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Earlier this year, the current batch of Young Socceroos were heralded by the technical heads at FFA as a “talent team”, with the potential to go on and infiltrate the national team over the next few years.
In many ways, nothing has changed.
They are still, to my mind, an extremely promising bunch of footballers, with many of them likely to graduate to the full national team within a few years. Some, like Kerem Bulut, might be pushing even earlier.
In Colombia over the past week, at the Under 20s World Cup, there were some very promising and accomplished moments from the likes of Bulut, Terry Antonis, Tommy Oar, Dimitri Petratos and Mustafa Amini.
Sporadically, they were even competing on an even technical level with some of the countless fine footballers from Ecuador, Costa Rica and Spain, suggesting there is enough quality there to build into the upper grades.
Unfortunately though, the players were let down by those above them.
It’s one thing to have a talent team by name, quite another thing to mould a talented bunch of footballers into a cohesive, functioning unit.
For that to happen, it requires a detailed preparation, the dotting of every ‘i” and crossing of every “t”, and it was clear as early as the 20th minute of the opening game that this team didn’t have that.
While they might have been in Denver for over a week, preparing at altitude, it was the retreating, reactive attitude against Ecuador which provided an insight into the manager’s mindset heading in.
Sadly, Jan Versleijen’s lack of genuine belief in the players shone throughout, highlighted by a negative comment shortly after yesterday’s emphatic and embarrassing 5-1 loss as the hands of Spain.
“It is very obvious that, in the first 15 minutes of this game, especially in the backline, we had some players that were not at a World Cup level,” he said.
After a number of poor showings at successive Under 17s and Under 20s World Cups, many fans will be wondering whether the national youth manager is up to this level.
It is a question, in truth, that should be discussed beyond the football forums.
Given his comments about the defence, some fans might be questioning why Versleijen failed to give a minute in defence to two of his central defenders, Petar Franjic and Sam Gallagher, or why he failed to have sufficient back-up in the deficient fullback spots.
In that respect, one has to question whether Versleijen, and even Han Berger, in his role as national technical director, had their team primed and peaking for Manizales.
There’s no doubt in my mind there have been some massive technical breakthroughs since Berger, and before him, Robert Baan, arrived down-under.
The introduction of small sided games, with an emphasis on more touches at a young age, is an example of something that will bear fruit in the next decade and beyond.
But the work of Versleijen with the national youth teams over the past couple of years appears less satisfactory.
One of the areas he has been most culpable is in the fundamental area of technical tournament detail, such as picking the right players both before the tournament and before each game, getting the tactics right before a game, adjusting them throughout and getting his teams to defend and attack as a unit.
The examples above, in respect of his selections and tactics in defence, are just a few.
Another was his work when chasing a result against Costa Rica.
Shortly after bringing on Amini for Petratos, who had had an influential start to the second half and was combining well with Antonis, he took off Ben Kantarovski and brought on central defender Gallagher, playing him in midfield.
Chasing a game, needing a result, a more logical move might have been to swap Amini for Kantarovski, push Antonis back, and play with Amini and Petratos ahead of him.
A more glaring error came yesterday.
Versleijen’s ditching of the national curriculum’s 4-3-3 for a 4-4-2 diamond midfield for the start of the game was a move which smacked of desperation, of a manager struggling to come up with answers.
In some ways, it was heartening to see that the players found the 4-4-2 more alien than the one they have been working on for two years. It showed how far they’ve actually come under the system.
The other key area where Versleijen appears to have struggled is in the mental preparation of the players.
While there were the odd moments of technical and tactically awareness, one of the big frustrations was in the players’ inability to find their own solutions on the field.
While much of this comes down to age and them still developing their tactical awareness, the manager must also shoulder some of the responsibility, especially having worked with many of the players for large parts of the past two years.
The classic example here was against Costa Rica on Thursday.
After erring in the opening game by starting Petratos in an unfamiliar withdrawn role, I would argue that Versleijen adjusted correctly for the start of the Costa Rica game, playing Petratos higher and drafting in the more natural deep playmaker, Antonis.
Watching the first 20 odd minutes it was clear Versleijen got his tactics right and had some success in communicating what was required, as the Young Socceroos pressed high and managed to control proceedings.
But what happened as soon as Costa Rica gained control in the second half of the first half?
Australia’s game buckled. They were clueless, simply unable to wrestle the momentum back. It wasn’t until they came in at the break, 2-1 down, that the manager was able to intervene and provide a template to gain control.
In that respect, Versleijen ticked some boxes here.
But he also erred in part by not preparing his men to deal with such a scenario on their own. Developing the tactical awareness of players, to read tempo and adjust accordingly, should at least be a part of the manager’s remit.
But the players are also a figment of a system which hasn’t hitherto encouraged them to think on their feet, to find their own solutions. This is part of the ongoing development of the game.
Funds are obviously not infinite at FFA, but this is as good a time as any to take stock.
All is not lost. A few of the players, provided they work hard enough for the clubs, should be good enough to graduate to the Olyroos, while some of the younger ones might be around in Turkey in two years time.
Whether Versliejen is the man guiding them there remains to be seen.
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