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From what I hear Pim Verbeek was considering staying in his air-conditioned hotel room rather than venturing out into the sauna of the Jakarta night for the Socceroos’ match against Indonesia on Wednesday – and it would have been a good move for all sorts of reasons.
It was a pretty grim affair from beginning to end, both sides failing to create a real shot on goal worthy of the name; though, to be fair, the pitch looked about as spongy and holey as a Wettex so fluidity of movement and clean passing was always going to be difficult.
Danny Allsopp and Dean Heffernan did nothing all game, Archie Thompson ran a lot but mostly into trouble, Tom Pondeljak was ineffective.
It’s difficult to say who could have performed better in the conditions, because Verbeek picked his team on form and there were no real shock omissions. But Australia clearly lacked penetration against a side ranked 144 in the world and to persist with such a European-free line-up in coming Asian Cup qualifiers is probably too great a risk.
Graham Arnold, given barking orders by the sideline-banned Verbeek, would have been hoping for a whole lot more from this rare chance to prove his smarts but got no joy.
He made a hell of a lot of racket, though, and on his showing on Wednesday night could get a job as an auctioneer when his tenure as national assistant coach inevitably ends.
There was talk he skipped the post-match press conference, which I’ve not been able to confirm, but what would he say anyway? “I yelled a lot but no one wants to listen.”
So slim pickings all round when it comes to positives.
But at least Football Federation Australia bods and their marketing partners will have seen now with their own eyes the potential of the Indonesian market for our own football: the passion of the fans, the atmosphere of the electric Gelora Bung Karno. Indonesia has also just thrown its hat in the ring for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
An annual Test match should be a priority for the FFA. Good for us. Good for them. Good for football in the ASEAN region of the Asian Football Confederation.
It’s a shame, however, none of the Indonesian players really stood up to get noticed by A-League scouts, Bambang Pamungkas and Erol Iba getting little time on the field by Benny Dollo, but a shrewd talent identifier will have noticed the thread of West Papuan players in the Indonesian team.
West Papua is right on North Queensland Fury’s doorstep. How hard is it really to explore recruiting opportunities in that part of the world? (Easy. It’s just a short hop away on a plane.
Though take my advice, Don, and don’t leave without a visa.
The all-A-League experiment in Jakarta might have failed for Verbeek but with a bit of rethinking and a long-term view Australia could still come away with a win.
It’s just going to take a lot more than 90 minutes.
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