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Melbourne Victory’s Ivorian-born left back Adama Traore was recently ruled ineligible for Australian national selection.
It was a blow not only to Traore but also to the Socceroos, as left backs have been thin on the ground following the retirement of Scott Chipperfield.
The left back position has been a cause for major concern, more so then any other position in the Socceroos line-up.
On more then one occasion we have had players who are not left backs forced to play there. Players like Matt McKay and Dave Carney spring to mind.
In the recent friendlies, McKay and Carney started at left back against Brazil and France respectively. On both occasions, Australia lost 6-0.
Why did Holger Osieck continue picking players out of position if the result both times was to be exposed against great attacking teams like Brazil and France?
McKay is a midfielder, not a defender, while Carney’s best position is at left wing.
Is it any wonder that Osieck is no longer coach of the Socceroos?
Sure, there are players that can play in multiple positions, but McKay and Carney both struggle at left back.
The solution is to pick players who regularly play at left back at a decent level. Here are four options the new coach should consider:
Jason Davidson
Son of Socceroo great Alan, the younger Davidson is slowly making his position this own at Dutch Eredivisie side Heracles Almelo.
Last season, Davidson made ten appearances and was on the park for 619 minutes. This season, only nine rounds in, Davidson has appeared for Heracles on seven occasions for a total of 630 minutes, already exceeding his time spent on the pitch from season 2012/13.
To make things even more impressive, he has also netted a goal.
At 22, is Jason Davidson starting to take the next step as a regular player in a European league? He came on at half time against France, replacing Carney with the score reading 4-0.
He might be well known for his own goal against Scotland on his Socceroo debut, but one gets the feeling he is an improved player.
Shane Lowry
Has made over 60 appearances for Millwall, including six out of a possible 11 in the current season of the English Championship.
In 2009, Lowry was on the books at English Premier League club Aston Villa, but never made an appearance. Instead he was loaned out to various clubs like Plymouth Argyle, Leeds United, Sheffield United and Millwall, which led to getting a permanent deal in place with Millwall in early 2012.
At 24, Lowry, has made close to 100 appearances in the English Championship.
Aziz Behich
Behich has those penetrative attacking runs, a similar style to the way the great Stan Lazaridis used to play.
Like Lazaridis, Behich has played both left back and wing. But lately in his career, Behich has turned into a more defensive player at left back.
Has a contract with Turkish Super Lig club, Bursapor, but is back in the A-League, and is on loan with Melbourne Heart for the 2013/14 season, who really did miss the 22-year-old in the second half of the A-League last season when he made the move to Bursapor.
Behich has made five Socceroo appearances and has already netted two goals.
Michael Zullo
Zullo is returning to the A-League on a loan spell from Dutch Eredivisie club FC Utrecht.
Zullo has spent the last three seasons with FC Utrecht, where he made 34 appearances and has been selected for the national team on ten occasions.
He is a good diminutive defender, but I’m not sure if he is a first choice left back. If anything, he seems more comfortable when he goes forward.
He has done okay with the national team, but he needs to work a bit more on his game, especially when he gets caught out of position from opposing attackers.
However, if he does have a good A-League season with Adelaide United, he could well be on the plane to Brazil.
With every squad, you need two players to cover for every position. For the squad heading to Brazil, I would pick Davidson and Lowry at left back at this stage.
Davidson and Lowry are getting regular playing time in the Eredivisie and Champoionship respectively, a step up from the A-League (especially Dutch Eredivisie), which is to Behich and Zullo’s disadvantage.
In Lowry’s case, as a Socceroos fan, you want to pick players that are playing in higher standard league than the English Championship, however picking the 24-year-old is a better alternative then picking a player like 34-year-old Saša Ognenovski from the Qatari League.
I’ll openly admit, I haven’t seen either Davidson or Lowry play, but I’m just going by statistics, which sometimes is not the right thing to do.
For what it’s worth, if I was to pick a first choice left back for the Socceroos at the present time, I’d pick Jason Davidson.
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