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Friday morning was supposed to offer Australian football fans a slight reprieve. A positive news story to soften the constant blows handed out since the close of the 2014-15 A-League season. Yet the Joeys’ round of 16 clash against Nigeria ended in disaster.
A 6-0 defeat is unacceptable no matter who the opposition or what the age level.
However, considering the Joeys managed to gain four points from an extremely tough group including Germany, Mexico and Argentina, and qualify for the knockouts, the tournament could be deemed a relative success.
Yet the tournament raised a few questions about the future of youth development in Australia, and comments from FFA Under-17 technical director Peter de Roo following the Nigeria loss were slightly concerning.
“We didn’t come here with expectations of reaching a certain stage of the competition. Our goal was to play the football we wanted to play, regardless of who we took on, and I think we’ve done that,” de Roo said.
“Our expectation was that we wanted to play positive, aggressive football. We have matched four world class teams in possession statistics.”
Matching world-class teams in possession statistics does not represent progression. The German Under-17s allowed the Joeys to hold possession, safe in the knowledge that they had the organisation and quality to prevent their opposition creating clearcut chances.
And these German boys could no doubt have matched the Joeys in keeping the ball, yet their awareness of the situation and ability to expose weaknesses was impressive. They were a class above not only technically, but also in their decision-making and execution.
Similarly, Nigeria, once 2-0 up, allowed the Joeys to hold onto the ball and ruthlessly hit four goals in the second half largely from counter attacks. The Joeys’ naivety prevalent in the Germany game returned, a weakness that had been partly eradicated in a fantastic 2-1 win over Argentina.
Holding possession is one thing, using the ball effectively is another. Against Germany and Nigeria there was little penetration in the final third, and there is no point dominating the possession stats if you find yourself caught out at the back.
The first goal against Nigeria arrived with Australia losing possession just over the halfway line, with the whole team pushed high up the pitch. A quick ball down the left wing exposed right-back Jonathan Vakirtzis’s high position, and Kye Rowles was left to defend Victor Osimhen one-on-one.
The 16-year-old Nigerian completely bamboozled Rowles and sent a perfect curled finish past goalkeeper Duro Dragicevic.
The second goal arrived from the penalty spot, after Rowles and Vakirtzis combined to tumble over Funsho Bambogye, who was going nowhere. Nigeria captain Kelechi Nwakali converted.
Against Nigeria, the Joeys may have held a lot of the ball, but the 18-8 shot differential was damning. They only managed one shot on target from those eight efforts.
The view that results don’t matter in youth football is bollocks. It should not be the overriding objective, but it should play a huge role in these youngsters’ development. It is an important component of creating future stars.
That said, success does not guarantee future prosperity, that much becomes clear when comparing Nigeria Under-17’s immaculate record – four World Cup titles, three runners-up – with their men’s side. But a happy medium must be found.
Again, 6-0 is not acceptable at any level, and you can be sure the Joeys won’t be pleased with the result. That is what we want – hunger and passion to improve. They will learn a vital lesson from this loss.
The obsession with a 4-3-3 possession-based game looks good on paper. We want to play good football, we want to entertain, regardless of the opposition. It is the blueprint Ange Postecoglou uses for the Socceroos, and so having all our teams play a similar style theoretically make sense.
But will it actually improve our players?
Flexibility is just as important in football, the ability to switch tactics to suit opposition. We don’t want to go back to dire, defensive mindsets, but we should aim to implement clever decision-making and execution; and that includes adjustable gameplans.
When Germany implemented their renowned youth overhaul following the 2000 European Championship they focused on developing academies. Top-class facilities, ensuring every professional team (starting with the Bundesliga clubs before trickling down) had a youth academy, and offering regular DFB (German Football Association) programs were the main objectives.
Yet there was no set directive for the installation of a particular playing philosophy, no insistence that all youth levels played a certain way. They have developed a more holistic approach, and it has worked.
Exposing youngsters to different tactics is arguably more fruitful than training them in just one structured formation. If you’re interested to read about Frank Wormuth’s work with the German Under-20s, using the “intentional stray pass”, journalist Uli Hesse offers a fantastic introduction.
Instead of steadfastly sticking to 4-3-3, perhaps we should trust our coaches to be innovative and develop their own ideas. Unfortunately, that comes down to coaching quality, something that needs a lot of work and deserves its own article. Relying on former players without proper appraisal is not the way forward.
Possession-based football is not as hot as it was five years ago under Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona.
Indeed, we saw Arsene Wenger recently reject his own love for possession against Bayern Munich and come away with a fantastic 2-0 victory. It was a superb performance, and one which took into account the opponent’s abilities. And it was not dull football, either.
It is worrying that ‘attacking’ football appears to be defined by possession. This belief that possession football equals attractive football is a myth. You need to have the skills to push forward in the final third – the third that matters – and punish your opponent’s weaknesses.
In that sense, the Joeys struggled, particularly against Germany and Nigeria.
If we want to use Germany as a role model – and it makes sense – then the most important aspect is developing technical skills, but at an earlier age.
The DFB hold talent development programs for players aged 8 to 14, providing technical skills and knowledge, after which they remain full-time at their clubs or are signed by clubs. Freiburg, who are renowned for their youth development, go a step further and work with amateur feeder clubs, sending coaches twice a week to work with 8- to 11-year-olds
At the moment, A-League clubs are at times getting players when they are 17-18 from National Premier League clubs and the FFA Centre of Excellence, too late in the development cycle. Only eight of the 21 Joeys who travelled to the World Cup have clubs, the others are involved with the FFA CoE.
The FFA’s National Curriculum identifies the 10-13 year age bracket as the opportune time to develop core skills such as first touch, passing, shooting and dribbling. The 13-17 year group is then exposed to positional awareness and tactics.
The next step is to get these kids involved in club football at the start of this second phase, so they can be exposed to a quality and professional environment. The Joeys can still play 4-3-3 in Tony Vidmar wishes, but having more players emerging from different youth programs – and possibly different tactics – at A-League clubs will give them more edge.
Making it compulsory for A-League clubs to maintain academies has been a good initiative, but perhaps the most important development will be the changes made to the National Youth League, which kicks off in its new format next month.
The NYL has been reduced from an 18-round home-and-away season to just eight rounds, excluding a finals series. The nine A-League clubs and FFA CoE side are split into two conferences – Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne City and Victory, Perth in one group, and Central Coast, Newcastle, Sydney FC and Western Sydney together with the FFA CoE.
Following the competition’s grand final in January, the NYL sides will join the 26-week NPL structure.
The best young players will remain with their A-League clubs for longer periods, and will play against adult opposition. The new changes will also also A-League clubs to enter teams from Under-13s into the NPL junior structure; it’s a promising and necessary development. Increased competitive action will provide that winning mentality.
In fear of being accused of adopting an overly negative reflection, the positives from the Joeys’ World Cup campaign should be highlighted as well.
Some of these young boys offered a lot of promise; there were a few passengers, but individually there is much to get excited about.
Joe Caletti was the standout, dictating play in midfield, sometimes singlehandedly. Liverpool’s Jake Brimmer was impressive in bouts, but was mostly eye-catching through his set piece delivery. Jackson Bandiera was another to show a lot of promise, though you get the feeling the left-back may eventually find himself playing higher up the field.
Cameron Joice performed admirably up front, holding up the ball and trying to involve teammates in a thankless job, Nicholas Panetta shone against Argentina, having a hand in both goals, and despite his blunder for Nigeria’s third goal, Dragicevic was also solid.
Then there was Panos Armenakas, Australia’s next big hope. The 16-year-old only started one game but his quick feet under pressure was highly impressive. There is a still a lack of decision-making in his game, yet that will only improve as he matures. This kid will only get better.
The next step is to get these youngsters playing more regular competitive fixtures, Nigeria’s Osimhen reportedly has more than 70 caps for his country. The new structure should help in that quest, at least at domestic level.
The experience they have obtained from playing nations such as Germany, Mexico, Argentina and Nigeria will be invaluable. Unfortunately the World Cup only comes around once every two years. The next step is to get these youngsters
Hopefully the introduction of A-League teams in the NPL junior structure will help our youngsters develop a competitive streak and become exposed to different systems and tactics. The future is promising, but the FFA cannot afford to stand idle.
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