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A-League season must be extended to help Socceroos

The Blue Samurai are the Socceroos' fiercest rivals. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
Roar Guru
14th March, 2013
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Socceroos boss Holger Osieck has named his 23-man squad for Australia’s crucial World Cup Qualifier against Oman later this month.

Much of the focus in the media conference was seemingly in relation to the length of the A-League season, and the competition’s failure to recognise international breaks on the football calendar.

A frustrated Osieck reiterated his desire to see the Australian domestic competition extended, pointing out to the extended lay-off between the end of the finals series in April, and Australia’s three vital World Cup Qualifiers in June.

The Australian coach revealed he had recently held discussions with A-League boss Damien De Bohun about the league’s programming, however he isn’t too confident his sentiments will be taken on board.

“(De Bohun) came to see me and wanted to get some input,” Osieck said about the scheduling.

“So far I haven’t seen any changes.”

Unlike previous years, A-League players are now in serious consideration for national team call-ups, as evidenced by Osieck’s recent squad for this month’s qualifier, naming six A-League players.

For this very reason, it becomes a bigger conundrum when the A-League regular campaign culminates at the end of March, with the final series concluding three weeks later.

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For players, like Socceroos captain Lucas Neill – who recently signed a short-term stint with Sydney FC – it provides a complex situation, with the possibility of no competitive football for 7-10 weeks leading into the June qualifiers.

With the weight of expectation firmly on Osieck, it makes his task of picking a fit, match-conditioned squad the more difficult.

“My major concern is how do we fill the space between the end of the A-League and the upcoming qualifiers in June,” he said.

“The break in the A-League is way too long and it’s about time people really reconsider and restructure the A-League dates. Right now it is definitely not very acceptable.”

Osieck raises some valid points. While these current circumstances may have been acceptable in the infant stages of the A-League, the competition has now matured in many areas on and off the pitch. It’s time for football to stop worrying about the other codes, and look at what’s best for our game.

Enough is enough.

From next season, the A-League must respect football protocol and have a break on international dates. It may have been acceptable in previous seasons – when the bulk of the Socceroos’ representatives plied their trade in Europe – although now, as illustrated in recent months, many players from the A-League are realistically in contention for the national team.

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Unlike predecessor Pim Verbeek, Osieck believes the A-League has a realm of talent at its disposal, and can contribute towards the national team’s journey towards Brazil 2014.

“People have to learn that despite the importance of the A-League, football is an international game and the Socceroos combine the entire country,” he said.

“They have to be number one here and everything that is possible to accommodate the team, in order to make people happy, has to be done.

“I mean the A-League, in all fairness, it’s a club business, club interests, you have your supporters they follow your team but the Socceroos are followed by all Australians.”

If the A-League does recognise international breaks from next season, the length of the season should be extended by around a month – assuming there isn’t an increase in midweek fixtures.

While there wouldn’t be an increase in competitive matches, this method would somewhat aid in increasing the length of the season. Additionally, clubs who have players selected for the national team won’t be unfairly disadvantaged on the pitch, as we’ve seen on several occasions this season.

In relation to increasing the number of competitive matches per season, realistically this will only occur once FFA decides to lift the lid on its expansion process. However, we may need to wait another four or five years, as no new franchises are anticipated to enter the league in the short-term future.

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It’s highly doubtful that teams will play each other four times per season – with three already a little repetitive given there are only 10 teams in the competition.

Thus, in the short-term, the only other option for more competitive fixtures is if the proposed FFA Cup is introduced. Given the constant delays on this national cup blueprint, let’s not get too excited.

Courtesy of Goal Weekly

Follow Robbie on Twitter @RobertDiFabio

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