The man most qualified to talk about what Australia must do to compete in Asian football is now persona non grata with many observers of the Australian game.
Ange Postecoglou has started the new Japanese season with two league wins and a draw in charge of Kanagawa giants Yokohama F. Marinos, although his high-octane outfit went down to Shonan Bellmare in a League Cup derby in midweek.
Postecoglou was labelled a mercenary by plenty of critics who had no idea he held a long-standing interest in Japanese football years before joining the Tricolore. Australian football’s loss is evidently the J. League’s gain.
The former Socceroos boss has been telling everyone for years now about how Japanese youth teams are light years ahead of our own, but he ran into a problem that seems to be unique to the Australian game.
No one’s listening.
And we’ve now reached a point where standing around scratching our heads as to how J. League teams are so vastly superior to A-League opponents has become Australian football’s signature move.
Ange Postecoglou (Photo by Steve Christo/Corbis via Getty Images)
“Our position in Asia, my view is it’s more fragile than it should be,” Football Federation Australian chairman Chris Nikou told reporters this week ahead of Australia’s impending bid to host the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
Perhaps when he gets a spare moment he can hop on a plane up to Japan’s second-largest city and have a chat with his close personal friend Postecoglou about what Australians can learn from the Japanese.
Or maybe we should just ask Mitch Duke?
He’s been the Wanderers’ best player since joining from Shimizu S-Pulse, and having spent four seasons in the top two divisions of Japanese football, perhaps he knows a thing or two about how they approach the game?
But the trouble is that any time someone proffers an opinion on the sort of things Australian football needs to do to move forward, they get shouted down or summarily ignored by a plethora of competing voices.
That’s probably why Graham Arnold was roundly criticised by a couple of A-League coaches as soon as he announced his Olyroos squad to play a few friendlies in Malaysia ahead of next year’s AFC Under-23 Championship.
I’m not suggesting that Kevin Muscat or Markus Babbel don’t have a point when they question the value of removing important players from A-League squads to play in underage international friendlies.
I’m simply highlighting the fact that even at the very top level of the game, Australian football’s priorities are all over the place.
Kawasaki Frontale started nine Japanese players in their 1-0 win over Sydney FC in midweek, and brought three more off the bench.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima started ten against Melbourne Victory. Besart Berisha didn’t even make their AFC Champions League squad.
But talking about how Kawasaki introduced Manabu Saito off the bench for him to promptly score the winner against Sydney FC makes for uncomfortable reading, because he learned his football through five years in Yokohama F. Marinos’ youth set-up.
So we just ignore that fact.
Meanwhile, Australian clubs announce grand plans to take A-League games to South-East Asia at the same time as denouncing plans to introduce a 3+1 rule.
Brendan Hamill of the Wanderers looks dejected (Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)
Then Nikou says the FFA needs to shore up support from the Asian Football Confederation for a Women’s World Cup bid at least four other Asian nations could potentially bid for.
Our whole approach to Asian football remains a mish-mash of misplaced bravado and blind ignorance.
As things stand, the A-League will soon lose an automatic AFC Champions League qualification spot on rankings points to Thailand.
That’s about our level.
At this moment in time, most A-League players simply aren’t good enough to compete with Asian talent.
The sooner we acknowledge that – and start investing some time, thought and funding into youth football – the quicker we can begin to turn things around.
Punter
Roar Rookie
Apaway, not many, I think Spurs has the most & a few at Liverpool. This is the same argument I use for those who say we used to produce a lot top league players in the GG time. The English speaking type players (relying more on physical) are struggling in current trend where 1st touch is far more important & the Africans are also replacing a lot the physical (fitness, speed, strength) type players & far cheaper. As for Brexit, like everything involved with Brexit, it's a complete unknown.
apaway
Roar Guru
Punter There may be some confusion about the EPL and "English football" though. As a long-time admirer of English football, I just wonder how many of the players in those 4 teams that have made Champions League quarter finals are English. I also wonder what effect Brexit will have on the EPL...?
David V
Guest
It wouldn't mean he was worth any kind of contract, taking the place of homegrown players who could do more. It was more an insult to people who've played the game all their lives and work hard to earn a place in a professional team.
chris
Guest
Yes LH - these AFL "superstars" who can't even beat Ireland.
David V
Guest
Singapore can be a good example to use in terms of both trying to develop local talent and a local league in face of the huge elephant in the room which is European football. Singapore is a market which receives a huge amount of European football with English football being especially popular. It's the same in other SE Asian countries. The thing is that SE Asia is some way off the pace even in Asian terms football-wise, not being at the level of the East Asian (Japan, South Korea) or Middle Eastern teams. Perhaps they've just accepted it?
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
I flicked through one of the AFL games, women I think, and the score was 54-1. Exciting stuff huh?
Paul
Guest
Could yet happen if Brexit convinces Northern Irish to join the Republic. Though would United Ireland assume the chair at IFAB?
Redondo
Roar Rookie
I agree.
Glorious
Roar Rookie
Agreed @Stu ... Australian football needs to focus on Australian football and forget about comparisons to other leagues and other sports. Chest-beating nonsense by people like Steven Lowy about becoming the number one Oz sport only attracts derision. Interestingly, a recent fan survey in Singapore found that the fans wanted to see more young Singaporeans and not necessarily more visa players. The S-League was rebranded as Singapore Premier League (with some other changes including ground-sharing) and attendance DOUBLED in the first season.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Niall Quinn is another. And who can forget Hans-Peter Briegel, a decathlete until the age of 17, when he decided to change from athletics to soccer and ultimately made a success of it, representing West Germany on 72 occasions.
chris
Guest
Tim some good points you make. Football in this country "suffers" from a disproportionate number of players to population. Put simply, there arent enough qualified coaches and facilities to cater for the massive junior base.
anon
Roar Pro
It's not like Bolt could have made the Mariners any worse. Didn't he score two goals in the scratch match?
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Who are you quoting? (I didn't say that in my post, although I'd agree they are pretty much on par with each other)
David V
Guest
Yep, the kind of ignorance that has led some in our own football community to think converting Usain Bolt to our game would work. A select few have been able to succeed and win medals at an elite level for two different codes - Kevin Moran (look him up) was one of them.
Fadida
Roar Rookie
Who?
Fadida
Roar Rookie
I must admit I've agreed with most of what nemesis had had to say for the past year. In a time of mass hysteria about Australian football he's been one of the most moderate and sensible posters
David V
Guest
South America and Africa can maintain their continental club championships (Copa Libertadores and CAF Champions League) despite the talent drain of the last three decades towards European leagues, albeit they have a continuous production line and can still have vibrant domestic competitions. The problem is that the AFC version lacks the aura of those tournaments and the rich tradition and mystique with it. The Libertadores and CAF Champions League have a legacy of memorable games and memorable teams which are still recalled on those continents years and decades later. The AFC version has not produced any of that.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
Mister Football: 'Matildas ... in commercial terms … might be on the verge of surpassing (the Socceroos)'. There is only one World Cup. The team that competes at the World Cup will be the more commercially valuable.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
anon: "Imagine how good the Socceroos would be if the Abletts, Betts and Riolis of the world picked up the round ball at a young age rather than a Sherrin." You're simply show your ignorance of football, and the skills required. First up, if they picked up the ball they would be fouled. They show no skills, in any game of AFL I've watched (which aren't many I admit), that could translate to soccer. none. You say our best footballers are in the AFL, I say that it's hand ball and punt kicks, nothing like football, at all.
Redondo
Roar Rookie
History is a funny old thing isn’t it – so many facts and so many interpretations.