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Damn those Kiwis! You could put forward a decent argument that Pim Verbeek has been unnecessarily pilloried in his selection and preparation of the Socceroos.
Damn those Kiwis! You could also argue that we’ve been given the rough end of the stick when it comes to fouls, free kicks, yellow cards and red cards.
Damn those Kiwis! Yep, you could make a decent case that everything would have been better if only the rest of the world had given us a fair go.
So what have the Kiwis done? Well, they’ve blown all our well constructed arguments out of the water by taking a team of supposedly mostly no-hopers from the supposedly hopeless A-League, coached by a supposedly hopeless homegrown know-nothings, and, and, and….. put us to shame!
I’ll put my hand up as one of those know-nothings who claimed that the damning criticism thrown at Pim Verbeek was unjustified. I was trying to be the voice of reason. But in light of the All Whites’ exploits, Pim and his supporters have had all their arguments blown away.
Ditto any unfair criticism at the Socceroos squad. Everything about the game against Germany, cut across the grain. We blinked, and we paid the price. Heavily. Since when does an Aussie team accept defeat even before they run onto the pitch?
We changed our formation and personnel. It hurt us more than Germany because it became apparent the team hadn’t prepared sufficiently for an alternate formation at training.
Players were hesitant about their exact role and position on the field. Intuitive feel was missing. Hesitancy proved fatal. In the very next game that Germany played, their opponents Serbia showed that when you cut down the time and space players have to think and act, you can just as easily cut princes down to paupers.
Aggressive, in your face play is often the Aussie way, but we didn’t show that against Germany. The Kiwis have been doing all the things we wished we had done.
The All Whites have been true to themselves. True to their national character. They have played their hearts out. They have played without inhibition. They have played as if there will be no tomorrow…..
One of the brutal lessons we learn in life is to be true to yourself. Abandon that principle, and you will lose everything eventually.
As the latest TV sporting footwear catchphrase ad implores us to do: “play to be remembered”.
Precisely what this All Whites team is doing!
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