Socceroos squad: Emerton, Kewell left out
Editor By Tristan Rayner, 27 Sep 2011 Tristan Rayner is a Roar Editor
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- A-League, Brett Emerton, football, Harry Kewell, Socceroos
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Socceroos coach Holger Osiek has named his squad for the upcoming international friendly against Malaysia and World Cup qualifier against Oman, with both Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton missing selection, allowing them to play in the opening A-League fixture between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory.
The will-they or won’t-they play scenarios have been the subject of hot debate, but the dream A-League opener will now proceed with the marquee signings available to play for their clubs.
Football Federation Australia have been criticised for not telling Osieck to make Kewell and Emerton available for the A-League opener, however, it appears that Osieck has listened to the demands of the public and media keen for the showdown.
Osieck selected an entirely overseas-based squad of 19 players, including Tim Cahill who suffered a shin injury while playing for Everton against Manchester City in the English Premier League last weekend.
Emerton’s non-selection for the Oman game raises some eyebrows, with the normally first-choice Socceroo missing out. However, both he and Kewell could be called into the squad after the A-League match by Osieck.
The Socceroos will train in Sydney next week before playing Malaysia in Canberra on Friday 7 October 2011 (8pm kick-off).
The game against Oman is on Tuesday October 11 at ANZ Stadium in Sydney.
Socceroos squad:
Alex Brosque, Tim Cahill, Adam Federici (gk), Brett Holman, Mile Jedinak, Josh Kennedy, Neil Kilkenny, Robbie Kruse, Matthew McKay, Lucas Neill, Sasa Ognenovski, Adam Sarota, Mark Schwarzer (gk), Matthew Spiranovic, James Troisi, Carl Valeri, Luke Wilkshire, Rhys Williams, Michael Zullo
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- A-League, Brett Emerton, football, Harry Kewell, Socceroos
September 27th 2011 @ 11:20am
Fussball ist unser leben said | September 27th 2011 @ 11:20am | Report comment
Good squad and, let’s be honest, by the time the international kicks off, Emmo wouldn’t have played competitive football for nearly 6 weeks.
I’m really happy with Holger’s decision but, he’s a true professional, and I’m sure if Emmo had been fully match fit Holger would have picked him.
September 27th 2011 @ 1:45pm
AGO74 said | September 27th 2011 @ 1:45pm | Report comment
Fair call Fuss on the six weeks of non-competitive football. Hasn’t been spoken of much but it is definitely a valid point.
September 27th 2011 @ 2:03pm
Striker said | September 27th 2011 @ 2:03pm | Report comment
fusball this guy Holger is a legend cant imagine what the fool verbek what have done in this situation.
September 27th 2011 @ 11:34am
Lucan said | September 27th 2011 @ 11:34am | Report comment
Terrible decision to leave Emerton out. Dangerous precedent. No matter how lowly ranked the opponents are, the gaffer should never bow down to club interests.
DId I read correctly that the November WCQ’s also clash with the A-League?? Who that h3ll is responsible for the HAL fixturing?
September 27th 2011 @ 11:56am
jmac said | September 27th 2011 @ 11:56am | Report comment
it’s a good sign for the league that we’re now worrying about clashes with international fixtures, so that A-League players can play for the Roos.
September 27th 2011 @ 12:03pm
Lucan said | September 27th 2011 @ 12:03pm | Report comment
There are plenty on international calibre players in the HAL (Australia, Costa Rica, New Zealand).
The HAL must be breathing a sigh of relief that NZ aren’t playing/holding a camp on these FIFA dates.
September 27th 2011 @ 12:07pm
jmac said | September 27th 2011 @ 12:07pm | Report comment
yep. surely good sense will prevail eventually, and the league will start scheduling breaks on these dates..
September 27th 2011 @ 12:52pm
Fussball ist unser leben said | September 27th 2011 @ 12:52pm | Report comment
@ Lucan
There is only ONE person, who knows why he left Emmo out of the squad, so let’s listen to what he has to say … alternatively, we can sit around in this little sewing circle and speculate wildly:
Osieck laughed off suggestions that his decision .. was motivated by any pressure to deliver the local blockbuster.
“I can assure you I am the master of my own decisions. It’s written down in my contract and I can always refer to that. I don’t need a lawyer – I’m capable of defending my position myself. People obviously interpreted a lot into the situation which was not necessarily on,” explained Osieck.
“There were technical reasons that kept these two guys out, therefore it was not a problem for me… [Emerton] because his last game was four weeks ago. The same could be said this time for Jon McKain and Dario Vidosic.”
Source: http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/218647,holger-why-i-let-stars-off-socceroos-duty.aspx
September 27th 2011 @ 2:03pm
Brendo said | September 27th 2011 @ 2:03pm | Report comment
I have no issue with the A-League scheduling games on international dates. At most we are going to lose 2-6 players across the league, clubs need to use their depth that is all.
I think Osiek has made a good decision and for me it does set a precedent but not a bad one. Players who have just changed clubs should be given the opportunity to settle into their club before being called up to international duty. European Clubs would ask for this so I don’t see it being an issue that the A-league ones have as well.
There are plenty of instances in the past where players have been left at clubs as it was seen ‘settling’ in at the club was more important than them being called up. The precedent though is this is the first time the A-league clubs have gotten their way.
I fully expect both Kewell and Emerton to be avaliable come November however.
September 27th 2011 @ 12:09pm
jmac said | September 27th 2011 @ 12:09pm | Report comment
it looks a strong squad in that we have reasonable quality back-up in most positions. but without emmo, we look a little light on in the wide midfield dept – for back-up I mean. sarota and troisi are still quite untested.. perhaps kruse will get a start on the right if holman were to play up front again?
September 27th 2011 @ 12:33pm
pete4 said | September 27th 2011 @ 12:33pm | Report comment
Holger’s done the right thing here! For those who think this sets a precedent… well it doesn’t. Kewell and Emerton are Socceroo legends and to have them both here at home at opposing clubs meeting in Round 1 is too good an opportunity to let slip.
It will be a long time before we have to deal with 2 players in club versus country with their credentials again. The A-League draw was released 6 months ago long before they arrived here. Bring on Round 1!!
September 27th 2011 @ 1:27pm
Striker said | September 27th 2011 @ 1:27pm | Report comment
Totally agree with PETE 4 response.
September 27th 2011 @ 1:40pm
Lucan said | September 27th 2011 @ 1:40pm | Report comment
November isn’t a “long time”, pete4.
FIFA International dates for 2011 were issued in 2008. Harry or Emerton aside, this should never have been an issue if the league was scheduled with any sort of fore-thought
September 27th 2011 @ 3:16pm
pete4 said | September 27th 2011 @ 3:16pm | Report comment
Lucan – November? you have lost me. I think you would find when the A-League draw was released the FFA knew exactly this was the case.
The idea being Socceroos match would start the season with a bang. Kewell and Emerton weren’t even on the FFA’s radar. Months ago everyone thought the epic Grand Final re-match between Brisbane v CCM was the blockbuster for Round 1 not Melbourne Victory v Sydney
September 28th 2011 @ 7:28am
Lucan said | September 28th 2011 @ 7:28am | Report comment
Sorry to lose you. You suggested it would be a long time before we have such a club v country clash again. This November, we have further World Cup Qualifiers and no HAL break to conincide.
I guess “long time” is a relative concept. Personally, I find two clashes in six weeks to be close.
September 28th 2011 @ 9:31am
pete4 said | September 28th 2011 @ 9:31am | Report comment
Lucan – I don’t think either Sydney FC or Melbourne Victory will give a toss in November if both join the squad (I think both clubs expect it). To help you understand more:
“Osieck knows the state of affairs over here. It’s unlikely to be repeated and commonsense has prevailed. It’s a very important season for the league and this marketing opportunity rarely comes along.”
http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/holger-osieck-plays-his-part-in-providing-a-real-boost-to-hyundai-a-league-robbie-slater-says/story-e6frf4gl-1226148065998
September 27th 2011 @ 12:43pm
Nathan of Perth said | September 27th 2011 @ 12:43pm | Report comment
Its a fair choice if Holger was looking get some more caps into our less internationally experienced players. Considering its a friendly, not a qualifier, it does make sense.
September 27th 2011 @ 1:57pm
JAJI said | September 27th 2011 @ 1:57pm | Report comment
Interestingly no third keeper has been picked…..which I havent seen before for a World Cup qualifier
People will whinge there is no Ruka however he hasnt appered on the park for Berlin in the last 2 games
People will whinge there is no Leckie however the same applies to him too
People will whinge there is no Chris Herd – however after that game when he almost scored for Villa he hasnt even featured in the Villa matchday squad since
Its slightly odd Tommy Oar isnt being picked…..and there is no Harry, Emerton and Timmy is hobbling – however Holman and Kennedy are in the form of their careers at present and I am guessing HO is making the call thats enough firepower for Oman.
Question for everybody – what is happening to matt Mckay? He has gone MIA at Rangers……
September 27th 2011 @ 7:56pm
Karmikel Funk said | September 27th 2011 @ 7:56pm | Report comment
JAJI,
another legacy of Verbeek was for young players to think that even if they trained with a Euro reserve team they were better off than playing in the A-League.
Osieck doesn’t agree and he picks players on form and match fitness.
Players like Leckie, Rukya and Oar have probably lessened their chances of making the 2014 WC squad by leaving the A-League.
September 27th 2011 @ 2:39pm
Axelv said | September 27th 2011 @ 2:39pm | Report comment
I think Tommy Oar is only JUST starting to find his feet and settle in to Utrecht, pulling him out of Utrecht now would destroy all the hard work that he has achieved over the past 3 years, this is not to say that the club will drop him from their squad, but it would disrupt his rhythm and form with the club. Especially if he picked up an injury.
If Oar keeps playing well like he is now, probably later in the season he will be established enough to be able to travel with the Socceroo’s. Your country has priority over the clubs, but there is a balance, without a club a player cannot play for his country, as demonstrated many times before in history. Good club form almost always equates to good form for the national team (with the exception of Podolski, Klose and Messi).
Excellent decision to leave Emerton and Kewell out of the meaningless friendly for what is going to be the biggest opening to the A-League in history, I CAN’T WAIT!
September 27th 2011 @ 2:56pm
Kasey said | September 27th 2011 @ 2:56pm | Report comment
Maybe Neil Lennon kidnapped him? you never can know with those porridge wogs and their sectarian silliness!
September 27th 2011 @ 4:33pm
punter said | September 27th 2011 @ 4:33pm | Report comment
Well done Holger!!!!! can’t wait for the start of the A-League.
September 27th 2011 @ 6:10pm
jamesb said | September 27th 2011 @ 6:10pm | Report comment
replace Emerton at right mid field with Rhys Williams
squad in positions:
GOALKEEPERS
Adam Federici
Mark Schwarzer
DEFENDERS
Sasa Ognenovski
Matthew Spiranovic
Lucas Neill
Luke Wilkshire
Michael Zullo
Rhys Williams (can play in midfield)
MIDFIELDERS
Mile Jedinak
Neil Kilkenny
Carl Valeri
Matt Mckay
James Troisi
Brett Holman
Tim Cahill
Adam Sarota
FORWARDS
Josh Kennedy
Alex Brosque
Robbie Kruse
would’ve llked to have seen Luke De Vere in their. Hopefully next time