Whenever critics start to dissect the Socceroos squad, they always point to the age factor. Yet the oldest player in the team, and the most capped, largely escapes censure.
Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has backed up his position with deeds and looked as good as ever in Australia’s last three World Cup qualifiers.
Certainly, the age argument does not apply in the same way for goalkeepers. Dino Zoff captained Italy to a World Cup win at 40 years of age.
Schwarzer will be older than Zoff was in 1982 by the time the 2014 World Cup kicks off. Whether he goes as Australia’s number one has now been put into question by his move to Chelsea.
Schwarzer has been the number one keeper at his past two EPL clubs (Middlesbrough and Fulham) for the best part of a decade.
He has stayed relatively injury-free in that time and his careful choice of clubs seemed to reflect a desire to always be part of the action, rather than a highly-paid bench-warmer (see: Kalac, Z)
It’s fanciful to think he will be the number one keeper at Chelsea while ever Petr Cech stays healthy. So what is the thinking behind Schwarzer’s big summer move?
The first one was probably unrelated to the wider issue of first team football and was of convenience. Chelsea and Fulham are neighbours and Schwarzer does not have to uproot his family in pursuit of another EPL contract when one is available just across the Thames.
It’s no small club either: the return of Jose Mourinho, a Champions League berth and a desire to claw back the initiative from the Manchester giants will focus plenty of attention on the Blues in 2013-14.
How much of that attention Schwarzer will garner is the worry for Australian fans. No doubt, Chelsea will play a lot of games in the coming season in the league, Europe and two domestic cup competitions. But will sporadic action in the League and FA Cups be enough to satisfy Schwarzer, not to mention National Team coach Holger Osieck?
Perhaps that’s overly pessimistic and Schwarzer has set his mind to unseating Cech and becoming the Chelsea number one.
I’d love to think he could do it; he is an ornament to the game and one of the best players – let alone the best keeper – to have ever stood and sung Advance Australia Fair in the team line up before an international.
Or maybe there’s another train of thought in Schwarzer’s move. Goalkeeping takes a heavier toll on the body than most people appreciate.
Training drills have keepers hitting the ground hundreds of times a session and the wear and tear on shoulders, elbows, hips and neck is accumulative and painful. It’s possible Schwarzer’s Chelsea move is a compromise in self-preservation versus first-team football at one of the biggest clubs in Europe, a careful balancing act from a player who has always been meticulous about his preparation and fitness. A fifty-plus game season might not be the ideal entrée for the World Cup in Schwarzer’s long-term thinking.
But does the potential of Mark Schwarzer playing second fiddle open up an opportunity for claimants to his mantle as Australia’s number one?
The two goalkeepers who immediately spring to mind are Eugene Galekovic and Adam Federici, from opposite sides of the world. Galekovic was outstanding at the East Asian Cup but he shone in an experimental team, was forced into a string of spectacular shot-stopping performances which can sometimes flatter to deceive.
Of course, Galekovic’s form has extended back to the last A-League season as well, and it seems that being a keeper in the A-League does not harm a player’s chances of National Team selection as much as an outfield player.
Adam Federici endured a rollercoaster first season in the EPL, finishing it injured and ultimately relegated. His first month of EPL football was something of a nightmare but he reclaimed his number one position at the Royals after being dropped due to poor form in those early rounds.
He maintained his form until an ankle injury forced him to miss the last weeks of Reading’s ultimately unsuccessful fight to keep their Premier League place.
He has stuck with the side but did not start in Reading’s opening game against Ipswich Town – whether due to injury or non-selection I am not sure. I would expect him to be first-choice keeper at Reading before the season is too far in.
If that doesn’t happen, he will need to move elsewhere to try and wrest the top spot from Schwarzer for the World Cup, no matter how few games the latter plays for Chelsea.
There are other potential suitors, among them Mitch Langerak and Mat Ryan, both young guys now at European clubs but not yet established as first team regulars. Michael Theo and Ante Covic are outstanding keepers in the A-League but would appear to be down the pecking order when it comes to a World Cup squad.
Perhaps Mark Schwarzer has assessed his fellow keepers and decided that a big move to Chelsea is worth the gamble, not due to arrogance but more due to self-preservation. And perhaps that’s the way Holger Osieck prefers it.
AZ_RBB
Guest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw0SjiAp-MU - video highlights.
AZ_RBB
Guest
another Maty R report. last night he played the second leg of Club Brugge's 3rd round qualifying match again Slask Wroclaw. It was a 3-3 draw which meant that the final result was 4-3 on aggregate to Wroclaw knocking Ryan and his team out of the Europa League.
Adrian
Guest
Rob Gremio when was the last time Australia had any player,in the team list, of the 4th best team in Europe 1 Barcelona 2 Bayern 3 Real Madrid 4 Dortmund 5 Man United I think, never...if you good enough to be Dortmund list, then your good enough to be in Australia 1st eleven
Rob Gremio
Guest
if you are not playing football, only training, how can the national team coach judge you? Sure, Brazilian and Spanish national team players on the bench usually GET GAME TIME, which is the key ingredient. How much game time has Langerak actually had since he joined Dortmund? How do you think those "Brazilian and Spanish national team players" got into their national teams in the first place? That's right, by playing first team football. Not by sitting on the pine for 3 years with next to no game time. They needed to prove that they were good enough at a club by - shock - ACTUALLY PLAYING first. Langerak had a season with MV and was snapped up - great for him, but just how much has he actually achieved as a player in a starting 11? The answer is not much. That is my point. Yes, the lad has talent, no question, but until we see him playing regularly we can't properly judge him. Therefore, he should not be within coo-ee of the national team until he does that. That is the criteria upon which ALL national team players should be judged, not just Langerak. National team caps should not be handed out to every kid with talent, but to proven performers - of any age - who have been playing regularly with their teams. If they can't get off the bench at their clubs, we should not be picking them. Simple as that. And yes, playing ANYWHERE is better than sitting on the bench and getting no game time, regardless of how big the club is. Your comparisons and examples are moot because the Brazilian and Spanish players you speak of will at least get some game time every week, and if they don't, they get taken out of consideration by their national team managers, as it should be. Being on the bench for Dortmund is nothing like starting for Liverpool or Everton, because nothing can replace match fitness and the rhythm you get from playing. To say anything else is nonsense.
Adrian
Guest
that just crazy thinking.... your really believe? ,starting at Central Coast is better then being on the bench at Real Madrid or Barcelona?? do you know how many Brazil and Spanish national team players are siting on the bench at those 2 clubs Borussia Dortmund team last year, was better then every English Premier League team...this is not just base on make Champ league final, it base on all Germany teams playing in europe over last number of year... for me, being on the bench at Dortmund is like starting at Liverpool or Everton
apaway
Roar Guru
He's an excellent keeper Kyle, and 32 is by no means "too old" for a goalkeeper. The overseas experience factor is seemingly less important now than it was 6 years ago.
aegarcia
Guest
Why is it that a goalkeeper has to be playing to qualify for a place in the World Cup? Is it because of fitness or to acquire experience. Mark Schwarzer has lots of the latter more than a any of the pretenders can dream of ever acquiring. Fitness? Mark is as fit as any of the players in the Chelsea team. Why do you think Mourinho called Mark to come join him in Chelsea? So far Mark has already played four games for Chelsea. Surely that means something. Now, if all Socceroos goalkeepers were on the bench who do you think will Osiek choose for the World Cup?
Midfielder
Guest
Matty R weekend game.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8DtEjaiYV0
Rob Gremio
Guest
Adrian, I disagree. The fact that Langerak is at Dortmund means exactly zero unless he is playing. It doesn't matter where they finished in the Champions League or the Bundesliga if he is not between the sticks. The only way to prove you are good enough is to play, and at the moment he is not playing - hasn't been for two years now - so he cannot (or should not) be even considered. As soon as that changes, provided performances warrant it, by all means, call him up. Until such time, no way. That means that everyone else who is playing regularly is ahead of Langerak, whether they be at Reading, Club Brugge, or Adelaide United. Warming the pine for Dortmund is still warming the pine. No one who isn't playing regularly should be in the squad for the Socceroos, whether that is Lucas Neil, Mark Schwarzer, Tim Cahill or Mitch Langerak.
Adrian
Guest
the other Poland team lost to a team in Lithuania, who only care about basketball , polish league is not very good
Adrian
Guest
Langerak in number 2 at 4th best club in Europe.. Dortmund are a 60 point ELO better team them Chelsea Club Brugge are not even in top 100 euro team Federici is playing 2nd league in UK far better to be number 2 GK in UEFA Champions League Final (and smash Real 4-1 in Semi Final) then to be number one GK at a EPL team that Relegated
AZ_RBB
Guest
Oliver Bozanic is up for player of the month in the Swiss League. hope he wins!
Evan Askew
Guest
I'm guessng the top teams in Poland aren't bad. Lech Poznan went on a UEFA CUP run a few years ago which was terminated in the 1/4 finals by Udinese when they still had Lewandowski. But it was a good performance by Ryan and it look from the replay fro the way he took the ball on some of those regulation saves that he was always getting into position to disribute the bal quickly which will be imprtant to their Spanish coach wh is focusing on gettig them to play a short passing style of game.
kyle
Guest
Why do people rate galekovic he's 32 too old to be taking over, no overseas experience, overrated
Midfielder
Guest
Ryan in action in Europe [against a Polish team] they lost 1 nil ... but he pulled off a couple of great saves and the goal he conceded most would have... enjoy ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uYW5h-vVx4
Griffo
Roar Guru
It's all going to depend on how many games Schwarzer plays - too few, especially leading up to end of EPL next year may mean the difference between No.1 and No. 13 shirt. It's a wait and see game for him. If WC games are his number one priority then a gamble with his move to Chelsea. Agree with others that Matt Ryan is probably going to jostle for one of the three keeper spots for Brazil with an A-League keeper. Federici has dropped although a solid keeper; and Langerak I think will need to look at WC 2018 as a first team keeper on his CV. Future bolter from the A-Lague for me is Birighitti - good keeper for the Jets and confident when he's between the posts. Goes to show how important game time is for a young keeper - Ryan also can attest to that.
Towser
Guest
In France I presume? Dont worry just answered my own question from TWG ,yes it is. Also says another match lined up at that time too,but doesn't say who against.
AZ_RBB
Guest
Socceroos to possibly play France on October 12 or 16. awesome :D
Midfielder
Guest
Sorry guys ... sitting on the bench while others are getting game time.... its not like we don't have a number of good keepers knocking on the door...
apaway
Roar Guru
I think you're right, Towser, as I alluded to in the article. The move to Chelsea is quite possibly a nod to preserving his mid-term longevity.