During the Confederations Cup, we saw Josep Gombau, eyes narrowed and darting, prodigious jaw jutting out in thought, an unassuming, background member of Ange Postecoglou’s team.
Postecoglou is currently wading through a particularly treacly period of his national plan; the particular mould he is, slowly but surely, forcing over the unyielding hunk of raw Socceroo clay in front of him is a complex design, and as such is not fitting quickly or comfortably. And yet, through the three Cup matches against Germany, Cameroon and Chile, we saw the team’s lumps and clods reshape themselves a little, if not quite enough to earn more than two points over three games.
Progress was nonetheless visibly made, and the most immediate measure of it will come in two months’ time, against Japan in the World Cup qualifier at the end of August. But the longer-term view of the national set-up takes in vistas that glint and glimmer over a horizon much further-reaching than that, and Gombau, who had a sideline view of the state of the present, is also well-placed to appreciate – and rear – the flickers of the future.
Gombau announced his preliminary squad for the Under-23 AFC Championships earlier this week, a list of 26 players that will be cut down to 23 before the trip to play Myanmar on July 15.
This generation of players – almost half of whom were born in 1997 or later – represent the future of the national team, still in their malleable phases, with many of the most experienced members having barely spent one season in the A-League senior ranks.
Gombau said back in February that his U-23 team would be “playing system and style that is the same as the Socceroos.” Gombau was Barcelona’s youth team coach for six years, from 2003 to 2009, and the end of his time there crossed over with the beginnings of Pep Guardiola’s management career in Catalonia.
Of course, the team that Guardiola would end up constructing is now considered one of history’s greatest, but perhaps it’s the process, not the glittering proceeds, that one hopes made the best impression on Gombau. He will have seen, while he was at Barca, as well as after leaving, how important consistency of approach is for the success of a system.
The little Messi’s in the making know how Barcelona play, and what’s expected of them. Gombau’s job as Australian U-23s manager, just as it was in charge of the joyful, adroit sprites at La Masia, is to propagate the ideology.
Now, although there have been many legitimate questions raised over Ange’s system and the wisdom behind it, there can be no argument against the assertion that, if we are going to be playing a certain way at the senior national level, we must have unity of message. The current system may not succeed in the upcoming crunch qualifiers, let alone at the World Cup proper, but its long-term prognosis is surely fatal if the next generation spend their national duties learning to play in a totally different way.
(AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Australia cannot really hope to emulate a country like Spain, whose national ethos is, by and large, a slightly modified version of the approach championed and perfected by one of its biggest and most successful clubs, Barcelona. Barca is a club that the national team also, funnily enough, sources heavily from.
We have no flagship club that shelters vast swathes of our national team. To read the Socceroos squad sheet is to make a globetrotting journey, from Melbourne to Portugal, from Rotterdam to Yokohama. This is a group asunder, so cohesion at the national level cannot be expected to the degree the Spaniards enjoy.
Furthermore, the bare handful of occasions that the national team, in all its ranks, actually congregates every season is hardly enough to learn a complex system all that quickly, even with the odd international tournament thrown in.
Still, Riley McGree, Jonathan Aspropotamitis, Bruce Kamau and the rest of the U-23s will only benefit – from a Socceroos perspective – by being prepped, on-the-job, on what kind of things are expected at senior level.
Aspro, or Thomas Deng, might be groomed to fill Trent Sainsbury’s out-stepping, ball-playing centre-back role. Scott Galloway, who began his career in the midfield before moving into a full-back position, might be taught to negotiate the teetering duties of the wing-back.
(AAP Image/Lukas Coch)
McGree, the latest young starlet to – we hope, for his sake, not unwisely – leave the A-League after too short a debut, might be asked to mimic the subtle cerebral shifting and passing of Mark Milligan, so as to one day replace him like-for-like in the senior midfield. This is the purpose of the youth teams, is it not?
A conveyor belt does not deliver its contents to the end of the line as unformed, vague assets; no, the finished product, finally brought into the senior limelight, should be purpose fit to slot right in, even better than the part it’s replacing.
Ange’s persistence, his ideals, must bleed down the ranks, and might also – provided they are deemed worthy by a stern litmus test, say, a World Cup – linger after he has left the post. Systemic consistency at all national levels can only be good for the long-term prospects of our senior team. The sooner Gombau impresses on his shining charges what might become known as the ‘Socceroos Philosophy’, the better prepared they’ll be.
Ruudolfson
Guest
Teaching the basics of the game should put in as a more important priority than focusing on formations and tactics, i still see too much emphasis on that than teaching the skills the players need to go into the next stage.
Paul
Guest
Sorry I meant u7 to u11. U6 is when children are still finding out if they are enjoying the game. My comment is that from u12s up, there shouldn't be mandated formation which is what the national curriculum mandates as 4-3-3 only. Coaches should play the formation that suits the players they have be it 4-4-2 diamond, 4-4-2 flat, 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3, 4-1-3-2, 4-1-4-1 or even 3 at the back. Our youngsters must learn there are different formations and not play one formation only
j,binnie
Guest
Paul - You talk a lot of sense in this comment but couldn't help but notice a slight discrepancy in your argument. You rightly single out the ages of 7-12 as a time whenthe teaching of skills should be concentrated on (the original time frame was 6 - 12),but then go on to say you had your "under 12 team" play various "numbers game" systems. Surely one point doesn't beget the other.??????. Cheers jb.
j,binnie
Guest
Ken - "Perhaps Olympic football doesn't grab everyone" is a statement made showing a lack of knowledge. During the 1984 Olympics held in the USA,specifically Los Angeles, Adidas undertook, at their expense, a fiscal examination into what effect the inclusion of football in the Games had on the overall end result. It was found that without the football tournament the Games would have been a financial disaster, and remember, no new stadia were built for those games ,existing stadia were used. The final and semi final matches had to be moved from LA to Pasadena, where the Rosebowl could cater for 100,000 crowds.The Colosseum in LA could only cater for 60,000. To the best of my knowledge ,having an Olympic Games without a football tournament has never been mentioned since that investigation. Money talks. Cheers jb.
bobbym
Guest
have to ay if Chile was on Target they would have won by 3 goals
Ruudolfson
Guest
Do you realise all German youth teams play 4-3-3 as well right? Agree about elite coaching, which is why we need elite clubs running the academies with the best and talent at their disposal. Also football needs to be year round, australia biggest problem is the season length. Around the world they play all year round.
Paul
Guest
It is not Gombau who can breed a new generation. It needs a national approach and Gombau is tainted, imo, with the Postecoglou brush. To breed a new generation, we need a lot of coaches to equip young players from age 7-12 with skills. Most coaches, including me, are ill equipped to give players that kind of skill acquisition. So the grassroots associations, NPL and A-league clubs all should run clinics that are free of charge, except for costs such as ground hire costs etc during holidays. The grassroots associations should also give all coaches free of charge coaching courses. From age 12-17, The curriculum should NOT mandate that we follow the 4-3-3 formation but allow for the use the formation that suits the players that team has. For instance, when I had to coach my eldest boys u12 team on match day, I had to run a flat 4-4-2 formation until the grand final when I ran a 4-1-3-2 to counter the opposition rushes. There must not be a mandated formation. All coaches need to be given coaching both on tactics and the new rules or interpretations of rules to keep up to date. There won't be a golden generation till we equip our coaches and players. We should look at the German model!
Realist
Guest
Why not appoint the senior national coach to also be in charge of the Under 23's as well? The transition from that level to the senior squad would be much easier.
Realfootball
Guest
His jaw is permanently jutted. Don't read anything into it. There's nothing complex about the design. It's 343 and a bunch of guys chasing a ball, not quantum physics.
Ken Spacey
Guest
Perhaps Olympic football doesn't grab everyone but in Oz its a big deal and success attracts kudos and funding. To be fair to Viddie they didn't real back him up and hopefully they'll help Josep more. As for Griffin, I agree. It's never too soon to plan for the next international comp and as I said on another related topic, more real games is better. Sometimes we mention indigenous pathways in football but AUFC have brought a lot of African lads through during the Spanish era.
Ruudolfson
Guest
I trust him more than the Vidmar brothers put it this way! He's working with again a limited talent pool from Australia and overseas, it doesn't help certain politics is holding him back from certain clubs especially recently with Adelaide United. Shame on Griffin and the football director for showing their self-interest and ignorance just for a pre-season camp, playing for your country is the highest any player can get and to say to those you can't go smells of incompetence of the highest order. Australia's youth teams have struggled a lot of late, mainly to do the with lack of preparation, organisation and of course coaching. It also doesn't help we don't have a big talent pool and they don't play enough competitive football compared to our Asian rivals. But our young players are getting better technically and tactically its a matter of getting the final details spot on when it comes to tournament football. I wish Josep well, hopefully, the FFA back him with all the support that's required with this team.
Caltex Ten & SBS support Australian Football
Guest
Griffo - I believe Gombau is a shoe in for the national coach job---especially if he has a good tournament with the 23s.
Nemesis
Guest
What a difference that Chile game has made. Before the match, football writers were scathing in their assessment of the National Team. Condemned the coaching staff, the style of play, the system. They poured scorn on the quality of our players because they don't play in the big clubs (presumably they thought Fulham, Middlesbrough, Millwall, Osasuna were big clubs). Now, the mood has changed. Makes me realise which football analysts have something worth saying; and which ones are just hindsight experts.
Griffo
Roar Guru
My understanding, when Eric Abrams was appointed, that the former TD role at FFA was split between U16 and below (covered by Abrams), while Ange took on a unified national team development role for U17 and above. So while the focus has been on the senior NT role (as coach), not as much has been written about the other role Ange plays, or how exactly that has been setup and implemented. So while it sounds ideal to have a national approach, I hope it is more than a system of play, given how they can change on a coaches whim, or evolve in a general global sense. As pointed out, not too easy given the likelihood of players moving abroad as they get older of the opportunity presents. While better if the A-League provides the platform for these younger players, I also wonder if Gombau's recent selection is more about having majority of the players close at hand for training camps as well. It isn't unprecedented, given previous U23 and U20 selections. It also leads to questions on Ange's replacement: Gombau might be too early an appointment from 2018, but if he is around after 2020-2022 period, with Olyroo success and a potential national team role behind him (who is going to replace Ange's role here, Abrams?) then he could be a leading contender if he wishes to stick around. Really, Ange's replacement is going to be even more critical for a number of reasons, including not undoing any good work or foundations that has started in national teams TD role. I cannot see Ange not having some say and recommendations with that and the coaching position, either.
punter
Guest
Great article Evan, again, really enjoying your insights on football in this country. This to me was the most important message, I have been watching Australia play for over 40 years & this change is fraught with danger, but something we need to change to a footballing nation; 'although there have been many legitimate questions raised over Ange’s system and the wisdom behind it, there can be no argument against the assertion that, if we are going to be playing a certain way at the senior national level, we must have unity of message. The current system may not succeed in the upcoming crunch qualifiers, let alone at the World Cup proper, but its long-term prognosis is surely fatal if the next generation spend their national duties learning to play in a totally different way.'