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Over the past 72 hours, London has played host to two sides not only united by a formation, but by a desire to get to the ball down, play passing triangles and bring joy to neutral fans around the world.
I’m speaking, of course, about the performances of Barcelona and Swansea, who both brought their ideals to Wembley Stadium and came away with their respective prizes, and reputations enhanced.
Just over twelve months from now, London will play host to the sporting spectacle otherwise known as the Olympics, and the hope is Australia’s mens national U-23 side, the Olyroos, will be there, also making an impression.
It is a positive reflection on the technical evolution taking place down-under that Aurelio’s Vidmar’s men will aspire to qualify for the Olympics playing the formation and style that Barcelona, Swansea and numerous others now use.
While the Socceroos under Holger Osieck haven’t quite adopted the 4-3-3 template mandated by the National Curriculum, the rest of our national sides have.
Last year, we saw the Matildas and Young Socceroos adjust adroitly at their respective Asian championships, and over the next few months we’ll get an opportunity to assess their progress, and that of the Joeys, on the world stage.
Meanwhile, the Olyroos will be traversing Asia, looking to get through the first and second rounds, navigating a safe passage to be among the final 16 teams (three automatic Asian spots) in London.
As always, it won’t be an easy task, and the FFA’s technical crew will need to dot the i’s and cross the t’s, ensuring every contingency is covered.
To qualify, Vidmar’s men must first overcome Yemen over two legs later this month, before going into the second round of qualifiers, which sees the 12 first round winners placed into three groups of four.
To get to London automatically, the Olyroos would need to top their group, which will feature six match-days scheduled between September and March.
If Vidmar’s men slip-up, and finish second, they would go into a repercharge round against the other two second placed sides, to be played in a neutral country in late March.
The winner of that would then play-off against the fourth-placed African side for one of the final spots.
It’s some marathon if they have to go the whole way, but the Olyroos will be looking to take the easier route by topping their round two group and making it to the Olympics for the seventh time on the spin.
But overcoming Yemen comes first.
To that end, Vidmar and his assistant Paul Okon have been preparing the Australian-based contingent of Olyroos over a number of camps in Melbourne and Canberra, with the aim to build fitness and familiarity.
With the camps featuring a mix of Olyroos and Young Socceroos, the preparations included a hit-out against the AIS and Young Socceroos.
Vidmar recently gave an insight into his planning for the early part of the campaign.
“I know if we can get them fit and in the right frame of mind, then we’re just worried about getting over this hurdle first and then improving,” he told the ABC.
This evening those preparations for Yemen, and getting over that first hurdle, really pick up, with a tasty clash against Japan’s U-23 side in Niigata.
While there hasn’t been much detail filtering from Japan this week, there’s little doubt, looking at the 19-man squad, mainly made up of A-Leaguers, that it looks a little light in some areas.
Certainly, in trying to compose a starting 11, there appears to be a bit of conjecture about a number of spots, starting between the sticks, where Andrew Redmayne might just be ahead of Dean Bouzanis.
Perhaps those with best claims for a start include the Melbourne Victory trio Diogo Ferreira, Matthew Foschini and Isaka Cernak, and former Sydney FC defender Matthew Jurman, who all recently featured in the Asian Champions League and should be match-fit.
Elsewhere, the two stand-outs in the squad appear to be Oliver Bozanic and Mitch Nichols, who look most likely to take the advanced midfield spots, and should offer plenty of penetration and control.
Who will feature behind them, in the holding midfield role, appears less certain, with Ferreira one option, while Ryan McGowan and Sebastian Ryall can also play there.
While Cernak is likely to take one spot in the front third, on the left, the battle for the right side is far more competitive and might depend on who has been impressing at training.
Between them, at the head of the formation, it appears a battle between Marko Jesic and Mirjan Pavlovic, neither coming off particularly great seasons.
Whoever gets a start, in whatever position, has a great opportunity to impress and shoot to the forefront of Vidmar’s thoughts.
While the composition of the squad is likely to evolve significantly as the team moves through the qualifiers and the Young Socceroos complete their World Cup commitments, for now it’s a great opportunity for this bunch to get the job done against Yemen and give Vidmar headaches.
Han Berger has been on record about the likelihood of some of the U-20s being fast-tracked to London, while a bevy of eligible European-based Olyroos such as Chris Herd, James Holland, Shane Lowry and Aaron Mooy wait for a call-up.
With three over-age players also eligible for the Olympics, the final composition of this side will look very different by the time London rolls around.
In the meantime, every step, starting tonight, is a crucial one on the way.
A possible Olyroos XI (in 4-3-3) for today’s game vs Japan U-23s (5.20pm AEST on Fox Sports 1)
——————————-Andrew Redmayne————————–
——————————————————————————–
Scott Neville—- Ryan McGowan —-Matthew Jurman—Aziz Behich
——————————————————————————–
——————————-Diogo Ferreira —————————–
—————–Mitch Nicholls————-Oliver Bozanic————–
——————————————————————————–
—–Rocco Visconte———————————Isaka Cernak——-
———————————-Marko Jesic——————————–Substitutes from; Dean Bouzanis, Matthew Foschini, Jack Hingert, Sebastian Ryall, Jason Hoffman, Golgol Mebrahtu, Tahj Minniecon, Mirjan Pavlovic
Join me here after tonight’s game, at 8pm (AEST), for all the analysis of the Olyroos performance against Japan, but in the meantime, who do you think should come into calculations for a start tonight, or, provided we get there, a berth in London?
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