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It has been more than six years since Ante Covic earned his second and final cap for the Socceroos. But on the back of his phenomenal performance in the Asian Champions League final the 6’4″ giant must be in Ange Postecoglou’s squad for the Asian Cup.
The Socceroos have always been blessed with a high calibre of goalkeepers. The standard so high that former Manchester United, Aston Villa and Chelsea keeper Mark Bosnich only managed 17 caps for the national team.
Covic was the third choice keeper for Guus Hiddink’s 2006 World Cup squad and it was a fair suggestion that most Australian supporters knew little of the man that plied his trade in the Swedish first division.
In front of Covic was AC Milan’s Zeljko Kalac and Middlesbrough’s Mark Schwarzer, both seen as far better options then the unknown Covic. By the Asian Cup in 2007, Brad Jones and Michael Petkovic had come into the Socceroos set up and Covic’s international career was all but over, barring one friendly appearance against Singapore.
In the years since the list of Socceroo goalkeepers reads; Adam Federici, Eugene Galekovic, Nathan Coe, Matthew Ryan, Mitchell Langerak and Mark Birighitti. Ange Postecoglou’s current trio of Ryan, Langerak and Federici have an average age of 26, 13 years Ante Covic’s junior.
So the argument against Ante Covic is that he is too old to be reintroduced back into the Socceroos fold, but goalkeepers are like fine wine and they almost always get better with age. Some of Mark Schwarzer’s very best performances came in his late thirties while he was at Fulham. I firmly believe that if Schwarzer had not moved to Chelsea, limiting his game time drastically, he would have been at the World Cup in Brazil and on the verge of a Asian Cup squad at the age of 42.
There is a place for Covic in Ange Postecoglou’s squad, not just for his wealth of experience but because he is Australia’s best goalkeeper right now. He has 61 clean sheets in his last five seasons which makes the fact he has not been in and around the national set up all the more ludicrous.
His performances against Al Hilal in both legs were extraordinary and his efforts throughout the competition beggars belief, eight clean sheets in 12 games. Deserving recipient of the AFC Champions League’s Most Valuable Player. Everyone remembers Schwarzer’s penalty save but it could be argued that Covic’s one-handed save in the dying moments to deny Saudi hero Yasser Al-Qahtani was just as significant, at least for Australian club football.
The Socceroos are expected to win the Asian Cup next January and while Matt Ryan and company are good options going forward, it is Ante Covic who should be wearing the number one jersey come January 9.
His partnership with Nikolai Topor-Stanley has been vital for the Western Sydney Wanderers and with Topor-Stanley being recalled into the Socceroo’s set up it makes perfect sense for Ange to recall the man he once set a drift into the footballing wilderness.
Follow me on Twitter @dylaneloiarvela
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