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Now, part of the deal in getting a Dutchman as your head men’s national-team coach is you get a lot of plain talking thrown in for no charge. It’s something his domestic peers still quite haven’t come to grips with, if we are to inspect the damage from the latest verbal hand-grenade he’s lobbed into the A-league breach.
North Queensland Fury chairman Don Matheson is livid about comments Pim Verbeek made midweek regarding the representative prospects of new Gold Coast recruit Jason Culina.
It’s not especially breaking news – Verbeek was warning of Culina possibly jeopardising his Socceroos career by returning home in his prime a month ago – but it is timely, given Matheson is, in his own words, “busting his guts” to convince Culina’s fellow Socceroo Scott Chipperfield to play in Townsville and simultaneously keep his dream of going to South Africa 2010 alive.
“This could not have come at a worse time,” he said. “If I was a player, I’d probably be worried about what he’s saying … we’re right at the death in terms of the negotiations, and now the worry is this could have an impact. We’d be shattered if this affects his decision.”
And fair enough.
From a business perspective, Verbeek’s comments are unfortunate for the Fury, and they haven’t been helped by Football Federation Australia chief executive Ben Buckley’s tacit support of Verbeek’s views.
On the surface at least, what Verbeek is saying about the quality of the A-League compared to European leagues is highly incompatible with the goals and objectives of the FFA, which philosophically has been to lure the best available Australian players home from overseas.
But the FFA’s efforts have been piecemeal. It has been largely the individual initiative of clubs that have persuaded the likes of Jason Culina, Ljubo Milicevic, Paul Agostino and others to come back to Australia.
So it was perhaps fanciful of Matheson and anyone else to think Buckley was going to condemn Verbeek for whiteanting the A-League.
But there is, to be fair to Matheson, some inherent flaws in Verbeek’s broadbrush assessment of the A-League and what its players can offer the national team.
Craig Moore, the only A-League player to take the field in the recent Australia vs Japan World Cup qualifier in Yokohama, was arguably the Socceroos’ best on the night. Playing in the A-League has not hampered his abilities, as much as I can tell. He still seems sharp with his skills and positionally aware.
There is no reason, I believe, to think Culina cannot emulate the example of his Socceroos team-mate and play to the level he has hitherto provided for his manager. Culina says he can do it and who is to doubt him? He’s one of the hardest working Socceroos in the game’s history.
The A-League needs as many quality Socceroos that are still playing in Europe to finish their careers – either mid or late – in Australia.
It is incumbent on the clubs and the FFA to give them all the encouragement and incentives they can. And, to a certain point, that includes our national coach.
But it is up to them, and no else, to prove once they get back here that they are up to the task of combining representing a domestic club with representing the Socceroos.
If Culina thought he was blazing a trail just signing for the Gold Coast, he’s very much mistaken.
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goober said | February 20th 2009 @ 8:05am | Report comment
Is it also the case that Pim was referring to Culina specifically and not necessarily extending his damaging comments to others who may want to come back? I think i read on other websites that “Chippers” position was safe.
Mid career roos probably are better of overseas, and as much as i wld like to see them here in the HAL, bringing back many of the boys late in their careers has shown that they can be overpriced and over age. A lot of the supposed stars from overseas have flopped in the HAL – incl Rizzo, Ljubic, Agostino, Juric and Alosis for a myriad of reasons.
Cpaaa said | February 20th 2009 @ 8:45am | Report comment
I originally thought Culina is not the type of socceroo to draw a crowd in the HAL. I have since changed my thoughts,
At 28 he is in his prime, he is fitter and hungrier than other socceroos, a work horse, not a greedy bastard and I think he will absolutely tear the HAL apart. the move to GCU will make him an even stronger player and leader. If Chippers joins the North then be assured the new boys will be pushing for Asia.
If MV can keep Hernandez, Aloisi wakes up, AU sort out their B/S, and QR win the GF …
Then next seasons HAL will be a new era in Australian Football.
md said | February 20th 2009 @ 9:01am | Report comment
If it encourages the A-league clubs to step up to the plate in terms of their training and professionalism, then that would be a fantastic result for everyone. SFC is going to have UEFA pro level coaches. GCU is going to be coached by someone with an excellent pedegree of playing on the continent in the modern era, and will have the added incentive of keeping Culina fit for WC2010. It will be interesting to see the effects of this on the team.
As for Culina specifically – well it’s a pretty crowded midfield in the Socceroos, particularly if everyone is fit, so Pim might have a point. I’ll say no more on that issue, lest I wake sleeping dogs!
Cheers
md
whiskeymac said | February 20th 2009 @ 9:20am | Report comment
I agree md, lets hope that a knock on of all this means better coaching here. If not just to entice back players but to (more importantly) train the youngsters.
I hope Culina plays well and I hope next season is better than this, but most of all i wld like to see peple such as Pim be convinced of it, and begin to realise the leagues merits. whne Pim says it’s OK then we can be happy the league is OK…
Slippery Jim said | February 20th 2009 @ 9:22am | Report comment
According to the FFA, Austrlian football fans “want to see more football”. Therefore I think the new six team finals proposed for next year should be extended to a ten team finals system to extend the season and keep those fringe Socceroos fit. This is mindful of the eventual 20-team structure of the A-League.
Kazama said | February 20th 2009 @ 9:35am | Report comment
I also agree with md. There’s no risk of Culina taking it easy here, because he obviously wants to keep his spot in the Socceroos squad. Therefore Culina will train and play as hard as he does in Europe, and hopefully this will lead to the rest of the GCU team training at his intensity level and playing at that level. Then if the Gold Coast start playing teams off the park, the other sides will have to lift their game to compete. Ok, maybe it is a bit too much to expect one guy to change the standard of the A-League by himself, but he might start the process. If more current Socceroos like Chipperfield come home then I think it will definitely raise the standard of play here. These guys have to impress Pim to keep their spot – they have to keep playing like they are in Europe – and that can only be a good thing for our league.
Also if Sydney are successful next season maybe it will encourage teams to think about hiring overseas coaches with good credentials – even as assistants and youth team coaches – which again would raise the standard and the profile of the league.
whiskeymac said | February 20th 2009 @ 9:52am | Report comment
You would hope that with players like Moore already here, and with Culina and hopefully Chippers coming, that they wld pass on to their teammates some of these “foreign” training techniques they learnt playing overseas and so that overtime the overall standard wld be improving, as indeed the coaches insist it is.
Millster said | February 20th 2009 @ 10:32am | Report comment
I think you’re onto something there Whiskey – far more than their own contributions, if a good spread of Euro-experienced older guys come back to the HAL and give the youngsters a couple of years of realistic advice, counsel, warnings and encouragement before those youngsters themselves head abroad then that cannot be a bad thing. Plus of course transplant a bit of the techniques and leadership they learned overseas.
Oh, and SJ, what is this about an ‘eventual 20 team structure’? When was this mooted? Is this all to be in one competition level? I must say I hope not – too many teams for our country. My own view is the limit is 12 or 14 in our top tier.
sheek said | February 20th 2009 @ 10:34am | Report comment
I was talking to a work colleague & football fanatic about the Socceroos the other day. I ventured the hope that it would be great if one day the A-League could provide 50% or more of the Socceroos primary squad.
My colleague replied he believed this would eventually be the case, arguing young players were better off playing in the A-League than some obscure comp overseas. He further pointed out European clubs were becoming wary of signing Australian players only to lose them to various qualifiers on the other side of the globe.
My colleague further pointed out, he believed the current standard of the A-league was equivalent to the English 1st Division, which fans would appreciate is the next level down from the EPL. My colleague ventured that Aussie players were better off in the A-league than 1st Division, although at present the money was better in England.
Anyway, it all made sense to me. As for Pim’s remarks, my post is designed to support him. In the short-term, Culina might be leaving himself underdone.
At present, the A-League is a backwater, but hopefully that will change as time moves on. And it’s true, Moore, Culina, Chipperfield, etc returning to the A-League will help the young guys playing with/against them to learn their trade better & quicker.
md said | February 20th 2009 @ 10:40am | Report comment
Sheek – you might have a point about the level of the A-league. I suspect that our best clubs would compete with the bottom half of the table, but over the course of the gruelling season they play would be found out for depth.
The reasons many young Aussies join Championship clubs, is for the chance of doing what the likes of Richie Garcia and Johnny Filan have done – going up with their team and carving out an EPL career.
Cheers
md