After watching a youthful Socceroos side record a comfortable victory against New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday, it was again evident that there are several inexperienced players who are now displaying consistent performances for the national side.
Brisbane Roar’s Michael Zullo, with his lightning pace, has been effective in bombing down the left flank and thwarting the opposition’s attacking moves.
James Troisi, who continues to ply his trade at Kayserispor in Turkey, has linked well with Zullo, whilst also showing signs of individual skill and technique.
Leeds United midfielder Neil Kilkenny, though not performing at his best against the Kiwis, has previously demonstrated an excellent passing ability and vision in a team that is crying out for a player in his mould.
However, for all the positives that came from the Socceroos win over their trans-Tasman rivals, it was somewhat disappointing not to see Nathan Burns on the team-sheet.
Since lighting up the A-League during his two-year stint at Adelaide United and being hailed as Australia’s next best thing, Burns has played just four internationals.
Many talented youngsters often fail to make an impact after reaching their early twenties due to poor work ethic.
Yet, it is apparent that the 23-year-old is not among them. After requesting that his current club, AEK Athens, loan him to Kerkyra, in the second division of Greek football, Burns improved immeasurably.
He scored eight goals in 31 appearances for Kerkyra and won them promotion, before re-joining AEK for their pre-season trip to Australia.
At the Festival of Football tournament in Sydney, he was the most impressive of all the Australian players. Burns’ general performances, coupled with his winning goal against Glasgow Rangers, earnt him a recall to the Socceroos set-up.
It was his first involvement with the national side since playing against Singapore in a friendly match back in 2008.
But after making just two appearances in early 2011, Burns has since failed to feature. It is becoming increasingly difficult to understand the reasons for this.
When he first left Adelaide to join the Greek giants, he was not getting regular game time. Other potential stars, such as Tommy Oar and Mitch Langerak, have recently found themselves in a similar situation at big European clubs.
Selection into a national side is generally influenced by whether or not players are finding consistent starts at club level. However, this season Burns has made nineteen appearances for the AEK first team and even scored his first league goal in February.
For the moment, though, there are seemingly too many others ahead of him.
Having fallen out of favour under previous national team managers, the man behind his current selection woes is Holger Osieck.
Since replacing Pim Verbeek as the Socceroos head coach, Osieck has done well in re-building the confidence of the entire team, particularly the youth.
His belief that they would get the job done against an experienced New Zealand side was refreshing.
Whatever his reasons for omitting Burns from the recent friendly match, it is clear that he will have trouble ignoring the former Adelaide man in the future.
On his selection chances, Burns stated last year that it was time for the new generation to step up, following several retirements from aging stars. “It’s a great opportunity and I think I’m in a good position with a good club. I’m ready to go and waiting for the phone to ring,” he said.
After the last few performances, the new generation appears to be slowly rising to the challenge.
The most glaring weakness is a lack of creativity and a real eye for goal. Burns can be a part of the solution.
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