Respected football commentator Les Murray has claimed a player revolt against former coach Pim Verbeek preceded Australia’s 4-0 loss to Germany at last year’s World Cup in South Africa.
Murray says in his book ‘The World Game’ players took exception with Verbeek’s gameplan prior to the match in Durban, claiming captain Lucas Neill asked him to leave the room before telling players the Dutchman’s tactics were “bullshit.”
“After the coach, Dutchman Pim Verbeek, had addressed the players, naming his line-up and the strategy, the team captain, Lucas Neill, asked the coach to leave the change room while he addressed his colleagues,” Murray wrote in the book, extracts of which were published on the SBS website on Wednesday.
“Verbeek consented. On closing the door behind the coach, Neill erased Verbeek’s scribbles on the whiteboard and told the players to ‘ignore this bullshit’ and play like we normally play.
“A major bone of contention for the players was Verbeek’s failure to include a recognised forward in the named team, with Harry Kewell, Josh Kennedy and Brett Holman all on the sub’s bench.
“In the confusion there was so much delay that the point was reached when a FIFA match official knocked on the Australian change room and, pointing to his watch, warned the Australians that if they didn’t take to the field immediately they would have to forfeit the match.
“The Aussies went out a mess and were slaughtered.”
The loss proved the downfall of Australia’s campaign, as they went on to draw with Ghana and defeat Serbia but narrowly miss out on reaching the knockout stages.
Midfielder
Guest
Craig Moore, Jedi & Luke Wilkshere are saying it did not happen as well.... LM maybe you have a lot to explain .. Neil's management wants the sourse named otherwise they are threatening to sue.... Me thinks LM has made one big nay huge error of judgement... My gut tells me if what Neil says is true in that he did not even give the final address to the team is true ... well what can you say... maybe goodbye LM what a sad note to leave on....
Midfielder
Guest
SBS screamed at Robbie Slatter on his Harry rant.... put up ... can I hear those same voices ...LM who is your source.. funny that ... I can't hear em neither...
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Buckley denies that Neill did it: http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/socceroos/ffa-chief-ben-buckley-has-denied-lucas-neill-led-a-revolt-against-the-tactics-of-former-coach-pim-verbeek/story-e6frf4l3-1226080926180?from=public_rss Is it usual for one to "deny" on behalf of another? TC
apaway
Guest
AJB Interesting paradox in your comment: If this story is to be believed, then the tactics used against Germany were not Pim's.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Johnno roomers, Nesskans, Aussie Guss - plenty of invention there for a day's work! TC
Bondy
Guest
One can question Verbeek's sanity " i gave up years ago " to me it's a bit like the group phase of the Champs Lge, really i dont great pleasure in saying this get a weaker team in your first game and give them a hiding it almost guarnatees qualification for the second round , to me it doesn't matter whether Verbeek left a room or was forced ,that very hiding that we experinced was pretty much the same hiding the Germans gave to England and Argentina 4-0 i should point out . Look if it sells great .
Tooks
Guest
I get a sense this is just a bit of scape-goating and 20/20 rear vision from Les on this one. After such an embarrassing result I can understand why some would like to believe everything would have been fine if only our awesome talents were unleashed. But from where I sat our formation had nothing to do with that result. It may have compounded some of the deficiencies. But in the end we were old. We were slow. And we had no true avenue to goal. Our inability to keep over the ball was stark compared to Germany's precision, high speed passing game. And the form of our benched strikers who were somehow supposed to make all the difference to that result was pretty mediocre. Pim's lack of confidence might not have been inspiring (another of his faults, I guess) but it wasn't completely unjustified. Thankfully we seem to now be moving now in the right direction. Enough said.
nordster
Guest
"to be fair" haha .... the opponents were very different the next two games ... the result first up (0-4) perhaps shows Lucas should have backed Pim's judgment. Verbeek may very well have been planning a different approach to those next two as well, regardless of what Neill told them.
Johnno
Guest
LUCAS Neil blew the chance of the golden generation not PIM. Lucas neil is not a master technician we had one in Aussy Guss lol. And to think he has more football onus than PIM turn it up. Pim is a head coach, and been an assistant to Guss , and we are talking about people of the calibre of Johan Neeskans to have been assistants to aussy guss (and no not gus gould aussy Guss our loved dutch Goose). So Aussy Guss, Nesskans and pIM NO MORE ABOUT COACHING football than lUCAS nEIL. ANd they were all pro footballers in there time to so have played to. It was totally naive and reckless and irresponsible of lucas Neil and the senior soccer's i heard a roomer harry Kewell had a major part to in it, to overturn a head coach tactically when he is a playerr he does not have the same tactical knowledge as PIM. Stupid,Lucas cost us the world cup , potentially we had a really talented squad .
floppybottom
Guest
you've got it going on slippery....
nordster
Guest
its also about the opponent, the strategy against Germany should be more negative than against Ghana/Serbia...
Realfootball
Guest
I love the title of this story. The Socceroos were revolted. As well they might be, given the tactics put in front of them.
Slippery Jim
Guest
Hindsight is 20/20... If all the 'experts' had had their way Holman would never have even been in the squad for SA...yet he is our leading goal scorer at the world cup. We have Pim to thank for getting us to the SA WC. We have Pim to thank for selecting (and playing) Holman when so many armchair generals thought he was a talentless hack. The bottom line is, we could have been Argentina with Maradona as coach and would have lost. We could have been England with Capello as coach and would still have lost. For Neil to (if Les Murray is to believed) lead a mutiny he should be swinging from the yard arm in my opinion. We need a new captain who supports his manager through thick and thin. That man is not Lucas Neil.
Michael
Guest
+1 Lucas may have stuffed up the strategy (not to get smashed). Taking a better goal difference in the next two games would have put us through. Was that what PV planned? I prefer Osieck. No Pim lover here.
Walt
Guest
I am surprised so many people have been eager to attack Neill here. Why did Verbeek wait until before kick off to discuss his plans with his captain? It should have been settled long before. When you deal with someone as headstrong as Lucas Neill, you dont wait until everyone is pulling on the jumper and then start issuing orders. Neill told the players to play their usual game, which they did against Ghana and Serbia. The results back Neills judgement.
brendo51
Guest
If people want to whack Pim for the lineup no problems with that but if this story is true (and that is a big IF) then surely a lot of criticism should be leveled at Lucas Neill. If true, then Neill has no business being the Australian Captain. To counter the instructions the coach has given 10mins before the match is asking for trouble and is unacceptable. Was the lineup ridiculously conservative, yes but our coach thought that playing for the draw was the best option against Germany (and in hindsight he was right as a draw or even a 1-0 loss would have put us through to the next round). No player but especially the captain should have been rebelling against that, you play to instructions. I am astounded that the media isn't jumping all over Neill regarding this story.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
No, I didn't know that about Pim's exit from Sth Korea. But, it doesn't surprise me .. at the 2007 Asian Cup, a very good Sth Korean team only won 1 match in normal play - and that was a 1-0 win against Indonesia! In their 3 knock-out matches - 360 minutes of football - they played 0-0 draws ... and that, to me, is Pim Verbeek's football philosophy. Having said that ... I reckon every Aussie football fan would have given his/her right leg (ok, that's probably a bit extreme ... maybe the non-preferred leg!) for a 0-0 draw with Germany in Durban?
floppybottom
Guest
"Respected football commentator Les Murray "... you lost me there....
Realfootball
Guest
Agree with you completely, Fuss, but this assumes the story is true. I think there is considerable doubt about its literal accuracy. Were you aware that Verbeek was fired as Korea coach after a revolt of senior players over his negative tactics?
JAJI
Guest
I do blame Pim. 4 years beforehand in 2006 we faced a Brazil outfit in Munich that had arguably the 4 greatest players in the world at the time - Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Adriano and Kaka. Yet Australia attacked when they could and should have equalised in the second half. For this game in question Pim left Bresciano, Kennedy, Harry and Holman all on the bench and started with plucky Richard Garcia who sits on the bench in the Championship. Pim didnt even chase Viduka to talk him out of retirement for a good 12 months before the world cup. I couldnt believe it sitting in Durban when the lineups were announced Remember Pim also slagged our tem to the Dutch media, in Dutch, 1 day after the game. In the end we should have beaten Ghana with 10 men, beat Serbia and should have progressed in what proved to be the hardest group at the tournament Whats Graham Arnold's role in all this? He was assistant manager and had Pim's ear all the time. Remember Bresciano wouldnt shake his hand when subbed in the Ghana game