Greater depth, more games and stronger chemistry, as well as some more fit bodies, is what lies ahead for the Socceroos.
This World Cup has shown us that a team can’t come to a major tournament having undergone radical change in the weeks and months before and expect to really upset stronger nations.
The World Cup draw we were handed in Brazil was always going to be a huge task. Chile, Spain, Holland – not a group of death, but one of extreme destruction and disaster.
There’s a school of thought that Holger Osieck wanted the two friendlies against Brazil and France last year, where the Socceroos were spanked 6-0 twice, to show the Australian public what we were up against, what to really expect at the World Cup. Heavy defeats to dampen expectations. If that’s true, he was massively wrong and it ultimately cost him his job.
Osieck should have been removed from the national team much earlier, but he wasn’t and Ange Postecoglou was rushed into the job in October 2013.
Postecoglou set about installing the style he wanted, the system of play he wished to see, and creating belief. He quickly blooded players and got rid off those over the hill. He did what Osieck couldn’t, or wouldn’t do, in quick time. He tried to reform and revamp the national team at warp speed.
What should have happened in 2010 after the debacle against Germany instead happened nine months before the World Cup. It was never going to be enough time.
Some bad luck and injuries haven’t helped. Tom Rogic’s ongoing problems, Curtis Good’s niggly hip strain against Ecuador, Josh Kennedy’s back, Mark Bresciano’s ban, the loss of both Robbie Kruse and Rhys Williams, Trent Sainsbury’s freak sprinkler accident – you name it, we’ve had it. At times it seem like the Socceroos were cursed. A small squad became wafer-thin.
At the World Cup we then lost Ivan Franjic 50-odd minutes in and had to thrown a central defender in for the next two games. The Socceroos relied on the old legs of Tim Cahill, for goals, and Mark Bresciano, for creativity and game smarts, to see us through.
We lost three games straight, but there were some good signs, some progress made. We approached each game positively and did not sit back and purely defend. No buses were stationed in our box.
We pressed the Chileans, Dutch and Spainards and found some success. We scored three goals, three more than some critics said, and were close to pulling off a famous upset of the Netherlands. We were also not far off securing a point against Chile. At times we played with no fear and huge confidence, and the world took notice.
But history will show we didn’t go home without any results. Simple defensive mistakes, stronger depth and the lack of a proven top-class striker – like John Aloisi or Mark Viduka – hurt badly.
Regardless, Postecoglou has done well in his nine months in charge. He has had eight games for a record of two wins, one draw and five losses. It is not one to write home about, but if you look at the football we have played – the first half against Ecuador, patches against Croatia, large periods against Chile and the first 45 minutes against Holland – there is hope.
If we keep playing like this, and our pool of available players grows, results will come.
The Asian Cup is up next. On home soil we will want to at least make the semis, if not the final. The goal of winning it is not impossible. The encouraging thing under Ange is that the Socceroos won’t sit back and be outplayed like we did under Holger in Asia. We won’t be technically mastered and out-thought by the likes of Thailand, Oman, Jordan and others. We won’t need to approach matches defensively or need to poach a goal by going direct.
Will take the game to them, entertain and play positively. It will be 21st century football and it should be beautiful to see.
Follow John Davidson on Twitter @johnnyddavidson
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