A Year On…

February 10th, 2012 | by: Jack | View Comments

I don’t like looking back on this tournament. What oh so nearly was, yet wasn’t. I’m sure David Carney feels the same.

Anyway, a review of the last 12 months seems in order.

The Good:

Revenge(ish)

It was only a friendly so it doesn’t count. If you think this, you are German. What matters here is that we, Australia, triumphed over one of the current favourites for Euro 2012, in front of a home crowd, with their strongest line-up minus Neuer, Ozil and Mueller.  We went into the game with our strongest line-up minus Tim Cahill. Think about that for a second. Our most gifted player.  Was also not playing.

The point I’m making was that was a performance that reignited hope after the Asian Cup Final. The tag of “bottlers” hung uncomfortably around. To make matters worse people weren’t sure whether we would see the Pim Verbeek inspired Australia that took on Germany in Sarf Efrica 2010, or the one that has the heart, drive and physical being that has embodied our culture of sport for over 100 years. We started badly. We looked adrift, like a group of individuals. But we worked and worked. We got a break, lucky some would say, through Carney, and Kewell won a penalty shortly afterwards. It wasn’t the most stylish way to go ahead, but it was equally satisfying. The Socceroos still cannot fight these big European teams man for man, and we will lose to them in the majority of cases. But we can still stand up to them and stand up tall, just like we do to any Asian team.

Iraq:

Fix. Ref not up to it. Cheating Aussies. Bugger off.

I praised the ref in my liveblog at the time. I stand by it. Iraq showed up not to play football, but to whinge and dive and moan. The AFC turning their back on the referee was shambolic, (they banned him for the rest of the tournament for those who don’t remember) a mass media campaign over a single referee is not the way any country should deal with what was such a heart-breaking loss to them, nor should any governing body pay attention to it. The match was a confirmation of what the group stages taught us, we could keep games tighter and play the ball on the floor, but our ability to deliver under pressure was questionable. It was no classic, but it exemplified our maturation as a team, as a soccer culture as a whole

Uzbekistan:

(The lack of decent highlights annoys me too alright?)
It was good to watch. Kruse got his first goal. Uzbekistan dazzled and scored some brilliant goals in the tournament up to that point, but we made them look ordinary.

Mile Jedinak.

For me, this man solved the Carl Valeri debate. He emerged at the Asian Cup to offer us a more cultured, attacking minded defensive midfielder, like Carl Valeri can be when on form.

He’s not Andrea Pirlo. But he’s an indispensable squad player, still young, sand helping Crystal Palace to spectacular things in the English League Cup this year. He’s an unsung hero who gets his job done without fuss, like Valeri can be when on form. But 3 yard sideways passes do not win you a game, Jedinak’s better all-round game could well do, and fills a hole in our team evident since the decline of Grella and Kasey Wehrman.

Josh Kennedy

7 Socceroos goals. Loads.

Brett Emerton, Kewell, and the A-League in general.

While Central Coast Mariners are running away with it a little bit, I’ve enjoyed this year more than any other. The quality seems much higher, and it’s one of the most difficult Finals Series to call since the inception CCM look good now, but they do have that priceless ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. While Brett and Harry haven’t torn up the League, the “buzz” they’ve created really has been beneficial.

The Bad

World Cup Qualifiers so far.

Oman away especially. The Saudia Arabia game was good if not great, and the Socceroos dealt with Oman fairly comfortably at home, but not only have they failed to stamp the mark on a fairly easy group, we have been playing with the same squad that played in the Asian Cup, plus Josh Kennedy. There’s been a distinct lack of ambition to phase out some of the less able players, and besides Spiranovic, no-one has really been bedded in to start Soccer matches for Australia, even if players like Brosque and Kruse have been given opportunities off the bench.

The Olyroos, i.e. the group of players that we will look to in 2014.

FOUR out of 6 group games played, all 0-0, except for a 2-0 loss Football at its best. Worryingly they seemed tactically outmanoeuvred like 0-0 was their only option. I’ll save major criticism until the end of the campaign but we’ll see.

Japan

Why David Carney vacated Tadanari Lee at the back post to give the front post a hug I have no idea. How Kewell missed of four his chances to beat Kawashima is a mystery. Why Kawashima wasn’t sent off for timewasting I don’t know. What was clear though, was how much we could bleed collectively for the Socceroos. The loss hurt, but it is on these moments we will inspire ourselves for 2014 and 2015. It wasn’t Italy 2006 by a long shot, but it hurt.

The Utterly Depressing

Matt McKay

Pre-August, this man was top of the “good” list. A talented workhorse of what is at heart a brilliant orchestrator of a midfielder and a team for the Roar, a brilliant tactical option for the Socceroos, out wide or in the middle, with an eye for a pass as good as this Isle has seen in recent years. But:

3 appearances with 2/3 of the season done. He’s trying to say otherwise, but he made the wrong move. Whatever Rangers are doing I have no idea. He hasn’t had too many injury problems. He played himself into mainstream European attention a year ago, now he may have to play back home. It’s a shame and it might work out. But the truth is, a talented player is spending some of his best years at a club where he doesn’t get picked. I fear for his Socceroos place. McKay represents, sadly, a worrying trend for young Australians. Seeing them ship off to Europe and back again (like Dario Vidosic). Australians struggle in European leagues outside our select bunch of elite players ( Cahill, Kewell, Schwarzer Emerton.)  While it’s good to see Australia’s finest in the larger leagues to act as role models, but the truth remains that the average Australian professional footballer still lacks something that can make them big in Europe. It could be a problem of tactics and movement, stemming from a lack of influence from countries that are not England. (as Craig Foster will tell you all about.) Maybe they just still lack the technical ability to strike a football like European players. But until Australia can make its average player play in the bigger leagues, maybe not just in Europe but around the world, the Socceroos will never make the jump to world football elite. While McKay is not set in stone to be one of these players, he currently represents the growing trend for young players that leave the A-League

Tim  Cahill

( I wrote this before he scored against Blackburn  for the record)

His only goals this year.

I really don’t know. If you watch Tim, there’s nothing blatantly wrong. He doesn’t seem to give the impression of a lack of effort, but his mind seems of. Too many times he’s hesitated on a trademark late surge into the box, for too long he’s tried to do too much with his head rather than his feet. For Australia, he struggles to emphasise that he is the man. The one we look to. Too often he sits and plays the easy pass, or makes the wrong decision. Cahill isn’t in decline as a footballer; it’s clearly a mental problem. It could simply stem from a lack of confidence given he hasn’t scored a goal in so long, but more worryingly it could be a lack of faith in his own ability.

If I was to be really skeptical, I’d say the problem could well sit with his current situation. Talented though he still is, his last shot at glory with the Roos passed at the 2011 Asian Cup. His role in 2014 will be probably as an experienced head off the bench a la Cuauhtemoc Blanco for Mexico. with Everton furiously stagnating in the mid table region of the declining Premier League, i’d place a good bet that all Tim needs is a change of scenery. I mean no offence to Everton; they are a likeable club with decent history and an underrated fan base. But for a player entering his twilight years, failing to play in European competition is probably not where Cahill imagined himself 7 years ago when he joined Everton.