Pim Verbeek says Adelaide United defender Scott Jamieson can blossom into one of Australia’s best players after calling the 20-year-old into the Socceroos squad on Monday.
As expected, Verbeek’s 21-man squad for the Asian Cup qualifying match against Indonesia in Jakarta on January 28 was made up entirely of A-League players.
Central Coast pair Matt Simon and Dylan Macallister and Melbourne Victory strikers Archie Thompson and Danny Allsopp will vie for the two starting spots up front in a squad featuring just six players with previous experience in the senior national team.
Jamieson is among the next generation of Australian talent given a shot at the highest level by Verbeek, a reward for his decision to leave English Premier League club Bolton to play in the A-League.
Dutchman Verbeek didn’t hide his hopes for Jamieson after he was asked about the youngster in a teleconference on Monday.
“Hopefully he will be the best left-footed player, left fullback or even left midfield player for Australia in the future,” he said.
“He took the risk to come back to Australia from Europe to the A-League and in all the games we’ve seen he’s always at his best.
“We really like him, good football player, good mentality, so young and already so talented.”
While Verbeek is focusing on Indonesia, the bigger picture remains qualification for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.
The team’s next assignment is a crunch game against main group rivals Japan in Yokohama on February 11.
The likes of Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill and Mark Schwarzer will be back for that match, subject to fitness, but Verbeek says the door is ajar for locally-based players to fight their way into the side with a strong performance in Indonesia.
“I think the boys will be very excited to perform and it’s going to be a great atmosphere,” Verbeek said of Indonesia’s 100,000-capacity Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.
“If they can’t handle that, it’s a signal for the coaching staff it will be difficult for them in the future for qualifications.”
There are some notable omissions from the squad, including in-form Perth Glory winger Nikita Rukavytsya, who effectively ruled himself out of contention after heading to Holland for a month-long trial with FC Twente.
Verbeek felt the likes of Newcastle’s Joel Griffiths and Ante Covic weren’t in good enough form to warrant selection.
Adelaide stopper Eugene Galekovic is likely to get the nod in goal, with Melbourne’s Michael Theoklitos and Central Coast’s Danny Vukovic the other keepers named.
Veteran Queensland Roar defender Craig Moore will captain the side, which is also missing Jade North and Mile Jedinak, who left the A-League recently to sign with clubs in Korea and Turkey respectively.
North and Jedinak would have been certain selections, but Verbeek isn’t frustrated by their moves and feels he still has enough quality to get past Indonesia, who are ranked No.144 in the world.
“Not frustrated, not disappointed, because I know the way it works in football,” he said.
“Of course we could’ve used them, but we have enough other players and I wish them luck to perform in other leagues.”
Squad: Danny Allsopp (Melbourne Victory), Billy Celeski (Melbourne Victory), Shannon Cole (Sydney FC), Robert Cornthwaite (Adelaide United), Tarek Elrich (Newcastle Jets), Eugene Galekovic (Adelaide United), Dean Heffernan (Central Coast Mariners), Scott Jamieson (Adelaide United), Dylan Macallister (Central Coast Mariners), Matthew McKay (Queensland Roar), Craig Moore (Queensland Roar), Tom Pondeljak (Melbourne Victory), Paul Reid (Adelaide United), Matt Simon (Central Coast Mariners), Michael Theoklitos (Melbourne Victory), Archie Thompson (Melbourne Victory), Matthew Thompson (Newcastle Jets), Nikolai Topor-Stanley (Perth Glory), Rodrigo Vargas (Melbourne Victory), Danny Vukovic (Central Coast Mariners), Michael Zullo (Queensland Roar).
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