It never ceases to amaze me what sort of impact a good manager can have on a team, and we saw that again in the Socceroos’ heartbreaking loss to Ecuador yesterday morning.
While the new look Roos ultimately crumbled under an Ecuadorian onslaught in the second half, fans of the green and gold would be delighted to see the team play with a bit of freedom and self-belief, qualities that have been severely lacking in recent years.
This was a team that was sent out to play, and given the short preparation of just one training session, it was brilliant to see them adapt so well to the proactive instructions of Ange Postecoglou and his new assistant, Ante Milicic.
Little doubt they stung an Ecuadorian side who may have looked a little too closely at the team-sheet and at recent results against Brazil and France.
Playing on the front foot from the opening whistle, it was great to see the high defensive starting position.
The Roos took a very proactive approach into the match, with the central defenders Matthew Spiranovic and Curtis Good stepping up to pressure Ecuador’s attackers in their own half.
There was little of the retreating back-line we came to expect as default under Holger Osieck and Pim Verbeek.
Postecoglou’s men pressed as a unit, with the likes of Mat Leckie and Tommy Oar leading the way, high and wide, and it allowed the fullbacks to get forward.
Even Tom Rogic, not noted for his pressing, showed a preparedness to buzz about and get a foot in where he could.
The tempo and shape, and most importantly, the mentality, especially in the first half, was very good.
When they got the ball, the Roos transitioned quickly, with Rogic instrumental in triggering the forward tempo.
His ability to turn his immediate opponent and find space in front of the Ecuador defence was key to feeding the likes of Oar and Leckie, who in turn fed the Roos’ ever-present predator in the box Tim Cahill.
Cahill is at his best when he is able to get on top of opponents inside the box. With a team on the front-foot, providing him service from out wide, isolating defenders, he is king.
In the second half, with Australia pushed back by a Ecuador side that was shaken up at the break by manager Reinaldo Rueda, we saw a less effective Cahill and Rogic, and Postecoglou felt he had no choice but to replace them once Mitch Langerak was sent off.
The reality is that the “Tim and Tom” number 9 and 10 combo will be at their most effective when the Roos are able to play in the opponent’s half.
While doubts started to creep into the mentality of the Roos after conceding their first and then a second a minute or two later, and the defensive structure looked shaky for large parts of the second period, we must remember the limited time Postecoglou had before this game.
Given more time ahead of the World Cup, the defensive structure and ability to absorb periods of play without the ball is something he can work on in his pre Brazil camps.
As well, he will work on the team’s ability to alleviate these periods of pressure by sustaining more possession.
For large periods of the second half the Roos panicked and kept giving the ball back to Ecuador.
Adding a sense of calm under an onslaught will be a challenge for the manager.
What he needs to be certain about us that he has the right personnel, especially across the back four, and while there were some promising signs at The Den, there remains much to ponder and work on.
Higher, for all the verve of the first half display, he’s still reliant on Cahill to find the back of the net. Goals will need to be found from other sources.
Yet, the manager should ultimately be pleased with what the team confronted in the second half, as it gives him and the nation of sense of reality.
Opponents like Ecuador, who showed their quality in the second half through the likes of Jefferson Montero, Fidel Martinez and the Valencias, Enner and Antonio, will be impossible for the Roos to control for an entire 90 minutes.
Yet, the fact they showed they could dominate them for at least half a game gives Postecoglou and the nation much encouragement.
This is a team very much going through a rebuilding phase and it’s one bound to have quite a few more lows, especially in light if the quality of opponents we’ll be facing in Brazil.
One only had to look at the quality Chile produced in yesterday’s friendly against Germany to know what the Roos will confront in their World Cup opener.
Yet it was a performance that gives us hope and a belief that, with Postecoglou, we have a manager with the ability to create a positive environment where the players have the freedom and knowledge to play and get the job done.
We mightn’t win a lot in the coming months, but we’re very much re-building from the mess the FFA allowed to fester for so long under Osieck and Verbeek.
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