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Australia took another step towards the World Cup finals thanks to a comfortable 2-0 win over Uzbekistan in a wet and windy Sydney overnight. The Socceroos are all but assured of their place in South Africa. But despite that the question remains: when will Australian fans warm to coach Pim Verbeek?
At the time of writing the outcome of Bahrain’s clash with Qatar in Manama was undecided, but even allowing for a win to either side in that game, there’s no way that the Socceroos won’t cruise through to a second consecutive World Cup appearance.
I say that because I paid close attention to Japan’s clash with Bahrain in Saitama last weekend, and on their current form, the Blue Samurai can’t hold a candle to Pim Verbeek’s side.
Certainly there was some cause for concern at a rain-lashed ANZ Stadium in Sydney, but despite some notable defensive lapses early in the first half and late in the second, Australia’s performance was one of consummate professionalism.
Much of the credit should go to coach Pim Verbeek.
Clearly dissatisfied with Australia’s patchy first half performance, the laconic Dutchman introduced the powerful Josh Kennedy for Scott McDonald on the hour mark, and he reaped the rewards when Kennedy headed home the opener soon after.
Australia benefited from a soft penalty decision to go 2-0 up soon after, and despite Uzbekistan being slightly unlucky to have a goal ruled out by an offside flag in stoppage time, it was the Socceroos who clearly deserved to take three points.
Nevertheless the question remains, will World Cup qualification be enough to silence Pim Verbeek’s critics?
After all, the Dutchman was hired to guide Australia to the World Cup finals.
He’s done that with ease, yet Verbeek has failed to win over some Australian fans by failing to win in style.
Perhaps it’s worth remembering another Australian coach who failed to win in style – the ill-fated Terry Venables.
The fast-talking former England coach was hired by then Soccer Australia supremo David Hill as part of an attempt to overhaul the game in Australia.
But despite being 2-0 up in a World Cup qualifier against Iran with twenty minutes remaining at the MCG in 1997, Venables appeared paralysed when Karim Bagheri pulled a goal back in the 71st minute.
Iran scored again five minutes later, and all the substitutions in the world after that – Venables made three in quick succession – wasn’t enough to rescue a shell-shocked Australia from the most stomach-churning of World Cup exits on the away goals rule.
Even the deification of Guus Hiddink deserves further scrutiny.
Certainly the current Chelsea and Russia coach was integral in steering Australia to the World Cup finals in 2006.
But given that Italy played forty minutes of their second round clash with the Socceroos in Kaiserslautern a man down following Marco Materazzi’s send-off, surely Hiddink could have done more than to introduce a single substitute in the form of John Aloisi?
That’s not to say that I don’t rate Hiddink as a coach. Nor is it to suggest that I’m a card-carrying member of the Pim Verbeek fan club.
It’s just that I think Verbeek deserves more credit for steering Australia through the supposed “unknown” of Asian qualifying without so much as a bump in the road.
Maybe it’s because I’ve seen Channel Nine’s leading sports anchorman Ken Sutcliffe refer to the Dutchman as “Tim Verbeek” for the past two nights in a row.
But in terms of achieving his goal, the man more commonly known as “Pim” can hardly be faulted.
Whether he fires Australia to World Cup glory in South Africa remains to be seen.
But for now, Pim Verbeek and his all-conquering Australian side deserve our congratulations.