Attack: it’s a word the Socceroos seem to have used more in a couple of months under Holger Osieck than they did in a couple of years under Pim Verbeek. It’s one of those Humpty Dumpty words for football managers, because it can mean just what they want it to mean.
Verbeek once claimed he liked to play attacking football, too, then proceeded to do anything but.
He set out an ultra-cautious stall for the Socceroos, playing a 4-5-1 formation that relied on defensive sturdiness, midfield strangulation and a lone striker up front.
It worked, too, up to a point.
It carried the Socceroos to a second successive World Cup in South Africa this year, though they could not quite match the heights they reached under fellow Dutchman Guus Hiddink in Germany four years earlier.
Verbeek’s numbers were impressive, at least until his World Cup brain snap against Germany.
He may not have set pulses racing, but his men conceded precious few goals.
His defensive record was a beauty, as indeed it should have been, with defenders of the calibre of Lucas Neill, Craig Moore and Mark Schwarzer to execute his miserly plans.
But playing target man for Verbeek could make a striker the loneliest man in football.
Just ask Scott McDonald, who has not managed to find the net in 18 starts for Australia.
Now along comes another new coach preaching the merits of attacking football.
But there’s a difference with Osieck.
He is prepared to put his forwards where his mouth is.
Osieck is reshaping the Australian formation to a 4-4-2 style, sacrificing one midfielder to throw another man up front.
Having sung the praises of the A-League, he is now big on using the A-word: A for attack.
Australian fans watching their team for the first time on home soil since the World Cup will hope he continues the experiment in Saturday’s friendly against Paraguay.
If he does, front men like McDonald and big Josh Kennedy, now scarcely recognisable without his long locks of “Jesus” hair, will think they are in football heaven after grafting away in solitude for so long.
Tim Cahill, Harry Kewell, Richard Garcia and Dario Vidosic won’t mind a bit, either, for all are instinctively attacking players.
Cahill especially relishes the freedom to venture forward from midfield.
He is at the height of his powers, having yielded the magnificent return of seven goals in 10 games for the Socceroos in the 2009-10 season, and 17 goals in 43 matches for his English Premier League club Everton.
Cahill could even be used as an outright striker, as could Kewell, Garcia or Vidosic.
The options are suddenly mouthwatering.
Fans will be hoping this more positive approach works well against a team as formidable as Paraguay, who reached the quarter-finals in South Africa before bowing out to eventual champions Spain.
Because if it works, Osieck will be encouraged to persist with it.
If it comes a cropper, he may be inclined to retreat into his shell a little, especially with January’s Asian Cup just around the corner.
Osieck knows how results-orientated football is; he is out to deliver an Australian first with victory for Asia’s top-ranked team in Qatar.
His long term task may be to to rebuild the Socceroos virtually from scratch for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
But his major short-term goal is to muster a team capable of giving the Asian championship a fair dinkum rattle.
Attack is the Australian way, and as the Socceroos get to know their new manager – and he them – they seem to like what they see and hear.
Osieck, who has a solid football pedigree without being a household name, has come across as a knowledgable and enthusiastic manager with a sense of humour – not what many players expected.
“I thought he would be very strict and regimented, I suppose,” said Saudi Arabia-based defender Jon McKain.
“He is that (way) when he has to be, but he is also very relaxed at times.
“He is an an interesting guy, very enthusiastic.
“It’s good for the players to be very personable with him.
“He has brought across his personality to the group and it has been a very positive one.
“He is more approachable for me personally. I’m happy so far.”
Dario Vidosic, who is well used to German football ways as a Bundesliga player, described Osieck as a great character.
“He tries to make training as entertaining as possible, to have the most amount of fun,” Vidosic said.
“He gives lots of encouragement for us to do our own thing.
“I don’t think he has to be too strict on us because we are a very professional outfit, and we want to do the job.
“But it’s always good when you can have a bit of fun as well.”
Garcia said Osieck’s preference for a 4-4-2 formation would naturally make the Socceroos a more attacking outfit than Verbeek’s teams.
“He has played me wide and up front,” said Garcia.
“I am happy to play wherever, I don’t really care, as long as I am playing.
“I would be happy to play centre back if he asked me.”
Defender Michael Thwaite said Osieck had been concentrating on defending from the 18 yard box, and “making sure our first pass out of defence is a good pass and a penetrating pass”.
Fellow Gold Coast star Jason Culina said Osieck had emphasised his desire for the Socceroos to express themselves.
“It’s good, it’s something we enjoy doing,” Culina said.
“We thrive on going forward, setting up chances, scoring goals and winning games.
“With Pim it was a bit more conservative.
“There’s nothing wrong with that, but everyone enjoys going forward, and we’re no different.
“The enthusiasm was there under Pim but it’s greater now.
“Holger is a good character, very enthusiastic and he likes to express himself.
“It’s great to have a coach like that.”
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