- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
In a revealing series of interviewers over the past few months, technical director Han Berger has opened up about the evolution of the Socceroos 11 as they look to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup.
Responding to the clamour from fans and the media for some fresh Socceroos blood, and no doubt recognising the aging outlook of the current 11, Berger made a frank admission.
Not quite striking a line through anyone outside the bucket, he argued that the next batch of talented youngsters coming through are the current Under 20s squad that finished second at the Under 19s Asian championship last October.
Many of these players, he went on to say, would be fast tracked through the development pipeline, from the Under 20s World Cup in Colombia in July/August, to the London Olympics in 2012, and then, provided they come through the other end and garner qualification, onto Brazil 2014.
It is the sort of forwarding thinking and planning that has been missing for well over a decade and is exactly the type of work we should expect and demand from our technical lead.
Working closely with national manager Holger Osieck, his assistants Robbie Hooker and Aurelio Vidmar (the latter who doubles up as the Olyroos manager), and the Young Socceroos’ Jan Versleijen, Berger will no doubt be a very busy man over the next couple of years as he oversees his grand plan.
The most important equation is that the FFA technical team are singing from the same hymn sheet, and the early signs are very encouraging.
Certainly Osieck’s remit is very different to that of his predecessor.
Pim Verbeek was here to get the nation to South Africa, pure and simple.
Osieck not only has to get results, but evolve the team. He’s here for the bigger picture, balancing success with a legacy.
Hitherto he has done it subtly and skilfully, but you sense the next phase of the evolution of the Roos 11 is about to begin.
The current Young Socceroos and Olyroos, as Berger says, are a big part of the jigsaw.
This is why the technical team are casting the net high and wide, hoping to have a look at as many players as possible, ensuring every gem is given the chance of being discovered.
The message appears simple; everyone gets an opportunity to impress, take it.
A few weeks ago they were in Duisburg, Germany, casting an eye over 22 youngsters, all based in Europe, ahead of the Roos upset win over Die Mannschaft.
Names we had previously not see much of were there, including the likes of Kearyn Baccus, Josip Konyit and Massimo Luongo, in amongst more recognisable names like James Holland, Mathew Leckie and Shane Lowry.
This week they’re at the AIS in Canberra, having a look at a further 31 home-based players, mainly from the A-League. Featured among them are the likes of Mustafa Amini, Oliver Bozanic, Mate Dugandzic, Mathew Ryan, Mitch Nichols and Bernie Ibini-Isei.
Others, like Dimitri Petratos and Matthew Foschini, currently involved in the Asian Champions League, have to wait for another camp for their opportunity, but are getting valuable first team exposure in the interim.
Then there is the talented Kerem Bulut, facing some personal demons and a race against the clock in order to make it to Colombia.
Fortunately for him, the FFA appears to have backed him in his desire to get back on the pitch, evidenced by John Boultbee’s comments to the court last week.
While Bulut waits to get back to the Czech Republic (he has another date in court today to provide the dates when he will be out of Australia), Brondby’s Brent McGrath has been given a sniff, impressing enough to get a few minutes in Osieck’s 11 against Germany.
Over the coming months, as Vidmar builds towards the start of Olympic qualifiers against Yemen in June, Versleijen builds towards the Under 20s World Cup and Osieck builds towards the start of World Cup qualifiers a short time later, there’ll be many more opportunities.
What should emerge out of all this is a talent pool of 20 to 30 players, covering both the Young Socceroos (players born after 1/1/1991) and Olyroos (born after 1/1/1989).
The appetite then whets at the prospect of seeing the likes of Ben Kantarovski, Amini, Tommy Oar, Leckie, Trent Sainsbury, Terry Antonis, Ibini-Isei, Petratos, Ante Drazina, Bradden Inman, McGrath, Ryan, Brendan Hamill and Baccus in Colombia.
The cream of that crop will then join the likes of Bozanic, Holland, Nichols, Lowry and Aaron Mooy in knocking on Vidmar’s door for a place in the athlete’s village in London.
Then there are others, including Michael Zullo, Adam Sarota, Mitch Langerak, Robbie Kruse, Nathan Burns and James Troisi, just a few days or months short of qualifying for London, who will be pressing their Socceroos claims across Europe over the next couple of seasons.
Indeed, with many of these youngsters getting better advise, making better decisions and hopefully ending up with more game time, the likelihood is the Roos 11 will look very different by the Brazil comes around.
These are interesting and exciting times indeed.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.