Holger Osieck named as the new Socceroos coach

I think this guy's "lack of celebrity" has nothing to do with this article. My interpretation of the article is that we are getting more of the same defensive style football with this coach, so it's a rather underwhelming announcement.

He claims to be "calm" about it - a calm Fozzie, haha! http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/video/298407/Shootout

Can you send me a copy of the FFA shortlist. I can;t wait to read it.

I am tired of the Hiddink mania in Australian football - you would think the guy was some sort of deity or something. He did well with our best team at short notice and had a good rapport with the Australian people. Pim's job was harder and he was a more difficult personality. This guy will be his own man as well. I think the Australian media (and Mike frankly) are under whelmed because of a lack of ‘celebrity’ (facepalm). I could not care less as I am interested in the long-term development of football. If he can contribute to this and improve relations with the media by force of his personality then I will be happy. There is a lot to like about this appointment. I wish him well. Guus is gone and we feel used. Get over it. If you can’t be with the one you love – love the one your with!

One could argue that Osieck's CV is better than Pim's. It's certainly more varied, and includes some silverware, with one key difference. We hired Pim immediately after his NT manager's stint with South Korea, having watched him and his team take 3rd place in the Asian Cup. We knew a fair bit about Pim's background, and it really was a very good fit for that moment for the Socceroos (even if we accept that he was not first-choice, or even second-choice). With this selection, absolutely everyone is a bit in the dark, he really ain't done a lot the past decade, and what's more, it looks like he has never survived more than one year at any club as a manager. Once again, it's a classic case of picking someone from outside the short list, and people are trying to rationalise his appointment after the event, rather than having arrived at his name as a logical conclusion.

I think those critical of Osieck's appointment ought to take a reality check. Whether we are ranked in the top 20 or not, Australia is still small fry in the soccer world. We got Hiddink because of a fortunate alignment of events and interests in which he took the job on a short-term basis on his terms. It was a one-off piece of fortune and despite what the media says now and then, the fact is glamour or big-name coaches aren't flocking to Australia at this point of time. As it is, Osieck has a lot of experience and a strong, solid CV (better than Verbeek's). He obviously has a lot of knowledge of the game so give him a chance first. If the Socceroos play poorly under him then it's valid to criticise, but not now.

Agreed AndyRoo, I am as surprised with the signing of Osieck as much as hearing about Hernandez. With the lack of International, Asian and World Cup experience you would have to wonder what the JFA sees in Hernandez. I would say that there is a shift taking place in Japanese football. Spanish style of football looks to be the next fashion in Japan.

Well Andy G and Dasilva it will be interesting to see how Japan under Hernandez (no Asian experience but plenty in Spain) fares in the Asian cup.

The swear word incident got me too. He deserves a chance. Give him that.

This will be a challenging tenure for Osieck. As well as having to get used to the Socceroos set up and the logistical difficulties of having squad players playing in every corner of the globe, Osieck will oversee the transition of the national team from the so-called golden era as the Kewells, Neills, Cahills, Moores, etc move into footballing old age and retirement. From the outside the approach of Guus and Pim seemed to be that they were handed their squad and that was the group of players they worked with, with little effort put in by them into developing players outside that group. In the 5 or so years since Hiddink took over there have been very few young players that Guus or Pim have developed into first team regulars. This is highlighted by how similar our first teams were in the 06 and 10 World Cups. 5 years is a long side for a national team to remain basically the same. Osieck won’t have this luxury and will have to work a lot more closely with the youth team coaches and be more proactive in the development of young players than his Dutch predeccesors were.

Heard Fos on ABC radio this morning, and he really had to work overtime to put a tiny bit of positive spin on it. Quite clearly he has been caught completely off guard as well. This bloke is not what people were expecting. And it's silly for people to think he will bring some sort of "German" system to the NT - it's been 20 years since he has had any involvement with the German NT. There is some hope that he will be a developer of youth - but I can't see anything he has done on that front in the past decade that is of note. If developing youth was truly the main criterion, there are dozens out there far better credentialled than he is.

Let's face facts, a big name coach with Osieck's experience would be very expensive & why would he want the job? Seriously why would O'Neill or Wenger want to coach Australia? We do not have very high profle in Int'l football as yet. We were very lucky Hiddink was willing to coach us on a part-time basis. In Lowy we trust, he is a smart guy, has his contacts & he has considered Osieck the best to help Australia football overall, not just the Socceroos. However I do value Mike's comments on this appointment as he has spent along time in Japan & seen this man in action. But I willing to give him a go as this appointment was done very carefully.

MF I realise AFL fans get excited by gimmicks and profile; but, when managing and developing a National Football Team, substance is far more important. I reckon if you questioned the 5-6 billion people, who watched the 2010 FIFA WC, about their choice for "Manager of the Tournament", the majority would have come up with the same name. They would have named a manager who, prior to the tournament did not have a high profile, and had modest success as a player and club manager. Who was this "Manager of the Tournament" ... Joachim Löw, Manager of Die deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft.. Additionally, before the 2004 Euro tournament in Portugal, Otto Rehhagel - also German - had a low profile outside Germany and no prior experience managing any National Team. Guess what? Rehhagel led the unfancied Greek team as they became Champions of Europe. Even the manager of the Dutch team at the 2010 FIFA WC, Bert van Marwijk, had modest success as a club manager and zero international managerial experience. Yet, van Marwijk was vitrually a "big toe away" from leading the Dutch to Champions of the World.

God knows what he was. Far too vague for my liking.

Yeah, because Troussier is really a respected choice. Please. If anything, people like Mike and myself would have been even harsher if he had been appointed. And I don't even like Osieck, despite Urawa (the club I support) winning the ACL under his eye, which says a lot about Troussier.

Can't believe how many are jumping the gun with Osieck just because he hasn't coached a huge club or a major national team. Looking at his CV, he seems quite well experienced and he's coached in a fair diverse range of places, it will be interesting to see the style he will deploy. Either way, his experience will be very valuable in growing the game here. Holger, welcome to Australia.

Btw are the contract details known? Would like to know how much the FFA spent on him?

That's right Mister, the federal government should investigate the FFA for corruption and the Herald Sun and Daily Telegraph should run a back page story about it. Probably gave his wife pearl necklaces too.

It was crucial 4 years ago when we needed a coach to take over at short notice and qualify us to the World Cup. However it's not so crucial now when there is plenty time to prepare and plenty of time for the new coach to get up to speed on what is required in the logistics of playing in Asia and their conditions. Remember, even Hiddink was inexperience in Asia when South Korea hired him. It's really more important now just to get a top coach.

Knowledge of Asia is crucial IMO, look at the 2007 Asia Cup performance and the adjustment for the qualification campaign