Australian U-23 Mitchell Nichols, right, fights for the ball with U-23 Japan's Yusuke Higa during their friendly soccer match in Niigata, Japan, Wednesday, June 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)
For 45 minutes Australian football could dream. The Olyroos, with a stunning opening half of football in their friendly against Japan, highlighted what Australia has to gain from its, still relatively young, uniform approach to youth development.
While the game ended in a 3-1 win to Japan, in no short thanks to the Australian’s numerous A-League based player’s tiring legs, the signs were promising.
With Mitch Nicholls the shining light, the Olyroos showed their ability to play out from the back and through midfield as well as press high up the pitch in a coordinated and sustained way.
Yes, there were some issues and plenty of room for improvement remains, but overall the basics were there and that itself is a revelation.
For this, head coach Aurelio Vidmar and his assistant Paul Okon deserve great credit. As do those both within and outside Football Federation Australia who called long and hard for an overhaul to how we educate our coaches.
Beyond these points there was once again some interesting factors for Australian football at large.
So here are the three key things we learned from the Olyroos loss to Japan:
Why the system and build up is key
While Ryan McGowan’s errors were the only ones punished by Japan, both he and his central defensive partner Matthew Jurman made mistakes during the game. Jurman’s in particular came early on when attempting to play out of defense.
However it is here within Australia’s national youth set-up that players like Jurman should be encouraged to try and develop their play. There will be errors, but it’s the only way these players will grow and this next level of understanding will come.
Players need to be playing
The enigma that is Jason Hoffman also caught the eye against Japan. Almost invisible at club level both at current club Melbourne Heart and before that with the Newcastle Jets, those within Australia’s youth set-up clearly rate the Novocastrian who has progressed through the national team ranks.
Australia’s solitary goal in Niigata came from a lightning counter attack spearheaded by Hoffman yet it’s clear we don’t see enough of him. At 22-years-old, he needs to be playing regular club football.
Pressure on Jan
The one feature of the Olyroos play that really impressed me was how strong their build up from defence to midfield was. Considering this was an area a number of these players struggled with in Jan Versleijen’s U20s side that went to the World Cup in Egypt 18 months ago, it’s a startling improvement.
It’ll be interesting to see whether, with an extra two years within the Australian set-up, Joeys and Young Socceroos coach Versleijen can get his charges playing in a similar way at the upcoming U17 and U20 World Cups.
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