Socceroos squad weaker than it should be

Roar Pro

By Eamonn Flanagan, 3 Mar 2010 The Crowd is a Roar Pro

Tagged:: Asia Cup, football, Football Federation Australia, Pim Verbeek, Socceroos

Related coverage

Socceroo's coach Pim Verbeek chats with Harry Kewell during a training session at ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Thursday, June 19, 2008. The Socceroo's take on China in a World Cup qualifying match this Sunday, June 22. AAP Image/Dean Lewins

Imagine if England failed to qualify for the Euro Championships. Would the coach stay on? Unlikely, isn’t it. But if Australia fail to qualify for our Euro equivalent, the Asia Cup, our coach, Pim Verbeek will not be shunted off as a failure.

Instead, he will still get to ride into South Africa as our leader.

If we don’t get a draw on Wednesday, Pim should be sacked. No ifs, no buts!

The A-League boys are in the international spotlight once again as Australia takes on Indonesia on Wednesday in a “must not lose,” game in the Asia Cup.

Australia were handed all their Christmas presents at once when they gained entry into Asia in 2006, but we seem to have become so used to football presents. Like the modern kid, we chuck the least interesting one away.

And games for our local Socceroos seemed to be devalued: by the coach!

Australia always goes to the World Cup. Well, for now anyway.

But what Asia should have given us is a clear and strong “technically and tactically” (borrowed from a Crystal Palace midfielder) developed A-League Socceroo squad. Yet after four years, what do we have?

Do you know who will play in your national team on Wednesday. Can you name 95 percent of the team after two years of Mr Pim? Sure you can name the tactics, but not the team.

Go on try it. Bet you can’t.

Do you think Japanese, Chinese or Korean fans can name their national teams without their overseas based players. I bet they can! And I bet they’ve had heaps of camps, learning the system with or without their overseas players.

On Wednesday, Pim’s Hotpotch United take to the field again:

Where is the planning: from Mr Pim and the FFA?

Craig Foster said this week that you get a Socceroos cap after you’ve played just three games in the A-League. Tommy Oar, Matthew Leckie, Daniel Mullen, and Shannon Cole could all attest to this.

But he failed to ask, why is this so?

Let’s face it, the system isn’t so amazing is it.

Pim is right to criticise the A-League if he wants to, but he’s been here long enough to get the Socceroos who are A-League based playing in Asia to win.

And wouldn’t it be great if we were so confident in our home-based players that to beat Kuwait or Indonesia on home soil we could rely on the home-based Roos.

We’ll beat Indonesia, everyone says. But the point is, I’m not as sure as I’d like to be, and this isn’t because of our local talent, it’s because of Pim’s lack of planning.

Enjoy sports? Enjoy a bargain? All Sports Online has your favourite sporting brands at up to 70% off. Online only, premium quality sporting goods and merchandise at discounted prices. Get a deal now.

The Crowd Says (28) | Page 1 of Comments

Dickroo of Blacktown said | March 3rd 2010 @ 6:41am | Report comment

you are dreaming! Mate. for two things:

1, the A-Leaguers with Wilkshire and Kennedy can’t even get a draw from Indonesia at home?
2, sack the head coach 3 months before the World Cup?

I really don’t know what you are talking about! Do you know how many Japanese, Korean and Chinese players are based overseas? Not many!

What do you want? Send out our Qantas Socceroos jet to fly-pick up our Neills, Cahills and Kewells and arrive 24 hours before the match? They probably can still beat the shit out of our neighbours, but they may lost their starting position at club or even get injured. That means their world cup is over!

Wake up, Asia Cup is not serious ….how many country is bidding for the majestic 2015 tournament? Ah….only one – the Aussies! How many Asian countries are bidding for the 2018-2022 World Cup? Qatar, Korea, Australia and even Indonesia!
It’s nonsense to compare Asia Cup to European Cup, and nonsense to compare A-League to J-League, K-League and Chinese Super League. You have to realise how much money those clubs put in and how many people support soccer there.

Reply
dasilva said | March 3rd 2010 @ 7:25am | Report comment

I’m not sure if you can blame Pim all for this

Pim has stated many times that he prefered a club job because he wanted day to day contact with players

When Pim organised the first A-league camp we already had signs of club vs country debates with John Kosmina criticising the camp for distrupting the A-league season.

I imagine that Pim probably wanted to do regular training sessions with the A-league players but FFA overuled it to appease the clubs.

Reply
Gweeds said | March 3rd 2010 @ 8:17am | Report comment

Yea, we sack a coach that took us comfortably to the World Cup just a few months before it starts. Brilliant move.

Reply
Eamonn Flanagan said | March 3rd 2010 @ 8:18am | Report comment

Dickroo; Well we didn’t et a draw against Kuwait in Canberra 12 months ago, and I wasn’t dreamin I was hurtin as I was there!
Think you’ll find there are an increasing number of Korean, Japanese and Chinese players overseas. Celtic alone have one from each country. Park at Manchester United, Nakamure in Spain, the list is growing each year. Manchester City, Charlton, Tottenham have all had players from the three countries mentioned and of course there are further players across Spain, Germany etc.

The Asa Cup may not be important…too you. or many others, but how do you think we will build a competitive team for the next World Cup qualification campaign.

With so many of the current squad likely to be retired come the next World Cup qualifiers, getting competitive games for our next generation is crucial. The Asia Cup becomes slightly more important than perhaps you think!

The alternative is we play teams like China and Iraq again in a World Cup Qualifier with only a couple of friendlies for our new boys. With recent performances in Kuwait and Canberra I think we might need a little more preparation than last time. Without the Asia Cup how do you think we’ll get the new breed match hardened?

Reply
Brian said | March 3rd 2010 @ 9:01am | Report comment

Well said. Pim’s a dud and irrespective of whether your coaching Brazil or PNG a coach should be able to have a settled 11. The HAL players don’t play for Australia every week yet Pim has been unable to build a team, rather he just picks whoever and bemoans the lack of quality.

Way way before Asia the Frank Arok/Eddie Thompson teams would have taken an NSL based squad and smashed Indoneisa. The overriding question for Pim remains, why does a team based on one HAL side beat the 5th based Asian team to make the World Cup, why does every HAL nearly always beat the non China/Japan/Korea teams in the ACL and yet having picked the best players from the HAL he struggles to qualify?

Reply
AndyRoo said | March 3rd 2010 @ 9:07am | Report comment

Australia’s best players bar 1 or 2 are all based overseas. Whenever we play a game that doesn’t involve the full strength squad it’s a make shift team.

The Asia/ A league Roos hardly pay together that’s why we can’t name the team. If the A league roos ran around 6 or 8 times a year we would have a much better idea.But In the approx 26 games Pims been in charge for we have only used the A league Roos 3 times.

Qualifying for the Asia cup is important but the FFA don’t seem to think so, their were no warm up friendlies and such

Reply
Australian Football said | March 3rd 2010 @ 9:08am | Report comment

I agree with you Eamonn, and they are well thought out points you have put forward. I have stated that we are pleased Pim being successful in getting us to South Africa and he must be congratulated for that. But, he had been far too pragmatic in doing so unnecessarily––as you have so rightly pointed out.

To add Pim, has done a lousy job with the Australian based players that other lesser paid national managers have achieved success with far less resources with much better results––for instance Rale Rasic, Frank Arok, and the late Eddie Thompson all with only home based part-time footballers. Not forgetting only Rasic previously had taken Australia to a world cup but we can sympathize and understand the different pathways each manager had to contend with for reasons for that.

Yes, I agree whole heartedly Pim has failed miserably with the HAL players and if he is defeated tonight by Indonesia he should be sacked straight after the completion of the WC (impossible to do it anytime before) and let Han Berger take over immediately to guide Australia into any remainder of any Asian fixtures that are left on the calendar.

~~~~~~~
AF

Reply
Jeb said | March 3rd 2010 @ 9:23am | Report comment

The article has got a good point: when we’re relying on a-leaguers there has never been a consistent teamsheet. But c’mon saying he should be sacked if we loose and the comparisons to England are laughable. Slightly different circumstances methinks.

As for the chopping and changing – isn’t that just a natural result of picking players who look good at a-league level but then are found wanting at international level.

Reply
Dickroo of Blacktown said | March 3rd 2010 @ 9:48am | Report comment

Eamonn: We will build a competitive team for the next World Cup qualification campaign by: –

1. having players play regularly in European elite clubs day in and day out.
2. having a much stronger A-League.

Not through an Asia Cup.

Iraq is the Champion of 2007 Asia Cup, but where are they now? A tournament 3.5 year prior to the next World Cup won’t give you a competitive team, simple as that. But still a good chance to get the next group of players to taste international football.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t play Asia Cup. I would like to see the best young A-Leaguers have as many regular camps, tournaments as Asia Cup, Federation Cups, ANZAC, Trans-Tasman, Pan-Pacific and international friendlies as possible before the World Cup campaign. But it is not realistic for now.

Reply
- Ben of Phnom Penh said | March 3rd 2010 @ 11:07am | Report comment
  
  true Dickroo, though the Asian Cup is an important piece of silverware in its own right.
  
  Sadly for reasons of temperature the Asian Cup is in January which is too close to the World Cup for my liking.
  
  Reply
- Axel V said | March 3rd 2010 @ 12:36pm | Report comment
  
  I’ll tell you where Iraq are, they were knocked out of the Group stage along with China because of Australia! haha
  
  Australia, Iraq, China, Qatar, in 1st group stage, that was a group of death! luckily for us Qatar liked giving up against us but beating the others. We only just scraped through.
  ………… W D L Pts
  Australia 3 1 2 10
  Qatar—- 3 1 2 10
  Iraq——- 2 1 3 7
  China—- 1 3 2 6
  
  keep in mind that in the final round, all team’s were playing each other and had 6 pointer consequence results (Australia was safe in last round however)
  
  And it’s unfair to judge the meaning of the Asian Cup by using Iraq (if that’s what you were suggesting), they are an unstable team in an unstable country but have alot of talent and hunger!
  
  Reply
Ryan Steele said | March 3rd 2010 @ 10:59am | Report comment

Most big Asian nations will have a different-looking squad for Asian Cup Qualifiers.

“Do you think Japanese, Chinese or Korean fans can name their national teams without their overseas based players. I bet they can!”
Not very often.

As for how many of the players from those nations play overseas; sure, there are quite a few, but there aren’t many that actually play for their national teams. I can think of… two regulars for Japan, maybe three of real note for China. Korea is the only one that has a reasonable amount of overseas regulars. Australia has an ENTIRE first team squad playing overseas, and then some. We don’t share the same luxuries as these other Asian nations.

Not only this, but the players we have who are capable of earning a regular spot will jump at the chance of playing overseas, and many have since faded into obscurity. Doesn’t help our chances of finding A-League players worthy of consistent callups to an Asian-based squad. We thus have to rely on form, and hope it carries over to International Level.

Also, a correction on one of your earlier comments, Eamonn; Shunsuke Nakamura no longer plays in Europe. He just moved back to Japan.

Reply