Australia’s incoming football coach, whoever he may be, certainly has a big job in revamping the aging Socceroos squad in the lead up to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
And despite the many words to the contrary, the future is not necessarily as dark as many would predict.
Without doubt, replacing players of the quality and experience of Mark Schwarzer, Vince Grella, Marco Bresciano and Lucas Neill will be a challenge, but the developing crop of players, as well as the players already making their mark for the national team, have the ability to fill those gaps.
To be sure, there is a lot of development to be had, but there certainly is the potential in the group of young Australians in the age group 17-24 to form a solid group of professionals from which the new manager can build a strong team. Perhaps what is most concerning is the dearth of star quality – but I’m of the opinion that cream rises to the top, and who would have thought four years ago that Tim Cahill and Luke WIlkshire’s careers would have risen as they have.
Mark Schwarzer’s are big shoes to fill, but goalkeeping stocks are one area where Australia really is spoilt for riches, with Adam Federici standing out as the obvious candidate to take the gloves in the long term. In Eugene Galekovic and Brad Jones, the national team has a good couple of potential stand-ins, but the hopes for Mitch Langerak are high.
If his move to Germany pays off, he could well push Federici and create a selection headache for the manager. With such a situation it is hard not to think of the long standing rivalries between Bosnich and Schwarzer, and then Schwarzer and Kalac.
Defence, on the other hand, certainly has more uncertainty, with there being no standout candidates to replace Lucas Neill and Craig Moore in the long term. But for injury, Patrick Kisnorbo would have been a likely partner for Lucas Neill in South Africa, and Rhys Williams’ versatility would have made him an excellent player to have on the bench. Michael Beauchamp, who had a decent game this morning marking Zigic, may not be too old come 2014, but his lack of pace will not disappear in that time.
Mark Milligan should not be discounted for his questionable career choices, his international experience should see a big role over the next four years. Each Sasa Ognenovski and Eddie Bosnar have had many thousands of words devoted to their perplexing lack of action for Australia, and look good options for next year’s Asian Cup and qualification process.
Who then are the next options? Matt Spiranovic and Shane Lowry have been earmarked as players of the future, with Spiranovic particularly rated for his composure and talent on the ball. Each are young, have improvements to make, and also have much to prove.
Another player that should be remembered is Ersan Gulum, a 21 year old Victorian of Turkish descent playing in the Turkish Second Division, who has turned heads recently and was reportedly a target for both the Turkish national team and Galatasaray.
At fullback, the starting players this morning, Wilkshire and Carney, will still be around in 4 years time; and players like Scott Jamieson and Jason Davidson both look to have the talent and support to improve.
In the centre of the park, Carl Valeri and Jedinak have begun to play well and play important roles in Pim’s defensive 4-2-3-1 system, with Valeri particularly impressive during our games against Ghana and Serbia. Neil Kilkenny, recently promoted with Leeds to the English Championship, and James Holland, in er, Holland, probably have the goods to play important roles over the next four years.
At a personal level, how Neil Kilkenny hasn’t got a run over the past few years is astounding, but I’m not the coach. Brad Inman too, is a player that looks to have a long career ahead of him, but the big question remains his choice of national team with Scotland reportedly interested in the Adelaide lad with Scottish heritage.
Brett Holman, courtesy of a great couple of performances in the World Cup provides a level of optimism for our attacking options, with his enthusiasm and pace qualities that will surely be better harnessed by a more attack-minded coach.
Dario Vidosic, given his impressive lead up performances, will be disappointed not to get any time during the Cup, but his chances will no doubt come on the right flank soon. The enigmatic Nick Carle may get a chance, despite his age, if the incoming coach appreciates his talents.
On the flanks, Tommy Oar and Peter Cvetanovski (another with dual nationality), are both in quality youth development systems in the Netherlands and Germany respectively, and may take the next step to first team football in the next couple of years.
The dearth of options up front for Pim Verbeek may continue over the next four years, but there are some positive signs. The proven qualities of Josh Kennedy and Scott McDonald will ensure some experience to the front line, but the emerging talents of Nikita Rukavystya, Nathan Burns and Bruce Djite should all stay in or about the squad, but each may need to make good career moves over the next year to get back to first team football.
Indeed, there are some other youngsters with talent to burn that may all cause a surprise over the coming years too – Christian Esposito is coming through the ranks in Italy, and has been dubbed the new Christian Vieri. The A-League based trio, Matthew Leckie, Kofi Danning and Karim Bulut have the talents that may seem them lured overseas in the next few years as well. Leckie’s pace, Dannings power and Buluts skills and composure, should see them move to higher profile leagues and provide pressure on the more experienced Socceroos.
This bunch of players may not yet be world-beaters, indeed, they are not even first-teamers in many cases, but they should form a balanced and even base of players for national team selection. The competition for places that this balanced situation creates, along with some good career moves and a good dose of luck, could push some players to emerge as the quality performers requires for greater success – a-la Kewell, Cahill and Neill.
Hence, there is a bunch of young players that should forge solid professional careers over the next couple of years – and while the incoming national team coach has a big job ahead of him, with a bit of luck and good management, the ingredients for a positive future are there. It ain’t all doom and gloom.
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