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If Australia beat Iraq on Tuesday, we qualify directly for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. But win or lose Wednesday, is time to rebuild.
Should Australia fail to win they may go to the third qualifying play-off route – but lets leave that aside for now.
Sasaa Ognenovski, Lucas Neill, Tim Cahill, Luke Wilkshire, Mark Bresciano, Mark Schwarzer, Archie Thompson, and Harry Kewell – he’ll want back in – are all over 30, ageing…fast, very fast.
Guus Hiddink reduced the super-fit Brett Emerton to wipeout in his pre-World Cup training sessions in 2006, and Hiddink knew and taught us that the World Cup is a young man’s game, especially for teams outside the top four.
You need to be physically fit to compete.
Australia were simply overrun against Germany in 2010 and a number of those same players are telling us they can’t wait to get to Brazil.
Let’s get serious. We’re never going to win in Brazil, to get out of the group would be beyond our dreams with our current team, but we can get to the 2015 Asian Cup Final on home soil just six months after Brazil.
Australia needs to use the East Asia Cup in July, the pre-World Cup friendlies and the 2014 World Cup to prepare for the Asian Cup 2015.
Let’s regenerate on Wednesday even if we don’t achieve our goal.
Brett Holman, Tommy Oar, Robbie Kruse, Mark Milligan, Tommy Rogic and Carl Valeri have all shown they can play the type of game Australia needs, and desires over the next four years so why not grab the chance to rebuild. Now.
Could any of the older players mentioned above take two daily Hiddink-style sessions prior to the World Cup, and if they can’t do we really need or want such experience?
Ireland in USA 1994 played a very old John Aldridge and Tony Cascarino up front at the ages of 35 and 31 respectively, and it was dire.
Embarrassing even, and yet I know we (note how we ‘new’ Australians have two teams) beat Italy but we scored in the 12th minute of the very first game in 1994, and that was the end of our attacks – for the tournament!
Australia now has an opportunity to qualify, and let’s ditch the sentiment and thank the old guard and move them on. Maybe give them a send off – and we should do it right.
But the World Cup is not the guys’ chance to get a personal farewell. It’s still 12 months away and it’s time to say farewell to most if not all now.
And because you are outraged, you can keep two of the old guard and that’s your lot. You decide, but let’s get Australia going forward.
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