Ange Postecoglou won’t be leaving Brazil with a smile on his face, nor will his players. They’ve got that sinking feeling that football so often instigates, crippled by hindsight.
So close to nabbing a point against Chile, surrendering a 2-1 lead against Netherlands.
Tim Cahill’s offside goal in game one, Mark Bresciano’s blast over from Matthew Leckie’s cutback in game two. So many moments will dwell on the minds of Socceroos on the flight back home.
They’re sincerely disappointed to have not emerged from a group containing the reigning world champions, 2010 runners up and world number 14.
At the risk of sounding brash, it’s a brilliant thing that they’re so deflated. We want them to hurt in defeat, not be satisfied with an assured performance.
Although we’ve all been quick to jump to the defence of the Socceroos – and rightly so – it’s encouraging to see that the players aren’t as content with three defeats, despite the circumstances, as the general population. If nothing else, their emotion is a brilliant indication that Postecoglou’s men exceeded expectations. And the man at the helm should take a chunk of the credit.
He had seven months to fast forward the future of Australian football, a task that should have begun three years earlier. It wasn’t so much a cavalier approach from Postecoglou, he sprung the odd selection surprise but mostly sent 23 players to Brazil that have had their hands raised for a while.
A series of demoralising injuries over the last six months served to derail Australia’s hopes pre-tournament, but Postecoglou met each challenge with aplomb. Tom Rogic, Josh Kennedy, Robbie Kruse, Rhys Williams, Trent Sainsbury and Curtis Good all on the injury heap – six first-team contenders that the gaffer had clutched from his grasp.
The starting XI against Chile was the best that Postecoglou could have offered. It was spot-on from the beginning. A shame then that nerves got the better of a scrambling defence as Chile surged to an early 2-0 lead.
How nice it would’ve been to have Kennedy replacing a fatigued Cahill late in that match, with the aerial route proving extremely fruitful for the Socceroos. How damaging Rogic could have been running at defenders late in the piece.
Still, Postecoglou made the right decisions with the players he had to his left. Ryan McGowan, on for the injured Ivan Franjic, was solid, Ben Halloran’s pace an apt replacement for Oar and James Troisi on for Bresciano to gain a few important touches.
The likes of Mass Luongo and Bailey Wright would have been gutted not to see a minute of playing time, but they’ll be better for the experience and will turn their attention to the 2015 Asian Cup.
Perhaps Postecoglou’s greatest trick was instilling belief into a squad that had plenty of reasons to be low on morale. So many setbacks, entering each match as rank outsiders, yet supporters back home were filled with an unexpected dose of confidence. This team made us believe they could do something beautiful – for two games at least.
At 2-0 down to Chile, they didn’t look void of confidence, they looked determined to claw the result back. There were more chances on goal than we expected and as soon as the Socceroos found their groove, their opponents were no longer a top-20 nation but just another bridge to cross.
Under the circumstances, this squad was the perfect blend of youth and experience. Ange’s sacrifices were justified. Pim Verbeek and Holger Osieck had selected Leckie at different times, but it wasn’t until Postecoglou’s introduction that he was truly given a chance.
Lucas Neill could have provided a boost in Brazil, but his omission wasn’t decisive. Nor was Brett Holman’s retirement.
Hindsight is a beauty, but with the displays against Netherlands and Chile, it’s impossible not to ponder whether the World Cup would have been more than a dress rehearsal for the Asian Cup if the best XI was on the park.
“I want to build a team that’s invincible so that they have to send a team from bloody Mars to beat us” – Bill Shankly.
Postecoglou didn’t have such a team at his disposal. But he and the players didn’t know that. To them, they were invincible.
yoyo
Guest
Poor excuse. You are basically saying: "Look, England, Portugal, Spain and Italy are knocked out at the same time as Australia, so that means Australia did not do so badly then." But if ALL the strong nations had progressed and all the weak nations got knocked out, then you would just use another excuse. Then you would say: "Look, ALL the weak nations got eliminated, so Australia can't be blamed, because it's a weak nation too...." The fact remains that many weak nations STOOD UP in this WC and knocked out strong nations, BUT Australia DID NOT...... That's the fact. Stop sugar-coating, please, it's embarassing.
yoyo
Guest
+1 Good to see not everyone on this website is a brainwashed "oi, oi, oi" sugar-coater.
j binnie
Guest
Mitch - Didn't go into your nominees too far but Robbie Kruse is 25+, and Luke Brattan 24?????? jb
Mitch
Guest
"but no evidence as to who will be the world class players to fill the top six spots." Ok, here are some names for you to consider: Age Group 18-22 Tom Rogic - no. 10 Robbie Kruise - right winger Trent Sainsbury - centre back Curtis Good - centre back Conner Chapman - centre back Andrew Caceres - no. 6 / no. 10 Luke Brattan - no. 6 Terry Antonis - no.6 / no. 8 / no. 10 Mustafa Amini - no.6 / no. 10 Cris Ikonomidis - no.10 / right winger Raphael Jimenz - centre back Peter Skapetis - striker Age Group 15-18 Panoa Armenakas - no. 10 Steve Kuzmanovski - no. 10 / right winger Anthony Khalik - no.10 / no. 6 Devante Clut - no.10 / no. 6 Daniel Da Silva - no.10 George Mells - no.6 Gavin De Niese - centre back / full back There's a quality selection for you and I'm sure that Ange will find plenty more if he searches carefully enough
j binnie
Guest
Fuss - another word of warning.When referring to the history of "foreigners' playing with German teams remember they were one of the last countries to embrace "foreigners", or "outsiders" playing in their top teams.Fact of life. jb
TheCelt
Guest
Spot on Sheek!
Ian
Guest
Yes it is well, amazing, might not be the right word, but for some to still consider Australia were embarrassed when the national teams for the biggest leagues in the world also exited in the group stage puts some perspective on not making it to the round of 16, and how getting to the World Cup is an achievement. Also considering two good performances from us, leaving out the first 20 against Chile, while the game against Spain was less stellar - apart from the first 20 - but considering Spain dominated for the last few years I think they can be forgiven.
Statler and Waldorf
Roar Guru
"it’s a brilliant thing that they’re so deflated. We want them to hurt in defeat, not be satisfied with an assured performance." spot on with that - it will hopefully drive them on to want to be better
BtoThePower3
Guest
He has done a good job as a coach. But let us have some inputs form our point of perspective. He has already admitted about the squad depth problem. There was no scorer when Cahill was suspended. There are rooms for improvement in the tactics too. This is not about criticizing with view but exploring alternatives and adjust flexibly to evolve. Talking about the Chile match, would it be better if a more subtle and practical approach was adopted for the earlier part of the match. This is as simple as using the sidelines and baselines to defend as well, simply kicking the ball out to frustrate the attacking enemy. It is hard to be flexible and adjustable rather than simply instilling one strategy for the whole match (attacking). For example, review on the first 20 minutes how Brisbane Roar played in the last match with WSW in the Grand Finale. Why Franjic would kick the ball so easily and quickly to the base line so often in the early part to concede a corner kick? This is not his style and Roar's traditional way of playing. One may say, Spiranovic got a goal eventually after many corner kicks. However, this tactic gave no slim chance to the energetic and good technique WSW players. Using the idea above, if socceroos kept kicking the ball off, the Chilean would be frustrated. Also, losing a corner to a South American team like Chile is not that worrying. They are not especially good in long high balls. Of course we have noticed that Cahill would come back to defend in corners too. What is more is that South American teams like to do short corners usually. Should socceroos used a more practical tactic and be flexible, the result might be different. This not to say that Mulvey is a better coach than AP now. But whoever is in charge of a team, there should be changes. A good example is the early exit of Spain in this World Cup. They have become very predictable.
BtoThePower3
Guest
@Kevin67 Hello, I don't think Franjic and Mckay are wrong inclusions. Wilkshire is at the verge of retirement while Franjic is younger and can play more than one position. The lost of the goal cannot not be his sole mistake. Rather is a mistake that the centre backs and the rest of the defending players did not form a compact array at that time. Also, Franjic helped to get the ball and sent a very good cross for Cahill to score. As for Mckay, I have heard many criticizing on him since his hand ball in the match against japan. I think those are not objective enough CRITICISMS, focusing only at the downsides. No single player is perfect. But Mackay is very good in some area. Remember Mulvey's praise on him. Also, it is wrong to say AP's FAVORITE as he was the first pick from A-league into the socceroos by the former coach, Holger Osciek. He is rather unique; he always touch then pass and run to an empty space. In the match vs Spain, he played so well in the middle, getting the ball through 3 Spain players confidently. I'm afraid that I view differently.
BES
Guest
Just like he did with Brisbane.....
Punter
Guest
Alot very unhappy punters (excuse pun) on the football blogs.
Punter
Guest
Smashed him Fuss!!!! Graham you just got owned!!!
sheek
Roar Guru
Honestly Chop, Some people never bother to look beyond the surface. They are the dull & ignorant. You deserve to be shown no mercy! ;-)
sheek
Roar Guru
I've lived in the eastern suburbs of Sydney since completing high school 40 years ago. Driving past Queens Park Waverley last weekend, every available space of grass on lower Queens Park was occupied by junior football/soccer matches. I was truly amazed! There are many ways to judge the progress of a sport. But for me, this was tangible evidence of the inexorable march of football in Australia. And from what I see, hear & read, the east is nothing compared to the boom of football in the west. Football, it's gonna get you.....!
AZ_RBB
Guest
Any thoughts on the new FFA Club Identity Policy? In short, no new clubs can have any ethnic references in their name or logo. Old clubs may keep their names.
ciudadmarron
Guest
To add to this another point is that after several years of some pretty dour football the team were actually entertaining in their endeavours, and despite not having the killer touch (Cahill aside), and despite predictions from many quarters that this was folly, pushed two of the best teams at the cup. We could easily have sat back and hoped to hold out and strike it lucky and got similar or worse results.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Agree with you Langou and Vinnie below. To ask "who to replace Ange?" is a bit premature and, dare I say, silly. If Ange is on anyone's radar, so are Costa Rica, Chile, Algeria, Mexico etc coaches who have done more than ok during this WC too. Again I respect aussies' passion and pride but a few supporters should sometimes curb their naïve exuberance.
bryan
Guest
Asia will not lose their spots. Every vote in the fifa council counts as 1, and AFC has enough member votes to keep that from happening... especially as the Middle eastern countries expect South Korea, Japan, and Australia to qualify, and they have enough bribe money allowing for a remaining spot for them
bryan
Guest
It's amazing how many negative comments are on this article. Before 2006, Australia had not qualified for over 30 years.... In 2006, they had one of the best managers in the world, with a settled team for over 2 years, with some of the greatest players ever in an Australian Jersey. Moore, Neill, Grella, Emerton, Culina, Cahill, Kewell, Vidua, all household names, in arguably, the easiest group in the world cup. Yet, it was not until the 80' in the final game that we actually got to the stage we could qualify for the 2nd round. Our greatest ever team, in the best possible configuration, and we leave with 2 losses, 1 draw, 1 win and a -1 goal difference. 2010, in another pretty bloody easy group, assuming Germany top, we leave with a 1 win, 1 draw, 1 lose, and a -3 goal difference. We didn't really have a chance in qualification after about 24' of the 2nd game, with Kewell sent off and at 1-1. I attended this game, and it was a simple bus park. Gutsy performance to Serbia in effectively a dead rubber. 2014, in the worst possible draw imaginable, with a brand new coach, after completely rehashing the team, had 2 very good games against 2 of the strongest teams in the world, and an average game against one of the best, who's style directly counters ours, in a very difficult matchup. Spain's team had been completely rehashed, allowing promising new players to push for selection. So, open both eyes, and understand that football is a game that we have had no historical ability in, have a brand new league, and were in the absolute dumps less than a year ago. This negativity is normally used by England comparing all teams to the 1966 winners.