier & more effective & more pleasing to theb eye(Keep possession) to control it & have another player in position to receive the ball. A mentality of the Aussie system of coaching.
Next crossing the ball. Most times over hit or straight to the goalkeepers hands. Not only is crossing important for its accuracy but for its contribution to the excitement of football. Winger gets the ball crosses into the pizza hut behind the stadium deflation for the fans. Winger gets the ball straight to Van Dijks head, Big Og rises to challenge crowd holds its breath. If Og wins the ball or Van Dijk heads into the net excitement either way for the crowd.
Next running with the ball at your feet nothing more exhilharating for a football fan than to see a player running at another player with the ball at his feet. Most of the time the attack breaks down because the tight control skills of the attacker are poor. Defenders win mostly. Yet if you see It excecuted expertly ,effectively as per Minniecon last week what a treat.
Its most obvious when the running with the ball turns into dribbling because of lack of space say near the corner flag. The player has to beat his man near the line to cross into the middle,hopefully to an onrushing player.90% of the time it goes out for a goal kick.Yet once again lack of technique deprives fans of moments of excitement. If the ball goes into the middle into the mix anything can happen.
Next is weighting of a ball either to light or to heavy. Too light gives the defender time to recover the space he lost too heavy either goes out or defender(s) recover as before. The amount of times goall scoring moments are lost because of this is many. Once again the forward momentum, anticipation,excitement of a goal is lost to the crowd.
That I see these basic professional Football basics lacking still after 4 years of the A-League says to me there is an overall lack of understanding by A-League coaches of what professional football requires to be a spectacle. All these basic skills if excecuted professionally would have added to the excitement of A-League Football.
Do I think the current crop of coaches can change this. So far only Aurelio has shown the capacity to evolve & his team with it. Perhaps Ernie Merrick also judging by the type of player brought in. John Kosmina highly unlikely(definite change needed at SFC)the rest are we prepared to hang in there until long term participation in the ACL forces our coaches to reassess their coaching methods as per Aurelio this year? Personally I feel we can do better than what we have but I think its better to let participation in the ACL expose those coaches who cannot step up to the plate. In this respect GVE & LM will be the next to be tested.
Theres no doubt in my mind that foreign coaches can be found to do better coaching job than Australians. No matter what Aussies think, this country is naive when it comes to knowing what is required to put professional football on the park as has been played overseas for over a hundred years. However rather than throw out an Aussie & bring in an Overseas Fossie perhaps its better to let natural attrition sort the wheat from the chaff.
January 14th 2009 @ 10:18am
Millster said | January 14th 2009 @ 10:18am | Report comment
I am on Jesse’s side in this debate – no out of a ‘cringe’ about the notion of Aussie coaches mind you but in a simply merit based way. If for the same dollar as a ‘green’ Aussie coach you can have an experienced and successful foreign one who wants to come here then we are doing the league a disservice by not considering them. This is one area in which we cannot afford to be parochial and protectionist. Football is a world game and as such we need to infuse all aspect of what we do down here with the falvours of the world. Dave’s “Oz style of play” (see first response) is a useless pursuit if it does not deliver success against opponents from theregion and from the world.
January 14th 2009 @ 10:32am
Dave said | January 14th 2009 @ 10:32am | Report comment
Towser
No doubt the quality of HAL can be improved and significantly. What needs to be remembered that this is a feeder league and so every couple of years all the players with real talent will be gone o/s and so need to be replaced by the next crop coming up. This doesnt happen in the top leagues around the world and so it is pointless trying to compare quality.
All the mistakes you list above l see regularly and not just watching MV. l see the same when l watch teams from the lower half of the EPL with many ofthese clubs in a sense feeder clubs to the bigger clubs…ever tried to watch Stoke vs Bolton with both teams having plenty of internationals, West Brom v Blackburn? The Championship? sit and watch the full 90 minutes of some of these games.
The point being that even with the best coaching even top players will make plenty of mistakes. The best coaching is very important but lets face it the top tier coaches aint coming here to coach in the HAL.
l used the analogy of ManU in the early to mid 90s when they had a team good enough to dominate EPL but were many times an embarrasment in European comp. AF wasnt given the flick rather he learnt by coaching in such situations year after year. The same with Vidmar and the like the more they coach in Asia.
January 14th 2009 @ 10:46am
Finno said | January 14th 2009 @ 10:46am | Report comment
I have played a fair bit of football in Brisbane at a non professional level, and I also had the chance to play 2 years in the UK. What I learnt in the UK about football blew my mind, we had one guy who played for Tottenham and who son now played for us. In training he would sit in the back and direct the back line it was awesome I leanrt heaps.
In the UK at the lower levels they work on the basics and doing it right, Australia we are trying to sprint before we can walk. The UK game was all based on passing and giving the option for a pass. Pulling defenders out of position and attacking the space. Lobbing the ball up field is useless.
In Australia I was told as a defender to give it a lob up the field instead of retaining possession and looking for a mid field of forward running into space this was from a very young age. But I watch the Roar and observe that even season players like Moore lob the ball up field to be picked off by a defender. I can honestly say I have seen games that the Roar have played in which they struggled to link 3 passes together (that was about 2 years ago).
In saying all this I have noticed that the standard of the A – league has improved, but it can improve some more. Like the A-League its self the standard is growing better but slowly and is heading tin the right direction.
. But having a foriegn coach could open our minds to a different type of football and if they come it cant hurt our game.
January 14th 2009 @ 10:54am
Towser said | January 14th 2009 @ 10:54am | Report comment
Dave
Cant disagree that in lower English football these mistakes occur. First point I”ll make is yes they do ,but not with the same alarming frequency as the A-League. Secondly -Personally I dont want the A-League to be a clone of the lower English Leagues. We can do better than that technically & should be aiming to do so. The Japanese have managed this as you know without bringing in Scolari & its no coincidence that they are enjoying their best crowds since the creation of the J-League.
Gambas Japanese coach had “The Knowledge” no doubt in my mind.
Regarding feeder Leagues once again maybe were overdoing ,overstating this in Australia & its time to start thinking like Japanese players do that their bread is better buttered here in at home It doesnt seem to have harmed either their domestic League or National team. Similar in the USA. OF course money is a major factor in this but I dont want to keep seeing players like David Williams & Dario Vidosic at the Roar leaving for what,after a brief period with the Roar.
The more players in their prime like Jason Culina return the more chance we have of gaining credibility for the A-League & it becoming less of a feeder league. Lets face it the only reason it is a feeder league is money & I’ll accept that ourselves like the rest of the world will always be a feeder league to the top 4. What I dont accept long term is that the A-League is a feeder league to the likes of the Norwegian domestic league. The only thing stopping this is moolah & thats where the Japanese have it over us in retaining their top players. That should be our aim.
January 14th 2009 @ 11:15am
Pippinu said | January 14th 2009 @ 11:15am | Report comment
Kaz
I mispelt Barbieri a few weeks back, and I haven’t been able to shake it since – you’ll just have to accept it.
I presume you agree with the essential point that Barbieri and Reid cut down Carlos at every available opportunity a couple of weeks back.
January 14th 2009 @ 11:20am
Towser said | January 14th 2009 @ 11:20am | Report comment
Finno
Earlier in the season the Roar were ‘Doing the boot” no doubt about it. There was a bit of a ruckus about this after they played Adelaide about the end of October culminating in a newspaper article in the Courier mail. This particularly related to the fact that their style of play was showing up in their dismal(at the time) home record. Coincidentally things seemed to have improved from there. Whilst there is still deficiencies as I stated in an earlier post & you alluded to with the Roar struggling to string 3 passes together it is infinitely better than earlier. I watch Moore closely. Quality player. His clearances 90% of the time are measured. He gets possession of the ball,makes space & passes accurately up the field to one of our players. The way he reads the play ,makes the space ,spots the player all examples of ‘Professional” defender play.
Minniecon last week, what running at players is all about. Zullos crossing is much improved Tommy Oar. Give him another few cms & KGs what can this kid be ?. What a free kick technique for a 17 year old the other week against WP.
I reserve judgement on Frank Farinas coaching at the Roar& hopefully we can get into the ACL & see what hes really made of.
Trouble is with A-League teams they are playing to the opposition. If the style is similar then you play accordingly. What participation in the ACL will do is force clubs to change their style to a more technical one. The more clubs in the ACL over a period the more the A-League will change to a technical style.
What is more important is that with the “Dutch mafia ” in control of the coaching system up & coming youngsters will slip easilly into this more technical style as opposed to their predecessors.