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Robbie Kruse remains Australia's most frustrating player

16th November, 2016
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Robbie Kruse. (Photo: AFP)
Expert
16th November, 2016
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On a night where the shrieks of the vivacious home crowd skittered through the balmy Bangkok air, and when the playing surface resembled a drizzled-on Christmas pavlova being plum-struck spectacularly by a mis-hit tennis ball from a neighbouring game of French cricket, the Socceroos’ 2-2 draw with Thailand was indeed a feast of frustration.

It left Ange Postecoglou’s side third in their World Cup qualifying group, with the result also leaving a decidedly sour supplementary aftertaste; the Socceroos had never before failed to seize the maximum return of points against the Thais. Amid the sweat, shuffling between airborne chunks of turf, was a sub-narrative just as infuriating, and the enduring image of it was the impish face of Robbie Kruse stained with an exasperated expression.

Robbie, make no mistake, we’re just as exasperated with you as you are with yourself. The demeanour of the match was set quite early, as the Thai defenders hurled themselves into tackles, often completely leaving the pitch, both feet outstretched as if they were shooting down some invisible luge track. At other times they were seen soaring over the head of Matthew Leckie, using the spongy turf as a makeshift trampoline-cum-crashpad.

With all this being the case – combined with the fact that there are glaciers faster than the pitch was – it all pointed to lofted balls, lifted over the top and into the vacant areas behind the defence and either side of the box, as being the most promising way up the pitch. Of course, with Aaron Mooy, Tom Rogic and Mile Jedinak in midfield, the Socceroos are well-equipped to play these exact passes. But making the pass is one thing, receiving it is another, and, naturally, what the receiver does with the ball once he has it is even more crucial.

And so we come to Kruse. In that first half, during that 25 minute period where Australia appeared as though they might score three or four goals, Robbie Kruse put forth an exhibition in wasteful wing play. Flittering around the pitch, starting on the left but drifting over to the right, Kruse was largely an impotent and scrambling figure. Twice he scampered into poor offside positions. At least four times in the first half he crossed directly into the defender in front of him.

Robbie Kruse (right) of Australia. (AAP Image/Mark Dadswell)

The impression Kruse gives – that he isn’t quite in control of his fragile limbs, a baby deer on the ice – only exacerbates the issue, makes the teeth grind harder with every mistimed run or scuffed cross.

And then, further compounding the feeling, there are always sequences – as there were in this match, early in the second half for example – when Kruse is central to moments of superlative fluency and clarity. He is, for this reason, the Socceroos’ most frustrating player. Three of his four dribbles, according to the Socceroos’ stats, were unsuccessful. He made, in 90 minutes, no successful crosses from open play. The two ‘chances’ he created were both, by some distance, crafted outside the box. His only shot was off-target. In the 88th minute, with the score at 2-2, a lofted ball from Jedinak – perfectly weighted, caressed almost – was scuppered because Kruse once again strayed forward too early.

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Kruse was, admittedly, offered precious little support by Milos Degenek. There is a real issue with lopsidedness in Postecolgu’s team, as Brad Smith bombs forward on the left, and the right-back hangs back more conservatively. Perhaps Kruse would have done better in that opening period had he had a close comrade by his side. But it does seem as though Kruse is much more situational than most players; he requires a very specific and delicate set of conditions to succeed, and is far too easily disrupted by unideal circumstances.

At club level, Kruse’s career has stagnated. He has been frozen out of first team involvement at Bayer Leverkusen, the club with which he signed in 2013; in four of the ten Bundesliga matches this season Kruse was an unused substitute, and in the rest he was excluded from the squad. His loan spell at Stuttgart last season was prematurely terminated. Postecoglou made a point of reminding his players after the draw with Thailand that a lack of involvement at their clubs will always count against them when the national team is picked. At this point, further time on the bench, or training with the reserves, might be as damaging to the Australian’s career as another injury.

Kruse finished the match playing in more of a striker’s position, following the substitution of Jamie Maclaren. Here he watched, a largely uninvolved onlooker, as Thailand surged toward the final whistle, trying to snatch the points themselves. He finished the match just as the rest of his team did, bedraggled, holding on desperately to what by the end looked a very fortunate point.

Kruse has scored four goals as a Socceroo, and his last one came well over a year ago. It is difficult to remember a period, even a run of two or three consecutive matches, when Kruse has consistently been anything other than inconsistent for the national team. We can all see his ability, in those rare moments when he combines his speed, anticipation and touch, weaving it all together into some beautiful tapestry. These tapestries, though, fade with every underwhelming performance, wearing dreadfully thin along with the patience of the supportership.

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