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After a disappointing display by the Young Socceroos in their World Cup, the knives are out for coach Jan Versleijen.
Numerous commentators, former players, coaches and analysts are calling for his head, an end to the Dutch coaching philosophy that has permeated Australia, and also for sacking of the FFA’s head of national teams John Boultbee.
It’s understandable when you consider the nature of both the Young Socceroos’ World Cup campaign, which saw them gain just a point from their three group matches, as well as the Joeys going out meekly just after the group stage a few weeks before.
All Australians want to see our junior teams do well, and despite being placed in difficult groups, expectations were high heading into both of these tournaments. But when analysing the Young Socceroos campaign, we need to take a deep breath and add a little perspective. A few points to consider.
The Young Socceroos were missing some vital players. Matthew Leckie, an A-League star who has now broken into the Bundesliga, was denied permission by his club to play in the under-20 World Cup. Leckie was arguably one of the best three players in this Australian team, and his absence was sorely missed.
Steven Lustica, now at Hajduk Split, and Brondby’s Brent McGrath were also unavailable. Lustica is a rising star while McGrath has already made his senior debut for the Socceroos. Both are playing in Europe and both would have significantly boosted the squad.
Ben Kantarovski was severely underdone. The defensive midfielder, captain and leader is probably the most vital player in the squad. Practically an A-League veteran at just 19 years of age, the Newcastle Jet spent six months recuperating from a knee injury and came into the tournament with very little game time under his belt.
His club coach Branko Culina stated that he should not be playing and during the World Cup he looked off the pace thanks to his lack of match fitness.
After already appearing at an under-20 World Cup in 2009, as then one of the youngest players in the team, Kantarovski now boasted a wealth of experience with 25 games for the Young Socceroos and was a huge asset this squad.
A fully fit and healthy Kantarovski would have made a big difference but it wasn’t to be.
The group was very tough, lets make no bones about it. Getting out of a group featuring Spain, Costa Rica and Ecuador is virtually mission impossible.
Picking up a draw against Ecuador was a good result, and a point against Costa Rica would have also been fantastic, but crucial individual errors cruelled us in that match.
The Spain game can be held in isolation, considering the quality of the opposition and the embarrassing scoreline. Spain was in a different class to us, and it showed.
Despite one point from three games, there were some bright spots. Kerem Bulut continued to show his class and goal-scoring pedigree. A Socceroo cap cannot be far off. Despite showing some Mario Balotelli-like petulance at times, he is a real star with speed, strength, height and a quality touch.
Another player to emerge from the World Cup the better was Tommy Oar. He already has four caps for the Socceroos, and he did no disservice with his displays in Columbia which featured two goals and some great play. Expect to see more from him in the green and gold in the future.
Terry Antonis was another who continued his development and will get better and better. The child prodigy is only 17 now but he will learn from this experience and be stronger for it.
Now I’m not saying there should be no criticism for Versleijen or the FFA, or that perhaps Versleijen should make way. There definitely should be a thorough overview of our junior system, the AIS program and the performance of the national junior teams.
Questions that should be asked include – why was the Australian formation changed before the Spain game? Why were we unable to play the ball out from the back? Was it down to the coaching of the players, or the players themselves?
Questions might have also been asked about some of the selections, like why was Matthew Ryan, lasts season’s A-League Young Player of the Year, omitted from the squad?
And I agree if the decision of this review is for the Dutchman to go, then fair enough. But lets not set the noose and hang him before he has a trial.
All of us want to see the Young Socceroos (and Joeys, Matildas, Socceroos and every national football team) succeed and see our football pedigree continue to improve. But we have to remember that this takes time, and we have to have both the coaching and the cattle to do it.
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