Melbourne Victory’s Archie Thompson (centre) and Daniel Allsopp (left) celebrate with team mates after Carlos Hernandez kicked their first goal during the A league 1st semi final match in Adelaide between Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009. AAP Image/Rob Hutchison
Yesterday’s winter solstice might have made it the shortest day of the year, but it was one of the craziest in Australian football, encapsulating the ups and downs of life for the round ball code down-under, full of twists, turns and tweets.
It started very early, when most people were fast asleep, with the Matildas bouncing back from 2-0 down to beat Mexico 3-2 in a World Cup warm up game in Gottingen, and ended with the Melbourne Heart promising to make even more major announcements today after yesterday confirming they had snared former Melbourne Victory star Fred.
In between were key announcements in Melbourne and Brisbane involving a few former players, with a highly anticipated game in Mexico, involving a key plank in our development regime, thrown in for good measure.
What emerged was a succession of stories, good or bad, with the over-arching feeling, at the end of it, being that the game, by taking a step back, had taken another stride or two forward.
While the Joeys, Australia’s under 17’s team, were perhaps fortunate to come away from their opening World Cup game against the Ivory Coast with the three points, it was still a win in a World Cup game, against impressive opponents, and should at least give these kids some belief, allowing them settle into the tournament and hopefully produce better football.
Watching it, my overwhelming feeling was that Jan Versleijen’s boys looked a little scared in the first period, as if feeling the weight of expectation.
With the Dutchman having them together for a couple of years at the AIS, the feeling in some parts is they should have been stroking it around in the manner of Iniesta and Xavi, from start to finish.
But the reality, at least for this correspondent, is that it will take at least another five years for the formula indoctrinated by the National Curriculum to bear fruit, with the 11 and 12 year olds of today the most likely to prosper.
While there was a clear 4-3-3 structure here, there were still many technical deficiencies, including a deep-sitting defensive line which gave the Ivorians room to play, an inability to consistently build from the back into midfield, the isolation of the impressive front man Dylan Tombides, and the overall space between the players.
But the intent was at least there, and for one learned friend who has been watching national teams at all levels since the mid-1980s, the performance was impressive enough for him to describe it as one of our best ever at youth level.
“We’re always getting better,” he summarised. While the evolution of Australia’s on-field product continues at pace, further evidenced by the recent work of the Olyroos, perhaps equally as significant was the back-to-back news yesterday that three former Socceroos have been given technical roles in the A-League.
No sooner had Melbourne Victory announced Mehmet Durakovic as their new head coach for two years and Francis Awaritefe as football director, then Brisbane Roar was announcing Paul Trimboli had been given the role of general manager of football.
Whether Durakovic and Trimboli, Roos greats, and to a lesser extent Awaritefe, go on to have as successful careers in football management as they did on the field, remains to be seen, but it continues an encouraging recent trend of former top flight players being given gigs.
With the likes of Aurelio Vidmar and Paul Okon in charge of the Olyroos, Gary van Egmond involved with the Joeys, Robbie Hooker under the tutelage of Holger Osieck, Alistair Edwards in an assistant technical director role, David Lowe recently appointed to scout for the Newcastle Jets, Kevin Muscat moving to an assistant role at the Victory and Steve Corica working with the Sydney FC youth, the base continues to grow.
What becomes clear is that Han Berger is fulfilling his remit of not only developing the next wave of players, but the next batch of technical leaders, with Victory chairman Anthony Di Pietro admitting he consulted the national technical director for guidance.
With coaching education coming on in leaps and bounds through such courses as the recent Pro-Diploma or current Football Conditioning License at the AIS, the pathway is becoming clearer for those wishing to make the transition from the field to the dug-out.
The hope is that, in this push, others, perhaps without the playing CV but with the education and track record, aren’t left behind.
The appointments, meanwhile, of Trimboli and Awaritefe, both recently TV pundits and with experience in business and administration, is another step towards having football people responsible for the football decisions at A-League clubs.
While the day-to-day mechanics of their roles and relationships with coaching staff are likely to evolve, it will be interesting seeing their impact, and what sort of trends it sets across the league over the coming years.
A shorter day yesterday may have been, but a significant one, with long-lasting impacts.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
A terrific story on FIFA.com to introduce the whole world to our Adelaide lad, Teeboy Kamara. http://www.fifa.com/u17worldcup/news/newsid=1457681/index.html When I first read about the unbelievable tragedy of Teeboy's childhood it brought a tear to my eyes; but, after watching him play against Cote d'Ivoire I can see years of joy that he'll bring to the Aussie football public. If anyone in Australia deserves to make it to the top in football ... I'd love to see this lad achieve everything that football can offer him. And, stories like this - of the global recognition that football brings - is part of the reason Aussie kids simply want to play football more than any other team sport ... no need for the FFA to spend hundreds of millions of dollars trying to bribe parents and kids to "please come and play our Game ... (we think) it's the best in the world"! And, of course, you won't see the FFA undertaking any special press releases to create a media circus around Teeboy .. he's simply one of the thousands of kids, from African backgrounds, who loves playing football.
Realfootball
Guest
I was living in Auckand at the time and saw many games from that tournament. The Joeys were without doubt one of the most lacklustre teams there. How they made the final did then and still does amaze me. We just need one or two from each Joeys side to step up, that's all. Tombides looks the real deal, and Teeboy may be too.
Faustus
Guest
Ditto
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
I agree Fuss, I just meant to say that developing nations can often have decent youth without good footballing structures. Hence a Laos or an Ethiopia can suddenly perform at the junior level at a level higher than anticipated based upon their overall football framework and performance.
matty1974
Guest
"Jess Kedwell-van Stratten, Shane Cansdell-Sherriff (Iain Fyfe 93), Aaron Goulding, Adrian Madaschi, Mark Byrnes, Jade North, Louis Brain, Lucas Pantelis (Joe Di Iorio 55), Scott McDonald (Joshua Kennedy 99), Wayne Srhoj, Dylan Macallister". This is the Australian line up for the final of the 1999 U17 final which we lost to Brazil (our best result in any fifa WC). Only one of those players is a current squad member for the socceroos, so predicting future socceroos based on U17 performances is an inexact science. At this level, for me, it is all about development. If the development is successful the results will follow. Having said all that Tombides does look very promising, more Viduka than Kewell and nice to read a postive article.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Fair point, Ben. However, I saw a bit of the German match and they've got pretty decent technique too ... and, based on my observation, German kids are far more committed to mathematics and musical study than Aussies. I haven't seen the Japanese u17 team in action yet, but I've always been impressed with the technical quality of their senior players. And, well, the Japanese kids are pretty committed to study too! In my opinion, u17 players will not be able to "catch up later" and improve technical deficiencies. Why? Well, according to one of the world's most highly acclaimed development trainers, Arsene Wenger: "if you don't have good (football) technique by 13 you'll never have good technique".
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
Don't know. What type of youth development and learning patterns do the Ivorian kids have? If many of them see football as a way out poverty then you may well have a plethora of young kids playing football after hours, playing keepy-off in alleys and in fields, in short putting hours of practice into technique whilst our kids are learning mathematics and how to play the piano. The technical capacity of young players from developing nations should never be underestimated. It is later on when poor governance at the more senior levels of the game slows their development where our kids catch up and quite often surpass those of our less well governed cousins.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
Rojas is quality.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
I certainly don't expect the u17s to have the touch and technique of Messi or Iniesta .. but, I think we should try to aim for our u17s to have the touch and technique of Côte d’Ivoire u17 lads?
Cpaaa
Guest
comments seem a little tuff on the young joeys. As Tony said, "the feeling in some parts is they should have been stroking it around in the manner of Iniesta and Xavi, from start to finish." At 17years old you would think the most important thing is to not F**k up. The slightest mistake could have you benched. Yes I would have liked to have seen some wiz kid ripping it up like messi and passing like xavi but It was their first real game with the eyes of the world watching and im sure the win will give them the confidence needed for the next match.
Johnno
Guest
Yes robbie SLater is right he is a football man but so is Francis Awaritiefe and paul trimboli football men. They may not have the knowledge of just how tough ti is to be a football manager, despite being football men. franscis has an MBA and is CEO of the jonny Warren foundation, but he does not have technical football taining to be a technical director, he does not have any UEFA badges as part of his resume. It will be a massive challenge i don;t no fi franny or Trimmers have any sports admin or football manager exerince a big step up and it may tests Mehmets patience franny’s lack of experience, , he has some coaching experience already, abliet quite ordinary, but still has alittle. He wa sone hell of defender during his time for the socceroos ,he gave it everything form vague memory inthat 1993 WCQualfiers V Diego Maradonna led Argentina series. we really gave them a scare that was a nasty leg for the Argies bet they were relieved to get thorugh that, there were as we no rumours that they took drugs during the series, and paul wade said what a compliment to us, and he is right. it is a big risk for the Victory, maybe Aussie Guss should apply he would get the job hands down MV would love to have Aussie Guss as head coach.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Spot on, Pete! Winners are grinners ... but, if we can improve our technique it may just save me from having my cardiologist's home phone number on speed dial next to the couch!
Pete
Guest
Except for the "win the game" category, surely.
Realfootball
Guest
I too thought the Joeys were very poor in midfield. I was actually very surprised at how poor they were, individually. Still, we only need 1 or 2 good prospects from each Joey's side, and we've certainly got them. It's the U20s who have the mortgage on the talent for 2014, with a couple of handy propects - Nicholls, Cernak - from the Olyroos. I think the future is very bright, tho I must confess that, watching the Joeys fluff even the most basic passes (they were simply appalling at times), I wondered if these players really are the best for age, and the product of an elite coaching system. It seemed hard to credit. And I wondered about the coach, too.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Yes, it's MY rating - just an opinion. For what it's worth, I would have given the Côte d'Ivoire team an 8/10 for every category!
Midfielder
Guest
Fuss That rating is yours not from an official source is it...
Realfootball
Guest
Those three names represent a massive overhaul of the front third of the team. Left wing, right wing, centre forward. All with youth, pace and talent to burn. What a front 3 to have. I envy those who can watch them at home all season and look forward to their visit to Suncorp.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Agree with all the comments being made about the u17s - great result but our technical deficiencies become pretty obvious when we play the best in the world. As Tony suggested, we need to wait a few years to assess the technical qualities of the kids, who have been nurtured under the new technical direction that has been formulated by Han Berger. The National Curriculum identified the following Weaknesses in the Australian Game and I've given my assessment (score out of 10) for the u17 opening game of the FIFA WC: 1. Overall technical GAME skills, in particular: * individual attacking qualities (creativity) ... 4/10 * first touch under pressure ... 1/10 * short passing game ... 1/10 * handling speed in tight areas ... 1/10 2. Ball possession/positioning play, in particular: * playing out from the back ... 4/10 * controlling / changing the speed of the game ... 6/10 * successful attacking combinations ... 6/10 3. Tactical maturity, in particular: * tactical awareness; ‘reading’ the game ... 7/10 * leadership; decision-making on the pitch ... 7/10 * game ‘cleverness’; being ‘street smart’ ... 7/10 So, to me, it's glaringly obvious where we need to focus attention when developing players in years to come ... TECHNIQUE TECHNIQUE TECHNIQUE! The Curriculum further states: "the vast majority of development occurs in training / practice – not in competition ... typically, the bulk of training occurs during personal practice, without professional supervision. This is where ‘touch’ is developed." So, to every kid, who wants to play football, grab a ball and go out in the yard and work with the ball until you ... or the ball(!) is worn out!
TomC
Guest
You and I have pretty similar views then, Bob. On the plus side, I do think that some of the off-season signings (Cernak, Solorzano, Rojas) can really add something to the team. It certainly won't be a boring season.
Danny_Mac
Roar Guru
LOL I was thinking the same thing! Winter solstice Wednesday 22 June 2011 03.16am EST http://www.bom.gov.au/calendar/annual/seasons.shtml