Aaron Mooy’s deadline-day move to Mat Ryan’s Brighton and Hove Albion ensured the Socceroos’ English Premier League contingent remained at a measly two for the 2019-20 season.
In Germany, Mat Leckie and Brandon Borello fly the Aussie flag while in Holland we have a handful of Socceroo hopefuls plus Trent Sainsbury, who has been told he can leave PSV.
The waning number of Socceroos in top-flight European leagues is not a new phenomenon.
Australians have struggled to consistently break through in Europe since the days of Mark Viduka, Harry Kewell, Vince Grella, Mark Bresciano et al in the early-to-mid 2000s, despite the Socceroos’ qualification for the 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 World Cups.
That alone suggests that the number of players playing in Europe’s best leagues is not the standalone metric by which Australia’s player development should be judged on.
Of more concern is that Australia’s record at the World Cup finals has declined with each qualification, while our youth representative teams continue to falter.
Results are not everything at youth level, but almost every nation which goes on to win a World Cup has enjoyed success at youth-level tournaments, be they FIFA World Cup competitions or within their local confederation.
The A-League has delivered a greater level of professionalism to the sport in Australia at a senior level but has done little to invigorate a stalling youth system.
Football Federation Australia Technical Director Rob Sherman has slammed the current system this week and warns that Australia should not be surprised if it does not qualify for the next two World Cups.
(AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald’s Dom Bossi, Sherman said, “Other nations in our region are investing quite heavily in youth development and they’ve gone to centralised models in most cases.
“We need to make sure that we protect and encourage investment in youth development, and competition is fundamental to that, and setting the competition structure to enable that should be something of a priority.”
But hold on a minute…
Did Australia not have one of the most successful centralised football development programs in the world not even 30 years ago?
Were we not producing an incredible amount of football talent despite the unique geographic challenges we face and the intensely competitive sporting landscape?
Were our talented youth footballers not playing ten to 11 out of 12 months a year thanks to regional tournaments, state representation and national youth championships on top of their club commitments?
I am talking, of course, about the now-famous (and famously defunct) AIS program and supporting club and representative infrastructure which helped to identify, train and refine countless talented Australian footballers.
Even before the existence of such a program, youth identification and selection seemed a far more rigorous pursuit.
I was recently chatting to former Socceroo Alan Davidson about his youth football journey in the 1970s.
In his junior days, he had to be one of the best three players in his club team at Altona City to be nominated to trial for regionals.
At those trials, he had to prove himself as one of the best to play in the Western Region team, where he would play against the best kids from the north, south and east regions.
He had to be among the best at the regional tournament in Victoria to be selected to trial for the Victorian team.
Then he needed to survive countless rounds of cuts to make the Victorian team which would compete at National Youth Championship.
He had to repeat this at the under-13, 14, 15 and 16 levels, each year completing the same rigorous process regardless of how well he had performed the year prior.
At the end of the under-16 National Youth Championships, he was selected for the first Young Socceroos team which would attempt to qualify for the World Youth Championships.
He was playing football all year round.
Of course, even this system had its problems.
Davidson himself was cut from the under-16 Victorian team because a coach believed he was too small, only to eventually get recalled due to another player getting injured.
No doubt, other talented players will have suffered similar fates because the coach of the day did not rate them or valued physical attributes more than technical ones and such biases or deficiencies would need to be educated out of the system.
Despite its faults, this system allowed for constant evaluation, identification and tracking of player development year-on-year.
As this evolved into the more centralised AIS which eventually produced the Kewells and Vidukas of our golden generation, Australia had its own central hub where talented players could be refined following their identification as early as possible.
Since the dismantling of this central system, the responsibilities for this critical piece of Australia’s footballing puzzle has laid largely with semi-professional clubs with limited resources.
What’s more, in the rare instances they have succeeded in producing players for A-League clubs or the national team, they have received no financial reward for doing so, limiting the incentive – other than the feel-good notion that this Socceroo or that A-League player started at their club – for clubs to pursue youth development more aggressively.
Don’t get me wrong, a strong club system is vital to Australia’s long-term success in football, and the current state of youth development in our game is a multifaceted issue that needs a multi-pronged approach.
However, the lack of a centralised football development program which focuses on identifying the country’s best talent as early as possible and placing them in elite, nurturing environments that focus on their individual development has been absolutely detrimental to youth development in this country.
The return to such a system will not solve all of Australia’s developmental woes alone but must be a central part of the overall solution.
Punter
Roar Rookie
Back yonder, it was a trickle, now it's a huge waterfall, from Africa, Sth Americans & Eastern Europeans. You think back to Craig Johnston (listen to his podcast with Matty Johns, amazing), he was working hard for himself, supported by his family. When Eastern Europeans worked hard & played in the top leagues, they were supporting their family. When Sth Americans worked hard & played in the top leagues, they were supporting their extended families. When Africans worked hard & played in the top leagues they were supporting whole villages back home. The youth of today have greater competitions then any of our Golden Generation time.
Barca4life
Guest
To me what it takes is a vision, a vision to grow the game and the level required when competing internationally. Can anyone remind me if this has ever happened before? Just like with the creation of the independent aleague, you need strong leaders in this field to take the standard into another level and inspire the rest to take action. Whether it be a centralised model or club based it must work for everyone involved, there needs to be encouragement in investing and to get a return on investment. Of course we lack a football culture but this has also been like this in the ‘wogball’ days now we have more kids playing than ever before in our history, what does this mean? The potential is in front of us we just need to figure out how to get the best of out it. And now with the enormous challenges we face internationally it’s the time the people concerned at the top come together and create a vision for not just protecting our position especially in the growing market of Asia where they are pouring millions of dollars but also for future success at World Cup level and more. It just takes a vision where everyone is on the same direction.
Barca4life
Guest
Make SAP begin from age 6 instead of 9. I’ve seen the benefits of SAP with the right coaching and I can tell the technical level of the players is the highest I’ve seen with juniors in a long time. Why waste time on the discovery phase when you can teach technique much younger? Tom Byer(who can cause debate by his methods) believes football starts from home with a ball at a kids feet and learning the art of repetition then before they reach club land. I also think futsal should be made mandatory as well, which has a hard emphasis on technical ability and skill. However we do have great potential in Australia and there is always good players around, we just need to work harder and smarter especially when the game overall lacks in funding. I also the player development environment and pathways have to be a lot better, the old NSL era had better pathways and an overall better environment when kids at 15 often made their first grade debuts. A lot has changed in player development in the world, but also the social issues is reflective of society around the world especially in first world countries so we should not feel down about it. I’m curious what findings Rob Sherman finds as potential solutions.
Admiral Ackbar
Guest
I think the paradox is that the kids that are willing to practice ball skills for hours each day OUTSIDE of club training probably come from poor immigrant backgrounds that cannot afford the fees to play club football.
Winnie the Pooh (Emperor of China)
Guest
Australia as the unique problem of too many different sports to chose from. Do academies even work? We never won a world cup with the AIS. Never qualified for a World Cup. How many players from the EPL academy teams ever become even lower level professionals? It is pretty damning the evidence against academy's.
Beach
Roar Rookie
And would their parents want them to? I would never dream of encouraging my kids to focus on football to the detriment of their brains. I’m not talking gaming here. But the level of sacrifice people are talking about requires a huge gamble from whole families on the slender promise of a professional football career. Then there’s the question of maintaining interest. While I love my football I struggle to understand how anyone can build a whole life around it without going insane with boredom. Basically to be a professional footballer you need a very specific set of conditions, among which is a lack of other options for advancement.
Onside
Guest
The quality of underage football played now is far superior to what it was 20/30 years ago . Funny enough kids can now access all sorts of skills and info on WWW. The A-League has had a positive influence in that the pathways for coaching has resulted in many skilled coaches involved with junior programs. I have no idea of numbers, but anecdotally , there seems to be many more kids playing football than ever. Every ' A grade' ( I made that up) city club has an extensive junior training program across all ages linked to an A League club. My grandkids are involved with a Brisbane club where they have to compete every year for a spot in their elite underage team ,and these teams are coached by people who have had overseas experience. The quality of football these kids play would surprise most people. And my point is, Australia is getting there.
Matthew Galea
Expert
Fair comment, Waz. And I agree. Australia's youth development issues are undeniably linked to a society where kids exercise less and play less - meaning there are fewer players in the "talented player" pool. But while this is obviously a factor, I just feel like the current system isn't doing enough to identify and capture the best players and develop them as individuals. I just found it interesting that in his comments during the week, Sherman was talking about the benefits of a centralised system - which is exactly what we used to have. I remember when I was a kid, team-mates having to go and trial for Victorian teams and then playing in regional teams during the summer so they were constantly having to prove themselves and earn selection for the next team - so they were constantly being pushed to improve and excel. As a wider point, the AIS wasn't the be-all and end-all - that's not what I'm trying to suggest. It was a place where kids who had already been identified as talented could go and perfect their game in a professional environment. Obviously, a lot of work had to go in beneath the AIS to identify kids and - as you point out - we were perhaps dealing with a society where kids grew up playing a lot more football than they do now and hence were better players for it.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
accessibility? yes, but I think it's more scouting than access. I'm assuming the A League academies are selective, which I think is the case now (but I'm not sure). We want to ensure that we get to most (if not all) the real talent Australia has to offer. I'm sure that right now many of the academies are not scouting widely, as per a comment I made yesterday about not being aware of the talent in NPL until FFA R32 (related to CCM article).
Redondo
Roar Rookie
True Fadida, there's no doubt tech is a factor as well. That's why sport in schools is so important, both for the health of our kids and the health of our sports. On that score, PE has been an abysmal waste of time in all the schools my children and I have had any connection with.
Kannga2
Roar Rookie
I meant to end on , how many kids in Australia these days are ready to make that sacrifice
Kannga2
Roar Rookie
The mental fortitude required to practice hard enough to make it in one of top 3-4 leagues in Europe is very demanding and requires an indulgence and passion from an early age .
Griffo
Roar Guru
There are a lot of variables with youth development and what might be improved: * 'kids on iphone' may seem a no brainer but it is more to do with changes to recreational space availability, access, and kids being able to go there on their own (traffic vs safety) compared with the past * football seen as another after school payed activity, one night a week + a game; elite level and academies greater time but greater expense - not everyone who can or would benefit has access * development as a cost making exercise, not a future ROI * not investing in raising coaching standards (low/no fee courses), nor value in grassroots level coaching as a career progression (in particular if you spend money on courses) * narrow availability of elite training gives a narrow talent pool... ...and so on Agree on the AIS, too. It was great but it only had a narrow intake each year as a finishing school. More of the elite level coaching, many more times a week, available to all would create a greater talent pool so that 0.1% that might make it is greater in numbers. Increasing professional teams (therefore academy numbers) a great start, but supporting NPL and just clubs in general to facilitate development. In greater numbers also is game time throughout the year - Y-League being slashed shows part of the problem in managing budget lines - rather than just six months. Could also say that much earlier than that Australia needs to find a way to get the ball on the feet of all kids to a much greater degree - such as school based programs - and to increase a schools based competition system in higher density population areas to provide competition, training, exposure to the game as part of everday life. This also does not need to focus on 11v11 field football either: schools could generate more futsal teams potentially than full field football, and would have greater available space (basketball/netball courts) than full fields...
Fadida
Roar Rookie
Agree. Had globalisation come earlier many of our "golden generation " may not have broken through in Europe
Fadida
Roar Rookie
I don't think it's the increasing Asian influence, rather the rise of technology and kids having many more options. As a kid we came home from school and could either watch the 2 channels of non kid friendly tv or go outside and play sport. Throw in too busy parents and you have the problem. Newcastle is still very mono cultural, but kids are straight inside on devices /games consoles
Fadida
Roar Rookie
I agree that more young Australians need to get given game time, especially ahead of average imports. I can't believe that the Jets couldn't find a better home grown player than Jair for instance. Berengue before Mcgree was madness. Hopefully with more teams there'll be more opportunities However , whether a player makes It to a high level or not has already been decided before then. Technique and game intelligence is acquired, or not, by the early teen years.
Fadida
Roar Rookie
Agree. There's a trend to look back at the AIS days with nostalgic longing. What was the age of intake? 15-16? Most of the groundwork was done. The way forward is A-league academies. Let's hope the quality of and accessibility to them improves
Football #1
Guest
Football will be and always be played and watched by kids all over the world but more so if there parents watches games every weekend its about having a passion for the game and the kids developing that passion as well thats where it starts but making it harder to watch football in this country is killing the opportunity to create that dream in the kids minds that they themselves can one day play in the HAL or overseas if they are good enough .. The HAL should have had at least two or three games broadcasted live on free to air, alot of families just cant afford foxtel these days.. Though that is only the tip of the iceberg along with outrageous fees for kids with hardly no pathways to play pro football here, i have a cousin that fell into the same situation after his club could not provide him any further progress of his development here he left for England 6 months ago where he is trialing for nottingham forrest youth team (his 14yo) but if there was already a national second division in place where the kids here can see somewhere they can aim for and from there comes the pro game time and experience to prepare them for the HAL or other overseas opportunities.. Though i kinda see some light at the end of the tunnel now that Gallop is gone from the FFA and they no longer have control of the HAL, we just need to change what is not working and see how it goes as it cannot hurt us more than where we are at ATM
Nemesis
Guest
Fully accept standards will rise when you have the best training together every day. So, the question then becomes: do we want an AIS with 20 of the best footballers training together? Or can we raise the standards for the State Institutes & replicate the best parts of the AIS system across Australia? Instead of 20 kids in Canberra, we suddenly have 120 kid across Australia (States), or more if clubs are involved.
Waz
Roar Rookie
“there are some community clubs who would be more than competitive against these SAP teams.” Maybe. But that’s not necessarily the point of SAP which is about putting skills into kids not necessarily make a team more competitive (the two normally follow but don’t confuse the purpose of SAP).