Paul Okon has been widely lauded for his role with the Young Socceroos and the coach is planning to continue on with the Under-20s for another World Cup.
Okon, a former Socceroo, was appointed head coach of the Young Socceroos in April last year and under his watch the team qualified for the recent 2013 U-20 World Cup in Turkey.
Drawn in a pool with the hosts, Colombia and El Salvador, the Australians drew with Colombia 1-1, conceded two goals after going ahead to lose to El Salvador 2-1 and did the same to be beaten 2-1 by Turkey.
Despite only recording one point and finishing bottom of their group, the Young Socceroos have been praised for the way they were able to play out from the back and compete at a technical level against strong opponents.
The Aussie side went ahead in every game they played but were unable to kill off teams and suffered late goals.
Individual mistakes and poor finishing proved costly. Despite this they showed promise in refusing to lump the ball forward, playing their way out of pressure and building attacks from defence.
While at youth level the debate between results and performance remains fierce, it was heartening to see an Australian team that was comfortable, patient and creative with the ball at their feet, demonstrating decent tactical and technical ability.
Craig Foster described the Young Socceroos’ performance against Columbia as “easily the most accomplished performance on the world stage of any [Australian] team in recent memory”.
Okon, a Socceroo great who is in the early stages of his coaching career, was pleased with the contribution of his team but clearly would have like to have gone further in the tournament.
“The performances unfortunately weren’t backed up by the final results,” he said.
“The players gave their all and that’s what we asked from them.”
Okon credited the team effort and declined to praise any specific individuals from the World Cup.
“The whole team was excellent,” he said. “It was never down to any individual.”
Western Australian phenomenon Daniel De Silva is one player who has certainly caught the public’s eye, after making his A-League debut last season with Perth Glory at the tender age of just 15.
De Silva scored the Young Socceroos only goal against Columbia in a man-of-the-match performance has reportedly already become a transfer target of overseas clubs.
“De Silva is a wonderful talent but above all an excellent kid,” he said. “A real jewel.”
Okon, who has previously assisted Miron Bleiberg at Gold Coast United and assisted with the Olyroos, has stated his desire to continue with the Young Socceroos for another two years.
Joeys coach Alistair Edwards left his role to take over Perth Glory, but the 41-year old ex-Marconi and Club Brugge star isn’t contemplating a club coaching career at this stage.
“I will be staying for another Young Socceroos cycle,” he said.
“I don’t look too far ahead in the future. Football has a habit of delivering the unexpected. It’s important to be focused on what is in front right now.”
The Young Socceroos will be in England at the end of July and the start of August for a camp for their overseas-based players. They will then move to Spain to play in a tournament in team made up of both local and overseas-based players joined together.
The next U-20 World Cup will be staged in New Zealand in June/July in 2015.
Follow John Davidson on Twitter @johnnyddavidson
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