Wrong attitude from Pim, Lucas and co

 

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By Michael Turner, 16 Jun 2010 Michael Turner is a Roar Pro

Tagged:

 2010 World Cup, FFA, football, Germany, Lucas Neill, Pim Verbeek, ruud gullit, Socceroos

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Prior to the Socceroos 4-0 defeat at the hands of the Germans, it had been notably quoted that Lucas Neill would be aiming for a draw against the Germans. It’s also widely known that Verbeek took this same attitude into the match.

In all fairness, I was sucked in by this attitude as well. The Germans are a world footballing powerhouse. However, since looking more closely at the situation, I have noticed exactly what will cause the downfall of Australian football.

Australia is widely regarded as a sporting nation. However, in saying this, sport in Australia prides itself on success and results.

Football is a sport with a developing status in Australia, so success and results are needed in order to keep fans on the bandwagon. This is where Neill’s pre-match comments, and Verbeek’s match attitude, come into view.

Playing a side without any intention of winning can be regarded as un-Australian. Shallow? In an Australian sporting perspective, yes. Football is balancing on the precipice of a mountain, with success and failure both sides, and the World Cup as the apex.

Australia’s chances of progressing to the Round of 16 are now critically resting on the Australia vs Ghana match. This I believe puts a huge amount of pressure on the rested Harry Kewell. If the Socceroos had gone into the match with a stronger and more properly positioned starting eleven, and the attitude to win, then perhaps they may have achieved the draw that Verbeek had hoped for.

In the grand scheme of things, two wins will be needed for the Socceroos to progress to the second round. With a horrendous goal difference, and our star player sitting out the next crucial game due to a controversial red card, Australian football itself may suffer. The amount of work the FFA have put into the game may be rendered pointless. As stated previously, Australian sports pride themselves on results, and in the eyes of the fans, non-progression to the next round is considered a failure.

Hopefully this attitude will be changed when the next coach is appointed. Personally, I hope it will be Ruud Gullit. He has shown the desire to be the next Socceroos coach. Hopefully he also shows a desire to win every match, and to help progress the plight of football development in Australia.

Go the Socceroos!

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