Defeat with honour has been the Socceroos’ stock in trade in recent years, so there are some mixed emotions around Australia’s commendable 1-1 draw with Chile overnight.
Has Ange Postecoglou been vindicated by an impressive performance from the Socceroos against the two-time reigning South American champions Chile in Moscow last night?
It was undoubtedly Australia’s finest performance of the Confederations Cup, even if it sadly wasn’t enough to keep the Socceroos in the tournament.
And as impressive as the performance was – and both teams wasted countless chances to win it – surely what was most noteworthy from an Australian point of view was the fact that Postecoglou’s formation finally benefited the Socceroos.
So rattled were the Chileans early in the second half that they simply resorted to knocking a series of long diagonal balls towards Alexis Sanchez in the hope of bypassing midfield.
That’s because Postecoglou’s 3-2-4-1 formation successfully neutralised one of the best counter-attacking teams in world football – more or less – and left Australia with a spare man in midfield throughout.
They used it to their advantage in the first half, when Australia’s high press forced Chile to turn the ball over cheaply from a poor Claudio Bravo clearance, allowing Robbie Kruse to scuff a cross to an unmarked James Troisi at the far post.
Troisi was one of Australia’s best, and his little dink over Chile skipper Bravo – who had an unhappy time of it in goal – was one of the finishes of the tournament.
Not good enough for Brighton and Hove Albion, or even Melbourne Victory? It’s hard to imagine given Troisi’s enterprising display.
But the same could be said for a whole swathe of Australia’s starting eleven, who belatedly showed the sort of form that justified their inclusion in the first place.
Troisi, Massimo Luongo and the unsung Jackson Irvine were all immense, while Mark Milligan remains one of Australia’s most consistent performers, despite rarely receiving the plaudits.
(AAP Image/Paul Miller)
Trent Sainsbury, meanwhile, possesses the sort of talent that should see him lock up a central defensive berth for years – although how he missed that volley before half-time only he will know.
And Sainsbury didn’t exactly cover himself in glory for Chile’s equaliser either, coming up with a poor defensive header before letting half-time substitute Martin Rodriguez get goal-side to poke home.
Ultimately it was those little ‘one percenters’ that made all the difference and left a rueful Postecoglou shattered by the result.
“I was convinced we were going to win today,” Postecoglou told SBS reporter Lucy Zelic in the wash-up, pointing out that Chile is the sort of “world-class opponent” against which Australia should be measured.
There’s another such opponent waiting in Saitama, where the Socceroos will face Japan on August 31 in a World Cup qualifier of monumental significance.
The Socceroos will fancy their chances of taking something from that game with a place at Russia 2018 at stake, not least because the Samurai Blue are out of form and under pressure at home.
Having garnered some much-needed tournament experience, the 3-2-4-1 formation might be just the tactic to out-manoeuvre a skilful Japanese midfield.
It used to be that talisman Tim Cahill was our solitary scoring threat – and the veteran was superb in his 100th game for his country – but with Troisi, Tomi Juric and Tommy Rogic all putting their hand up and scoring possession-driven goals in recent games, that notion is slowly changing.
And that, surely, is Postecoglou’s greatest achievement to date.
He wants the culture around the national team to change – starting with the way we play the game.
Clueless European journalists may still ask if the Socceroos will employ long ball tactics, but Troisi’s goal overnight showed what’s really in store.
And maybe – just maybe – Postecoglou can transform Australia from a bunch of luckless underdogs into a genuine international force.
Here’s hoping.
marcel
Guest
That's what they also said about Michael and Latoya...but did you ever see a photo of the two of them together!
punter
Guest
Me too, no that is not what I'm saying, I'm just rubbishing your ignorant statement.
pacman
Guest
Thanks Redondo. Ron Smith certainly used a lot of words to express his disagreement with FFA's philosophy regarding Isolated practice, doesn't he? I agree with him. First touch, for instance, can only, in my opinion, be developed through many, many hours of isolated practice. The same applies to many aspects of the game - dead ball opportunities just outside the opposition's penalty area - the specialists practice for many hours outside of normal training to achieve high conversion rates. And on it goes. I will attempt to "plough" through more of the Curriculum and ancillary documents within the next few days in an endeavour to identify how our future super talents will be developed.
Lionheart
Guest
oh punter - you forget cycling, and in the middle of the season. But most Australians do overlook the most gruelling of all sports. Our team even has a south American rider.
Redondo
Roar Rookie
Caltex - I'm actually Antonio Conte. I'm looking for pointers about what to do if Chelsea's 3-4-3 goes belly up in Europe next season. This site talks about 3-4-3 and alternatives more than any other site I can find. And as I've pointed out several times I have no preference for any system. The most I have said is that you need to select players to fit your system. Australia had much better balance vs Chile but that's 1 out of 5 where it worked. And it worked in the absence of 7 regular starters - Mooy, Jedinak, Rogic, Smith, Degenek, Leckie, Wright (last 2 came off the bench). It'll be really interesting to see how that gets resolved against Japan.
Caltex TEN & SBS support Australian Football
Guest
Really!!! (lol)
Caltex TEN & SBS support Australian Football
Guest
Yes Nemesis, Ange was very smart to give Tim the captaincy on this occasion. 100 caps and all revved up to lead from the front by example. Interesting now how all the Hindsight Posters are now clamouring right behind Ange with his decisions and the system revolution. ;)
Caltex TEN & SBS support Australian Football
Guest
And thank you George Costanza's father. Redondo, when are you going to demand the sacking of Postecoglou, for incompetence? Oh wait...!
Caltex TEN & SBS support Australian Football
Guest
Redondo - and we all thought you were FAD. I challenge you to demand the resignation of Ange now. As you were the one demanding he revert back to the 433. Oh wait...!
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
It goes without saying, but that is precisely what Postecoglou is trying to do.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
I understand the concerns around Jedinak, but he does things like break up the play and win aerial duels in the final third of the park that go largely unappreciated. And if Milligan steps into the back three permanently, I think Postecoglou will try and squeeze his skipper back into defensive midfield.
j,binnie
Guest
Buddy - The National Curriculum has as it's basis, not some plan written by a well travelled Dutch coach around 2006 but in an investigation into the psychological requirements of youngsters taking part in junior sport. This investigation was done in an educational facility in England in the late 1960's early 70's and the findings began to influence coaching manuals around that time. The main findings were that up to the ages between 11 and 13 children tended to be attracted to sport for what could well be described as the "fun aspect" It was at that age a youngster began to question what his role was if he were participating in a team sport and it was then,and only then, that the kid should be introduced to the tactical and formation aspects of the game he was playing. The coaching manuals were duly changed ,in football using the early years to teach skills and setting up competitions in which the youngster could enjoy more participation in getting "touches" at the ball,e.g, small sided games on small pitches as an end product, with training schedules taking even more "drastic" steps to encourage this "touchy feely" situation with 2v2, 3v3, 4v4 exercises during training. It was hoped that if this doctrine was strictly adhered to that kids would develop those skills required to go to the next level. That next level saw a kid's attitude change and in the team environment suddenly it became necessary to change the pupil's attitude into how to play in a successful team,winning games and even championships. If you move among junior football training sessions you will be able to assess how closely these findings have affected how we teach our youngsters. Cheers jb.
David McDaniel
Roar Pro
Good article Mike. The improvement has been fairly steady since the controversial lineup change but full credit to Ange for seeing what needed to be done and having the balls to do it straight away. The fact that a rotated Australian lineup dominated a Chile side who were not too far off full strength speaks volumes of the style that is really starting to click. I am still not convinced that Kruse passed it to Troisi, , at best the defender hit the ball at the same time as him, causing it to divert or it might even have been all defender! Regardless, we deserved the goal and it was a breathtaking passage of play, the speed of the play and the number of players forward was impressive. If we can get more players playing in the top leagues we will be up there with the best and we will regularly get out of the WC group stages and be classed as a genuine threat. I think this is the most optimistic I have been with an Australian side in a very long time.
Fadida
Guest
I was thinking the same thing
Fadida
Guest
Gersbach is a better option than Behich, his final ball vastly superior
Fadida
Guest
Agree, he's a much better player than Jedinak but gets half the acclaim
RBBAnonymous
Guest
Nice article and well spotted. It was terrific reading.
Midfielder
Guest
marcel Caltex has been around for a long time well before Fuss in fact a long time before Fuss ... his name then was Kola Bear which he changed and announced the change my guess Hal 3 or 4.... his named changed to QANTAS n SBS when Caltex took over the sponsorship of the Socceroos he changed again from QANTAS to Caltex.
Redondo
Roar Rookie
You too - I thought it was just me
marcel
Guest
Has anyone else started to wonder if Caltex and Fuss are the same person?