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Socceroos players want Graham Arnold to continue his tenure as coach after the World Cup. Arnold’s contract expires at the end of the cup in Qatar, with the 59-year-old non-committal about his future.
But Arnold is making a compelling case to be offered a fresh contract after becoming the first Australian-born coach to lead the Socceroos to a World Cup win.
Australia’s 1-0 triumph against Tunisia in Doha has placed the nation on the cusp of qualifying for the knockout phases of the cup for only the second time.
Beat or draw with Denmark on Wednesday (0200 AEDT Thursday) and Arnold will join his Dutch-born mentor Guus Hiddink in 2006 in steering the Socceroos out of their group.
Socceroos striker Mitch Duke says Arnold deserves to be offered another deal. “That’s completely on him to see if he wants to continue,” Duke told reporters. “But for me, personally, I have obviously loved working under Arnie.
“I love the way he coaches, I love the atmosphere he creates in camp and if that he wanted to do that, to continue on, I back him 100 per cent. But that is obviously an individual thing for him.
“He has been doing it for this whole journey, it has not been easy. But I am sure every lad in this team would like to see him continue on.”
Arnold’s position was in danger during Australia’s troubled qualification for the cup before Football Australia backed him publicly in late March this year.
And Duke said the culture created by Arnold was crucial in Australia’s first win at a World Cup in a dozen years – only Dutch duo Hiddink and Pim Verbeek, in 2010, had overseen a victory at football’s showpiece tournament.
(Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
“One of the key words is family. And belief. And that is what Arnie has created in this group over this four-and-a-half-year period,” Duke said.
“We are a family. The lads definitely feel that vibe every time we come into camp, it’s a brotherhood. It has been brilliant, everyone backs themselves and they back their mates.
“And we all feel like we could go to war with each other and that is the belief and trust in that family environment that we have built over these years. It has got us through some tough times when the outside maybe wrote us off a little bit.”
Meanwhile, Australia’s players hope their World Cup exploits will convert casual fans into avid soccer supporters.
Eight members of the 26-strong Socceroos squad in Qatar currently play in the A-League and a batch of others, including captain Mat Ryan, have graduated from the domestic league to play worldwide.
The Socceroos want their performances in Qatar to generate interest in the A-League from people who tune into their sport every four years, during a World Cup.
“It deserves that respect and that attention and it is only going to grow, and get more respect, the better we do on the national stage,” said Duke.
“We (Socceroos) have been doing a brilliant job and I hope it does turn more heads, brings more attention, because the game deserves it.”
Japan-based Duke said the standard of the A-League was “very much underestimated and not as respected, probably globally, as it should be”.
“If you speak to a lot of foreigners that go to that league, they do say it’s a shock to the system, about how physical is it and the quality that is there,” he said.
“So hopefully that just keeps growing the attention. And I would love to see that happen after this World Cup and be more in the conversation.”
Defender Kye Rowles, who joined Scotland’s Heart of Midlothian this year from the Central Coast Mariners, also hoped support would flow to the domestic league after the Socceroos’ World Cup.
“This squad is made up of a lot of A-League players and they’re contributing massively to us moving forward and what we have already achieved so far,” Rowles said.
“If we could get their attention for the league back home as well, week-in, week-out, it would be massive for the future.
“It could contribute to those kinds of players getting into the Socceroos and continuing to build the national team to a higher level and getting the A-League the respect it deserves.”
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