“At times, an eye-opener at the right time is definitely one thing that can be beneficial for the future,” said Socceroos coach Holger Osieck after his team were thumped 3-0 by Egypt in Cairo.
He’s right, although no doubt most Socceroos fans would prefer to see their side lose a friendly in difficult circumstances far from home, rather than an opening Asian Cup group stage game against India in Doha.
The problem for Osieck is that his first defeat as Australia coach exposed several glaring weaknesses, and with less than two months until the Asian Cup kicks off, there’s little time left to tinker with what already looks a shaky Socceroos line-up.
Slow at the back, lacking width on the flanks and struggling to connect between the midfield and attack, Australia were second best in virtually every department against the defending African champions.
How different might things have been had Timmy Cahill slotted away a glorious opportunity in the 25th minute: but then, how many times have we said that before?
Cahill looked Australia’s best attacking outlet – although that’s hardly saying much – and Osieck will need to decide how best to utilise the talismanic attacker, particularly with Scott McDonald once again offering little in front of goal.
Sasa Ognenovski – championed by many, myself included – endured a testing debut in the green and gold, at times defending too deep and struggling positionally against the pacy Egyptian attack.
Once again, there were too many chipped balls from the back and as soon as Egypt went ahead, Australia looked in danger of being hit on the counter-attack they minute they started playing further up the park.
Several negatives then, but it’s not all doom and gloom for a side which rarely shows its best form in friendlies, not least because the Socceroos always seem to be missing key personnel through injury.
The question at hand is whether Australia has what it takes to win the Asian Cup.
The first real test comes on January 14 when Osieck’s men take on Korea Republic at Al Gharafa Stadium, and perhaps the biggest difference between the South Koreans and Australian is the number of talented youngsters coming through the ranks of the Taeguk Warriors.
Lead by 21-year-old Celtic midfielder Ki Sung-Yong and 22-year-old Bolton Wanderers youngster Lee Chung-Yong, new coach Cho Kwang-Rae also has a number of youngsters plying their trades in the domestic K-League and neighbouring J. League to call upon.
And while Australia and Korea Republic are both expected to breeze through their group, they’ll face one of defending champions Iraq, Asian heavyweights Iran or the enigmatic DPR Korea in the quarter-finals.
In other words, winning the Asian Cup or even coming close to the final is hardly a sure-fire thing, although a shocking 2007 campaign already told us that.
At least the temperatures in Qatar will be comfortable this time around: there’ll be no moonsonal downpours or crushing tropical humidity to contend with in the Middle East.
But on the park, it’s hard to imagine Australia as favourites going into the Asian Cup, especially not after the kind of performance we saw in Cairo.
It wasn’t a humiliating defeat – the decision to award Egypt a penalty late on was farcical – but nor was it the sort of convincing display many Australian fans were hoping for.
And the truth is the Socceroos haven’t look convincing for a long time.
Osieck can only work with the players at his disposal, and the fact is some of those players continue to struggle at international level.
It’s hard to know what the answers are, but if Australia are to succeed in the Asian Cup, it looks as though it will be on the back of a good old “never surrender” attitude rather than any kind of technical acumen.
Which is a shame, because if Egypt taught us anything in Cairo, it’s how to play attractive, attacking football.
Gawdat The Egyptian
Guest
Australia wasn't that bad. It was a long trip though. Egypt was in it's good day. It should be 0 - 2. I guess Australia is going to be The Coming Asian Champion nation. Good Luck though.
whiskeymac
Guest
doh... as soon as i mention one of them.... http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/189224,young-socceroo-on-gang-charges.aspx
whiskeymac
Guest
bulut, fletcher, the kid that plays for brondby... if we are talking about williiams we shld also consider those just behind him. nathan burns is getting game time for a decent team too.
chris mackinnon
Guest
for the socceroos to go well, mcdonald well he needs to score and obviously he hasnt shouldnt be in team, we need pace, why not try tommy oar, kewell has to play upfront cant play in midfield, kennedy has to play garcia well not sure if he should get a game, jendrik same thing. i think alot of players are getting confused about saying the players from the a league should be in the team, at best the a league is like league 1 in england. even against paraguay we didnt play that good, i think we might have trouble in the asian cup if we play so poorly but who knows
gazz
Roar Pro
You could be right, but Williams hasnt played international football for years... I'd be happy to see him have a shot, but Garcia does alright at international level, not yet certain bout Williams.
gazz
Roar Pro
and it was one of those games where it didnt really matter to the players. it wasnt in australia. it was difficult circumstances and the players may've lacked motivation. these things happen.
Ticker
Guest
Take it as a compliment Fussball. The Socceroos are more mainstream these days, and more prone to a bagging like any one of our other national teams. Our performance in 2006 has raised expectations. Higher expectations = increased interest.
Australian Football
Roar Guru
I can't understand the hysterics. It's Osie's first loss and it was really 2 nil, not 3 nil in a practice match, trying out a new back-line pairing formation. I think that Lucas and the big O need a few games together to sort out who is going to play in front of each other---from what I saw in the highlights was, they got a bit confused with each others role. But I think this is a promising pairing with a bit more game time together it could be very solid and tough for the opponents to break through.. I want to see the next game, before we make too many hash judgements now that, we could regret later.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
The significant issues for success - with any football team - is technique, conditioning, tactics/organisation and the mental state of the players. The players don't lose their technique overnight - sure they can have a day when the passes just don't come off, the tackles are mis-timed and the 1st touch and control is like a teenage boy on his 1st date. ;-) I thought we were very badly organised against Egypt; just as we were very badly organised against Germany. Pim was a master at organisation but got it wrong ONCE. I have every confidence that Osieck is also a master at organisation ... heck, it's part of the German DNA. We simply had a bad day at the office. It has happened in the past and will happen again in the future. I much rather have the bad days during practice matches and training, and perform at the tournaments - rather than vice versa!
Realfootball
Guest
You haven't addressed a single issue.No one is "jumping up and down like spoiled children". Please avoid applying insulting hyperbole to those who hold divergent views to your own. There are serious concerns here. You can't shut your eyes and pretend that they aren't there. As for your continuing apologia for the unlamented Verbeek - well, if that isn't rampant denial, I don't know what is.
jimbo
Roar Guru
Yeah Fussball, in the old days we would have said that the 3-0 loss to Egypt was a "promising and respectable loss" against the FIFA 10th ranked team in the world.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
I have to admit I always have a chuckle nowadays when people start bagging our National Team. You just know they never lived through some of the "darkest years for football in Australia" - particularly the 80s & 90s (I wasn't in Australia pre-1970 so, perhaps, those were even darker years). In the "dark years", football fans in Australia used to dream about watching our (albeit mediocre) lads playing in any tournament; or, against any decent opposition. If the NT had been invited to play the African Champions ... wow! we would have been over the moon and given them our unconditional support, knowing the result - and the style of play - would, most likely, be ugly. How times have changed. We are now turning into the "English fans of Asia", where the media and "some fans" just bag our team at every opportunity. Nothing is good enough. Pim's results were fantastic, so we bagged his "style" and his "personality"; Osieck loses one game against the 10th best team in the world and we jump up and down like spoilt children. Yes, I was disappointed with yesterday's result; and, yes, I think some players need to improve. But, you are allowed a bad day at the office. For heaven's sake this modern generation needs to harden up - life's tough and you don't always win and you don't always get your own way ... no matter what mummy & daddy told you, sometimes you are not the best! For anyone to say this NT is the worst ever is a laugh. In 1981, we were trying to qualify for Spain82 and here are some of our qualifying results in that WC campaign: NZ (away): 3-3 NZ (home): loss 2-0 Taiwan (home): win 3-2 Taiwan (away): 0-0 Indonesia (away): loss 1-0 Needless to say, we were kicked out at the 1st qualifying stage and NZ was Oceania's representative at Spain82. And, even in 2002, Australia lost the Oceania Nations Cup and missed qualifying for the Confederations Cup when we lost 1-0 to NZ. Believe me, times have been far far worse. I have every confidence that the 23 man squad that Osieck picks can certainly win the Asian Cup in January 2011
Cpaaa
Roar Pro
Osie has been watching plenty of A-League, yet he is still unable to choose these players. How many games has Osie watched of Macca, Carney, Neil, Garcia where they have been exceptional? It seems our national coach still views a cv on paper better than on field performances. Please Ozzie dont tell us you are Pim in Disguise.
punter
Guest
Maybe the Asian cup is one last Hurrah/thank you to the Golden Generation. The result of the match was not important, but the display was dreadful, we are just too slow. Carney is no int'l defender or even midfielder, Neill is too slow,maybe a move to DM. But like the rest of you guys I think we need to give the youth a go, see which of them are good enough. In Wilshire, Holman, Cahill, Cullina, Big Mark, even Bresc & maybe even Kewell we have the experience to help the the young guys like Oar, Leckie, Rhys Williams & even Milligan come thru & this may be good enough until our next golden generation comes thru.
Realfootball
Guest
A question: can anyone argue that Garcia is a better player than David Williams? Williams is much faster, shoots with both feet, accurately and from distance, scores goals, can beat his man down the sideline. I really don't think there is an argument there. Question for Osieck: why, then, is Garcia, the original invisible man, who at his very best is mediocre and has never changed a game even once for the Socceroos, still in the team, while Williams hasn't had a look in? The answer, of course, is because Williams plays in the A-League. We urgently need to move beyond this outdated football version of the cultural cringe and recognise the young talent in the A-League.
Football Fan
Guest
Clearly the rose coloured glasses have come off - the team is the same as it was under Verbeek. Osieck needs to change things right away and hopefully he gets moving, I think he's only starting to realise the limitations he has with his squad, much later than Verbeek did. The only problem is there's no matches lined up anymore!! And while that penalty was a DISGRACE I was up out of my seat - had 50 on Egypt 3-0!! Huzzah!
Realfootball
Guest
I should add that I meant that Culina was our best player against Egypt. He has never been more than workmanlike in the international arena. I also omitted Leckie from the A-League list because of his injury. If he was fit, he should be starting for the Roos in place of Garcia. This is a no brainer.
Realfootball
Guest
I am astonished when I hear people talking about the Roos winning the Asian Cup. This is a painfully slow, aging team chronically short on talent. Neill is a liability, as is Carney. Jedinak, Garcia and MacDonald simply aren't up to standard - not their fault, but they aren't good enough. Culina was out best player and frankly he is uninspiring. Emerton seems to have lost a yard of pace with age. Vidosic isn't playing for his club. Ognenvoski doesn't work with Neil largely because Neill is so slow that he needs someone with genuine pace next to him as cover (Neill's attitude is doing the team no favours either). Osieck obviously doesn't know what to do with Cahill, who is a player of singular but limited gifts. Kewell is finished and, like Neill, should have retired after the last world cup. Wilkshire is our best player and he is being wasted by being played out of position at right back - whenever he is in the central midfield, he is our most effective player. I struggle to think of a more impotent Socceroos first choice 11 in my memory, and the Roos will be shredded by fast teams like the Korea Republic, who will ruthlessly target the lamentable David Carney, who is an inept dog's breakfast of a left back. The frustrating thing is that there is a quick, bold, exciting Socceroos 11 - its just that Osieck isn't selecting it. And dare I say it, some of those players are in the A-League - players like Cernak (much faster than Carney and a ferocious tacker), Williams, Kruse, McKay, Franjic, Devere and Milicevic. Others like Oar and Satora are overseas. Osieck has made the decision to stick with the old hands, calculating that he hasn't had enough time to rebuild. This is the wrong decision, made by yet another Socceroos coach of mediocre CV and extremely modest accomplishments. Osieck says all the right things about youth and the seriously underrated A-League, but his approach is relentlessly conservative, timid and Eurocentric. If this isn't the most mediocre Roos team in recent memory, it is certainly the dullest. What a loss.
Cpaaa
Roar Pro
I have to agree with the Mid General but at the same time its a loss we had to have. Now Osie project to the future but understand the past. We could not win the Asian Cup in 2007 with the likes of Viduka upfront and there is alot of baggage left over 4 years later. The legs have only gotten weaker since then. Im all for experience, but we also need some young testosterone filled lads running around out there. Leckie,Ruka Oar Kerem BULUT the golden boot winner of the U19 Asian Cup. Surely any of these guys would currently be just as good if not better than Macca. Scotty Mac (no goals) is no Viduka and the future for you ol mate dosnt look good in green and gold. I could have said that 4 years ago. Pim had faith in Holman running around like a headless chicken for 6 or so games and is now one of better players. Take a chance on some youth Osie. Lucas Neil please for the love of Australian Football, Retire!!! or do some charity work or even better invest in an A-League club.....its over man. Australia can win the Asian Cup but it wont be pretty and if we cant win in style...then whats the point ?
JAJI
Guest
Every side we play attacks us down the David Carney/Chippers wing. It happened against Germany in South Africa. It happened against the Serbs in Nelspruit (remember Krasic running past Carney all game). It has happened frequently in every friendly since the World Cup. It creates dangerous situations and chaos in the central defence Carney doesnt play anywhere he goes in Europe. Carl Valeri is hardly playing. Ditto Dario Vidosic. Ditto Tommy Oar and Matt Holland. The oldies are getting older and the youngsters arent coming though....and invariably if Lucas Neil has a shocker the team has a shocker At least in a few years time the promise being shown at the Under 17 and Under 19 level at present (lost final in Asia in Extra Time) will start to come though. At the moment we may have 1-2 years of pain as there is not match from the Under 20's from 5 years ago....(coincidentally thats when the revolution commenced)