The Germans delighted and wowed an international audience after showing not only their incredible depth but also their brazen willingness to test fringe Mannschaft players in a high-profile tournament.
Given our own logistical issues with getting our best players together for matches, is it time to consider a fringe Socceroos team?
The logistical constraints facing the Socceroos precludes full usage of the international calendar for our national side. Travel time, costs and risk of player fatigue are all considerations that make some dates less desirable in what can often be a hectic international calendar.
As a result in 2016 the Socceroos didn’t fire a shot in anger until May despite there being two match days available in March of the same year. In 2017 we may have four extra match days in October and November to fill if we qualify directly for Russia.
Do these extra match days provide us with an option of bringing together fringe Socceroos for friendlies? Can we see some of the A-League’s best alongside the likes of Mustafa Amini, Craig Goodwin and James Jeggo get some decent game time in the green and gold? Are we able to use vacant match days to deepen our squad?
The constraints are twofold.
The first is the disruption this would cause to the A-League. Such a fringe Socceroos squad would draw deeply upon the domestic scene, resulting in turbulence within playing squads. The FFA would need to either accommodate affected clubs or allow for international breaks – concessions that they have thus far proved reluctant to pursue.
The second is the devaluation of the Socceroos brand. This is an aspect where the playing of what are perceived to be lower quality squads reduces the market value of the team. This is real risk if games are to be played in major urban centres before people who have grown accustomed to seeing full-strength sides. The reaction to the German B team, though, suggests this risk may be mitigated if handled correctly.
(Image: AAP Image/Paul Miller)
So how would such a concept work?
The key is found in the old adage, ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’.
A fringe Socceroos squad, seeking to create depth through better understanding of systems for fringe Socceroos and the testing of emerging talent, needs to play in front of fans who rarely get to see the full-strength Socceroos in the flesh – fans who will deeply appreciate what they get to see and who will arrive in both numbers and voice.
This is a step towards the vaunted equity we vociferously demand yet too often fail to pursue once the Socceroos reach our respective neck of the woods.
For some parts of Australia the full-strength Socceroos are highly unlikely to ever appear. Be it Cairns, Darwin, Hobart or Townsville, locations with significant football fanbases are missing out yet could provide financially profitable and technically sound locations for a fringe Socceroos side to feature.
Some of our near neighbours such as Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia may also be willing to host such a side. All of these options make a fringe Socceroos side a potentially lucrative option for a football association which regularly bemoans its financial constraints.
They couldn’t play often, but perhaps once or twice a year it would be good to see our depth tested against our near neighbours in venues that crave such representative football.
As the Germans have shown, it can be done and done well.
Mark
Guest
I was at that game. It was an Asian Cup qualifier against Kuwait. Pim picked an all local side for the match, which put on an absolute stinker of a performance and lost. There was not a single redeeming feature about the match, it was an embarrassment on every level. Terrible performance. Losing to such low ranked opposition. And to top it off, we had players running out with numbers in three figures on their backs.
David McDaniel
Roar Pro
I dont see the problem in comparing 2 countries to be honest, comparing them does not mean they are equal.
j,binnie
Guest
Nemesis - Just for the record --- In 1988 the Socceroos played 22 matches. In 1985 they played 19 games. In 1984 they played 21 games In those 3 years some of the opponents they played were out of the who's who of football. In1984 they played teams like Man Utd, Notts Forest, Glasgow Rangers, Juventus, Man.City, PSV,,Aston Villa, Arsenal, Spurs and Udinese. In 1985 they played Spurs,Vasco da Gama,Red Star Belgrade, and Scotland (in the World Cup) In 1988 they played Gotenburg, DynamoZagreb,Brazil,Saudi Arabia, Argentina,Yugoslavia,Nigeria,USSR, Remembering the years mentioned many of these teams were at their peaks for differing reasons,World Cup games or European Cup games being among the incentives at the time. Cheers jb.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
Not at the moment. If such a side was fielded whilst the senior squad was uncalled upon you would imagine it would be unworkable without a break.
mattq
Guest
I forgot that user name you had!
Fadida
Guest
Does the A-league stop for international match days though Ben?
David McDaniel
Roar Pro
Excellent idea.With the way Ange has operated in the past, it could be a real possibility!
2 left feet
Guest
I would like to see the best of an A League team (Aussie players only) tour europe and play against club sides as they warm up for the new season. Call them the B team if you wish. This will not impact A League clubs as our season does not start for months and the players will want to be in that team for profile in europe with the dream of a big contract. If they do well our league will get some good profile as well.
pacman
Guest
Interesting article Ben, but I believe a reality check is in order. Quoting Germany as an example of how to go about developing football depth is all very well, but we need to remember that country has far greater playing resources than we do. Without being pedantic, Germany has about 7 million players, whilst we have less than 1 million. So what Germany are able to achieve is neither practical nor achievable for us. We need to keep things manageable. We already have national U/17, U/20 and U/23 squads. Surely this should provide an adequate pathway (I hate that phrase, but oh well!) for our fringe players to progress to the Socceroos Squad? Players who develop outside this structure will be identified by national coaching staff, and introduced to the appropriate squad. You can rest assured this will happen. There won't be many, but they will be identified. Getting back to Germany v Australia player numbers, one does not need a degree in mathematics, or simple arithmetic, to acknowledge that a German fringe squad will be infinitely superior to one selected by us. So, my suggestion is to keep things manageable and practical. And the first thing we need to do is get our U/17, U/20 and U/23 up to top 20 world standards. Let's not waste valuable funds on another national squad. Instead, direct the funds towards grass roots football, for this is the source of our future international players.
Lee
Guest
Send our B team to the World Cup if we qualify, they could hardly do worse than our top team in 2014 in Brazil. The Socceroos team at the 2014 World Cup lost every game they played.
Ruudolfson
Guest
Yes Nemesis this is a must for Oz Football, very had to develop a good talent pool with only 9 clubs and 1 in NZ.
Ruudolfson
Guest
Sorry, sir, i respect your views but there is a huge gulf in class between german and australian youth players in terms of overall depth.
Nemesis
Guest
Very good observation. It's probably because the players in the current team feel they have not yet earned the respect of their peers. They aren't playing for the big clubs so they have an inferiority complex. The squad lacks the FIGJAM-personality. Having said that, I think that performance against Chile might be the turning point. The moment when each of lads finally realises .... FIGJAM!
Newie
Guest
Agree. I was thinking during the early games that the Socceroos don't have enough fiery/fighty/champion types at present. They're all very nice, quiet lads. Rogic and Mooy being the ultimate examples of this. Now compare that with Cahill, with Bresciano, with Kewell. Much bigger "characters", if you want to call them that. Even Lucas Neill had a large ego. Is that 'mongrel' what we're missing?
j,binnie
Guest
Melange - Personally I don't care if it is JC himself passing comment I am a great believer in what I see with my own eyes and for someone of Gombau's standing to say "nothing changed for the third game",my eyes told me that both Mooy,and Rogic were absent from the line up and Tim Cahill started the game instead of coming on as a late sub. and. with Milligan playing in a deeper role, If that is "nothing changed" then so be it. jb
Nemesis
Guest
Ben, I understand what you're saying if we were still in Oceania and there were few internationals for our lads. The way I see it "the fringe Socceroos" should be 4-6 of the best players from each of the u23 & u20 squads. Rather than 23 players over 24 years old who are not in the senior team. I think this is what Germany does. It doesn't have 23 over 25s pushing for the senior team. It has a senior team plus young players pushing upwards. Our u20 teams should have at least 1 tournament every 12 months; u23 team probably less opportunity.
Chopper
Guest
Ben the focus should be on the A League and although your suggestion of a "B" team has merit it is a side issue to the real problem which is not enough Australian players are getting a fair go in the professional game. jb talks about the times when Australia had a team full of players from the NSL but at that period of time we had more teams and less imports. Nemesis is correct in saying we need a fourteen team A League followed by a second division. The discussion should be about this because without the players getting the local exposure we have nothing.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
Only international match days, Fad.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
Whilst I agree that a second division, expansion and other aspects are needed, having a fringe Socceroos side play a couple of matches a year is not going to impact upon this one way or another.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
A fringe Socceroo side would only come together for one or two international match days and would be looking at events that are financially viable. At the end of the day they should be profitable ventures if they were to proceed.