The Socceroos team of the future

In the lead up to the Socceroos’ crunch game against Japan, it’s useful to think about the likely make-up of the squad over the next eighteen months.

There have been some notable retirements, but an argument could be made that a newer batch of players offsets those retirements. And with interest.

By the time the 2010 World Cup comes along, our more experienced players will be at the following ages:
Mark Schwarzer – 38
Craig Moore – 35
Scott Chipperfield – 34
Mark Viduka – 34
Lucas Neill – 32
Brett Emerton – 31
Harry Kewell – 31
Mile Sterjovski – 31
Vince Grella – 30
Mark Bresciano – 30
Jason Culina – 29
Tim Cahill – 28
Luke Wilkshire – 28

Age of older fringe squad members in mid 2010 (including those from the A-League, now and recent past):
Tom Pondeljak – 34
Clint Bolton – 34
Michael Petkovic – 33
Jacob Burns – 32
Danny Allsopp – 32
Archie Thompson – 31
Simon Colosimo – 31
Paul Reid – 31
Chris Coyne – 31
Adam Griffiths – 31
Travis Dodd – 30
Joel Griffiths – 30
Dean Heffernan – 30
Shane Steffanutto – 30
Patrick Kisnorbo – 29
Michael Beauchamp – 29
Eugene Galekovic – 29
Jade North – 28
Richard Garcia – 28
Matt McKay – 27

Age of younger and/or less experienced squad members in mid 2010:
Nick Carle – 28
Brad Jones – 28
Ryan Griffiths – 28
Mark Thwaite – 27
Jonathon McKain – 27
Josh Kennedy – 26
Scott McDonald – 26
David Carney – 26
Brett Holman – 26
Billy Celeski – 26
Mile Jedinak – 26
Carl Valeri – 25
Nikolai Torpor-Stanley – 25
Adam Federici – 25
Mark Milligan – 24
Neil Kilkenny – 24

Age of young up and comers in mid 2010 (0-2 caps):
Nathan Coe – 26
Danny Vukovic – 25
Stuart Musialik – 25
Adrian Leijer – 24
Mark Bridge – 24
Matt Simon – 24
Kristian Sarkies – 23
Bruce Djite – 23
Tando Velaphi – 23
Nigel Boogard – 23
Nikita Rukavytsya – 23
James Wesolowski – 22
Leigh Broxham – 22
David Williams -22
Matthew Spiranovic – 22
Nathan Burns – 22
Scott Jamieson – 21
Michael Zullo – 21
James Holland – 21
James Troisi – 21

Experienced squad members
There are 13 names in the list of our more experienced and regular Socceroos. The oldest, Schwarzer, will be 38 in mid 2010. This is not too old for a goal keeper, recording that Dino Zoff captained Italy to a World Cup victory in 1982 at the ripe old age of 40.

Great confidence was shown in Schwarzer recently, allowing him to arrive 36 hours before kick off, and he didn’t let us down.

It would be a mistake to think he is a certainty. But at the moment, the goalkeeping role, at least for the remainder of the qualifiers, looks his to lose.

We then have three players aged 34-35, which is pretty much at the extreme end of an international player’s career (ordinarily).

One would suspect that Chippers is unlikely to figure in 2010 given the amount of running required by his position in the modern age, and our succession planning for his LB role (which he has seemingly owned for an eternity) has been in place for the last 12 to 18 months, although Carney is yet to make it his own.

Stefanutto remains an option, and Scott Jamieson is rapidly catching them both (and is certainly young enough to get even better).

I left Aloisi out because he is as good as retired, and he would also be 34 in 2010, like Dukes, who is yet to make his intentions known, and who looks more and more unlikely to figure with every club game he misses through injury.

We all know that

Pim remains ultra keen on Dukes, and why not? He is still playing at the highest level and against the lesser team, he will always present them with a massive headache.

Dukes’ style of game is one that he can probably carry on until the age of 34: utilising his bulk to gain and maintain his position and his excellent technique to farm it off or have a shot. I don’t think that this attribute will diminish when he is 34, so I think he is still a chance to squeeze into any squad of 23 for 2010.

Craig Moore has done a sterling job since stepping back into the national team, but at 35, it’s likely that Pim will be looking to others to fill the central defensive positions.

We then have nine players who will be aged between 28 and 32 – all currently playing in the top leagues of Europe. All of the nine played in 2006 and with a little luck will be at the top of their game in 2010 – absolutely wonderful news for our national team.

At 32, if he retains his fitness, I’m sure that Neill will still be playing at the top level. Emerton, Cahill, Culina, Bresciano, Grella and Wilkshire will form the bedrock of an excellent starting line-up.

Harry has had his well publicised injury problems, but with his slow recovery and then return to form with Galatasaray, I would not discount his presence in 2010.

He may even be fitter and better than he was in 2006.

The last player on the list is Sterjovski, who has slowly played himself back into contention. He now seems likely to become a squad member for 2010, and while he will not be an automatic selection, will provide decent cover for our AMs.

One player bordering this group is Brett Holman.

There’s no doubt that Pim sees Brett as his Mr Fix-it for certain very specific midfield roles. Pim will definitely be able to use him in the World Cup format, where teams confront a variety of possibilities and where survival is the name of the game (so, he won’t be in the squad to score goals).

Older fringe players
Looking through this list, there aren’t too many who are likely to rise to the top between now and 2010. I think we can dismiss the outfield players aged 32 and over. Of the keepers, there are a few younger keepers coming through that may well challenge Schwarzer over the next two years, but perhaps not in time for the finals themselves.

Galekovic has given himself every opportunity of taking one of the two spots available, after the Schwatter.

Of those aged 30 and 31, Coyne and Stefanutto have every chance of figuring because of particular circumstances. Coyne is as good a chance as any to become Neill’s partner in the centre of defence, and Stefanutto is Carney’s main rival for replacing Chippers on the left side of the back four.

The three defenders towards the bottom of the list – Beauchamp, Kisnorbo and North – are in an interesting position. Not only will all three be aged under 30 in 2010, but if Coyne fails to nail that defensive spot, it’s likely one of these three will (unless a bolter like Spiranovic beats them to the punch, which is a possibility).

Less experienced squad members
This list includes a range of youngish players who have been capped less than 12 times. Carle, Jones and Ryan Griffiths will be 28 in 2010, which means they have time to make a mark, but at the same time, it is rapidly running out as others come through.

Of these three, Carle is in the best position to progress, especially if he can continue his form in the Championship. Jones needs to become a regular keeper now otherwise he may lose his chance. I think Ryan Griffiths will (or has) run out of time.

We then have two defenders who will be aged 27 in 2010: Thwaite and McKain. Thwaite has done himself no favours in a below average season with the Victory, and even looks like not even figuring in the current finals campaign.

McKain did much better for the Nix, and the door remains slightly open for him (but he has plenty of competition).

Some absolute gems are to be found amongst those aged 24 to 26 in this group: Josh, Scotty, Carney and Valeri. All have featured in recent Socceroo games.

Valeri looks more than an adequate back up for Grella in the holding role – that’s an important position that we can tick. They will all be involved in 2010.

The younger ones in this group have their work cut out for themselves, but have time to push for the following World Cup.

Players with less than three caps
Some wonderful young talent is to be found in this list. The older two will push for the remaining goalkeeping positions.

Olyroo fixtures, NTS and Musialik will be 25 in 2010 and approaching their peak as footballers. Neither of them really set the world alight this year, the same goes for Bridge, but time is on their sides.

Djite will be 23 in 2010, and thus has plenty of time left to make his mark beyond. It’s good to know that a player of his quality is coming through the ranks. He may well yet challenge for a spot in the squad, especially if Dukes is out of the scene by then.

The same goes for Burns.

Spiranovic is the jewell in the crown amongst this grouping. He is quite young and will only be 22 in 2010. He remains a dark horse to fill that centre-half role alongside Neill – do not be surprised if he leapfrogs the likes of Coyne, North, Beauchamp and Kisnorbo in the next two years, thus becoming a 10 year Socceroo.

It’s incredible to think that Jamo, Holland and Troisi will only be 21 in 2010, underscoring our talent in the attacking department. At most, one might squeeze into the 2010 squad, but all three are likely to figure prominently beyond that.