One moment stands out for me in the four years the A-League has been in existence, and it didn’t happen on the field. And it didn’t even happen in this country .
It happened in a cold, miserable town somewhere in England huddled in a bar watching the A-League Highlights show on ESPN (transmits through Asia and USA also), when after an A-League defender seemingly “forgot” his job was to mark his attacker, who went onto score the sheepish pom replied “don’t they bloody teach ya how to defend down unda?”.
Now this comment does seem quite ironic coming from a country that has produced the Neville brothers…but to be frank, in regards to my English pal’s slightly sarcastic question is a resounding case of … No!
The technical aspect of the game is completely overlooked in the local Australian game . Now, this to be fair has been noted, and the FFA are taking the necessary steps to change this, but this is not something you can change overnight. This could take decades, as it requires a complete overhaul of mentality and culture, from the youngest right through to our oldest footballers and coaches.
It has long been said that Australian footballing culture was derived from the English. With many Englishmen coming to our shores in the early days of “soccer” in this country. The days of Johnny Warren where awash with footballing poms plying their trade on our shores. They brought with them a typical game of intensity, physicality and not a lot of skill.
It is an argument that can be backed up still today.
Look at the English National side, which posses brilliant footballers however none that have the silky skills of Messi, Ronaldo or Kaka – who can dribble sides without batting an eyelid.
England however posses the likes of Lampard, Gerrard and Beckham some of the best passers and shooters of a football in the world, all brilliant players but technically pail in comparison to the Spanish, Italian and Brazilian sides when measuring skill and trickery.
The English mentality (much like Australia) has only ever had two phases. Phase 1 – build it in midfield, get it wide, cross it and hope to nick a goal. Phase 2 – route 1: The Long Ball!
It has only been the last 15 years with the introduction of the English Premier League, that has seen some of the worlds best footballers ply there trade in England, that has seen technical skills improve in England.
Yet while the Lampards, Gerrards and Beckhams adapt and improve, the others who cannot crack a spot in the side (Arsenal once played 11 foreigners in their starting side), do not.
This impacts the quality of local players and it is something the FFA have identified. They have brought in two measures that shows they are serious about improving Australia’s quality of football:
1- Is the rule limiting the number of foreign players each team can sign, meaning the up and coming Australian players are not languishing in reserve teams like their English counterparts, and are obtaining a football education where it matters, on the pitch.
2- The second is a rule adopted for this year’s National Youth League competition, where each player in the squad must play a minimum of 45 minutes in a game. This means all the young up and comers are exposed to high pressure, competitive football and not just the bright young stars of the sides.
Another thing the FFA has identified is the need to change the footballing culture. Take a walk down to any local park and you will see what I mean.
Local football is simply a game of kick and chase, and a lack of composure on the ball is evident, with defender after defender simply kicking the ball anywhere, when in reality there is plenty of time to put a foot on the ball and look to pass.
I remember one such example in my youth league career. I remember watching a speedy striker of mine get the ball on half way all by himself, lacking support. Instead of holding the ball up and waiting for the midfield to offer support, the striker simply turned belted the ball forward and then ran after it, seemingly playing a long ball… to HIMSELF.
A broader issue that I do not think the FFA has looked at is the quality of coaches in the country.
Anyone who watched the Socceroos prior to 2005 would hopefully understand my view.
The Socceroos mentality was as above all, longball , longball , longball. I once discovered the playbook of the Socceroos and Plan A , B & C were simply LONGBALL. I do not often agree with SBS’s Craig Foster, but he and I shares similar views on the country’s footballing education and Australian football’s overuse of the longball.
The Socceroos were coached by Eddie Thompson (Englishman), Terry Venebles (Englishman) and Frank Farina (Australian). These men all coached the Socceroo’s with the same mentality and subsequently saw Australia fail in repeated World Cup attempts.
Whoever decided to hire Guus Hiddink in 2005 will go down as the man who saved Australian Football. Hiddink overhauled the Socceroo’s game, playing “Total Football” filled with Wall Passes, Trickery, Structure, Technique and more triangles than the pyramids of Egypt.
But more importantly, the Socceroos were multi-faceted, squads where changed in relation to opposition, as was formation, tactics and game plans. For once it seemed we were actually thinking about things…and as a result we not only qualified but outplayed the sides of Japan, Croatia, Brazil (for a period) and Italy.
On the back of Hiddink, came Rob Baan and various other Dutchman, who with them bring a different culture where football becomes “The Beautiful Game” where the ball is kept on the deck and real football is played.
My point above about quality coaches is simple, many going around in Australia currently have been educated and have played under the old culture and mentality.
They are good coaches, don’t get me wrong, but they could be better.
Take Frank Farina. To be “Frank”, when coach of the Socceroos at times they played awful football (which was masked at times by the opposition of NZ , Solomon Islands, and the occasional 31-0 win), however since he has coached the Queensland Roar, his sides have been the most enterprising, exciting, and true football playing sides in the A-League and Frank Farina has looked a far better coach.
Has he learnt from the introduction of Hiddink, Neeskans, Baan, etc into the Australian coaching fraternity? He may very well have.
With Sydney FC bringing in Vítězslav Lavička, his technical outlook may rub off on various other local coaches.
I shared a conversation with a couple of lower grade coaches earlier this year on some of my thoughts and theories I think could be introduced into the game.
For the past 5 years I have spent some time around the game of AFL and have seen some areas which I think could help sides if introduced into football.
Players in AFL are coached in the art of leading. It is a skill in which is evident in a way in football currently but I feel not embraced to its full affect. Leading encompasses skills such as dummy leads (leading the defender away from the ball, even though you have no intention of receiving it, opening up space for other players to run into) and double leading (making an initial lead, propping and then making a second lead, hopefully losing an unaware defender, footballers generally only make the initial lead) and blocking (opponent makes a run, you run at opponent, blocking his defenders run legally as you criss cross around each other).
The expression on the faces of these coaches told the story: it was a bit too technical, and they preferred to coach a simpler game. Now these ideas don’t have to be embraced, but at least by bringing in high quality coaches, they can be shared and looked over .
The FFA has broken new ground this year with a program designed by Rob Baan, to overhaul the former “Roo-Ball” program. Young U6-U10 will have a new system to play under. Games are completely modified to new 3 a side game for the U6′s, 6-A Side for the older kids, smaller fields means shorter passing, triangles and more emphasis on technique and mentality.
The A-League which also is improving year upon year – the standard is far superior than that of the old NSL – and although some highlights of the A-League could be produced into an educational video on How Not to Defend or How Not to Finish, the A-League does produce exciting, fast paced, high intensity games with plenty of goals.
We know the technique of the local players leaves a lot to be desired, as was shown from the other night’s dismal performance by the Australian based Socceroo’s vs Kuwait. But Pim Veerbeek is right, the experience gained and lessons learned will make those players better for the experience.
Along with the A-League players now competing in the Asian Champions League and potentially World Club Championship, this allows players to explore another stratus-sphere of footballing knowledge .
The programs are in place, the problem has been found, and Houston have been notified, but with a little time, we may be exporting coaches overseas to teach others of the “Beautiful Game”.
In 2003, Frank Farina led the Socceroos to a 3-1 win over England. I say to my pommy friend: in 2023 , you could be in for a lot more trouble!
Recommend this story.
March 16th 2009 @ 12:28pm
Vicentin said | March 16th 2009 @ 12:28pm | Report comment
No problems Pip – I didn’t think it was contradictory just that I don’t think that “leading” is a AFL only thing as Jimbo and others have also pointed out. Frankly I don’t think I’ve ever heard a particular term used for it in football but the concept is there.
Set pieces are an interesting one and I think you have to find the right balance (we’re talking juniors here). You can coach a team to win (and score at set pieces) but IMO what you should be coaching is getting the kids to work out the solutions themselves rather than just giving them the answers. This is where the balance comes in – enough guidance for the kids to find their own Eureka moment, but not too much to stop them from thinking at all and working on autopilot instructions given to them by their coach.
It is a very frustrating experience when you think you know the answers but choose not tell them and see if they can work it out for themselves …. I’m sure I’ll be experiencing more of it this this evening.
On the cross-code training thing I’ll be very interested to see how our basketball players have developed over the summer while all their teammates played futsal – although I’m not a fan of the sport I can see it being very beneficial in a spatial sense. Hopefully their foot skills haven’t got too rusty – luckily one seems to naturally has very supple ball skills, the other less so but is an awesome defensive mid type player (with a good passing game).
March 16th 2009 @ 12:37pm
Eamonn said | March 16th 2009 @ 12:37pm | Report comment
Adam
You forgot to mention one missing Hiddink ingredient.
His players were able to run more than anyone else in the heat in Germany.
And Farina…had players like Zelic, Okon, Viduka, Tobin, and Kewell and all they played was the long ball?
Didn’t you watch any Australian football before 2005?
March 16th 2009 @ 12:37pm
Pippinu said | March 16th 2009 @ 12:37pm | Report comment
Vicentin
Re your basketball players, at least they would understand that it’s ok to hold onto the ball until you find that opening (which is a pretty good generic philosphy to have). I’m not a fan of the game either – but one thing is for sure – that don’t give up possession too easily!
Fancy a trip down memory lane? How’s this for a dummy lead?! (from a deep position, underscoring pretty much everything we have both written on this thread, without necessarily saying the same things):
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=zbj3MYBS7SI
March 16th 2009 @ 12:49pm
Pippinu said | March 16th 2009 @ 12:49pm | Report comment
Vicentin
re your defender with good passing – you might have a libero in the making there!
Indeed, given your philosophy, I can imagine he would be quite useful for you, i.e. if the kids are unsure what to do next, they go back to him and start again – that’s a hard lesson for little kids to learn – but it’s a pretty good lesson to learn if you can manage it!
March 16th 2009 @ 1:10pm
Redb said | March 16th 2009 @ 1:10pm | Report comment
Jimbo,
unfortunately television often misses ‘the lead’, one of the better exponents also is Garry Ablett Jnr – he is moving up forward more regularly these days, his forward leads are timed with outstanding balance in a contested siutation.
Agree its not exclusive to Aust footy, some of the Victory games I’ve seen have Allsop or Thompson on the lead as other players set them up for a shot on goal. Offside restricts the lead to some extent though.
Redb
March 16th 2009 @ 1:22pm
Vicentin said | March 16th 2009 @ 1:22pm | Report comment
I suspect the team will produce a number of players in positions deemed to be going out of fashion – playmakers (about four decent ones I reckon) + a few deeper Pirlo types + they’re all “generalists”. No one is allowed to specialise too much – part of the fun (for me) is telling your players where they’ll play each week! Can’t have all be happy.
Back to the article – I too think it is bit unfair to label everything pre-Hiddink as long ball but certainly no-one got the ball moving around on the deck in triangles like Hiddink did. Now Liverpool’s last goal against Man U was about a long ball as you can get – and pretty efficient in terms of touches it has be said – Hoof from Reyna to Dossena who hits it over advancing keeper. True it is worth the same a goal with 14 passes but …………..
March 16th 2009 @ 1:25pm
Michael C said | March 16th 2009 @ 1:25pm | Report comment
Pippinu -
re point 3, and thus the Barry Hall defence that although 100 metres from the ball, he was actually ‘in the play’ as he was seeking to make position for the next ‘act of play’, i.e. Hall leads V metres, the kicker runs X metres, kicks Y distance, Hall runs a further Z metres whilst ball in flight, marks ball – - – V + X + Y + Z = 100. Therefore, he’s effectively ‘in the play’ even though he’s 100 metres away from the ball.
March 26th 2009 @ 9:57pm
Stephen Smith said | March 26th 2009 @ 9:57pm | Report comment
Oh dear oh dear. This is where Foster and his acolytes start to really damage the game in Australia with their cheap national stereotypes….writers like this actually start to believe them! For a start, Terry Venables was never a proponent of long-ball football…and if you are telling me that Pim Verbeek’s Australia play “beautiful football” then you must be dreaming. You must also have forgotten that Guus Hiddink achieved victory over Japan by throwing on Josh Kennedy and lumping it long to him!
There are always some truths to national stereotypes – but to use them as a football creed is naiive, over-simplistic and occasionally, downright offensive. Try some independent thought without just re-gurgitating Foster’s tripe.
March 26th 2009 @ 10:05pm
The Auteur said | March 26th 2009 @ 10:05pm | Report comment
Agree or disagree with Foster, he simply wants Australian football to be as good as it can be. As we all do.
March 26th 2009 @ 10:11pm
Midfielder said | March 26th 2009 @ 10:11pm | Report comment
SS
Agree … in Hal 3 about half way through we had kinda a very anti SBS feel and the most common name for SBS was …. Sad Bitter Shits … they are getting better again but no Auteur Fozza has an agenda and it’s talf down but never the good things..
BTW JESs SCREAMING NOW AND SBS AS WELL ….. STILL WAITING ON THE GOOD NEWS STORIES FOR THE 140 MILLION DOLLARS BEING SPENT ON THE TRAINING ACADEMIES….. sorry must have missed it.