Future Socceroos – Part 3

Welcome to the third part of my look at future Socceroos. This section is about midfielders and I’m glad to say that we’ve got a lot of healthy competition in this department.

Part One – Goalkeepers
Part Two – Defenders

Incumbents – Pim (and Guus before him) usually goes for a five men midfield, with two screening midfielders in front of the backs, then three attacking mids playing behind the lone striker. He usually chooses from the following:

Jason Culina – Once upon the time the great hope of Australian football, Culina had to live with the burden of expectation after his move to Dutch giants Ajax at the tender age of 20. Despite the high profile move, the utility player never got a serious chance at Amsterdam, and it wasn’t until he moved to Twente (where he spent time as a striker) that he had finally “arrived.” This was followed by a move to PSV, where he established himself at both club and national level. Prior to the arrival of Guus, Culina had always been on the fringe of the Socceroos, but is now one of the first names on the team sheet. An immaculate passer of the ball, he is one of the guys who gels the team together with his work rate and vision. The 30 year old is set to become the highest paid footballer in the A-League when he returns to play for Gold Coast next season.

Vinnie Grella – After spending two productive years in the NSL, it wasn’t long before the tough tackling Vinnie Grella made a switch to the Serie A with Empoli at just 19. In a league noted for its admiration of defenders, Grella won over plaudits and rose to become captain of Parma. This was followed by a big money move to Torino to round out a highly successful decade in Italy for him. At the start of this season, Grella moved to the Premier League with Blackburn, and has been a constant in the side. Grella’s international debut came with that famous victory over England in 2003, and is now a vital piece of the Socceroos jigsaw.

Mark Bresciano – One of the most sought after Socceroos, Bresh has been the target of several highly priced moves throughout his career (he became the most expensive Aussie with his move to Parma in 2002). Like Grella, Bresh’s move abroad has been to the Serie A, and in an uncanny circumstance, the two have shared the same clubs for a majority of their careers. Describing themselves as best mates, the two distinct playing styles of Bresh and Grella have come to compliment each other perfectly. Possessing bagfuls of flair and technique, Bresh is sometimes brought off the bench as the spark plug by managers of both club and country. Also very deadly with set pieces.

Brett Emerton – The model citizen of the Socceroos, Emmo’s commitment to the Green and Gold is unrivalled. Despite spending the past decade playing abroad – firstly with Feyenoord and now with Blackburn – Emmo always makes himself available to play for his country, even ignoring reprimands from club coaches. This commitment has see him rack up over 70 caps, and at just 30, he’ll have Paul Wade’s all time record in his sights. A fantastic dribbler who has genuine pace, his marauding runs down the right flank has seen him on many a highlight reel for both club and country. He also has an eye for goal, and has the size to challenge in the air effectively. Emmo can play as a right winger or wingback, and has also spent time up front. Possibly the most rounded footballer in the whole Socceroos side.

Mile Sterjovski – Without wanting to sound too harsh, Sterjovski is a cheap man’s version of Emmo. They possess similar qualities, but Sterj is just not as effective as the Blackburn winger. He’s bounced around a selection of clubs, but had his most productive spells at Lille and Basel. He’s currently playing at Derby in the Championship, with rumours of a move back to the A-League as a marquee player next season.

Timmy Cahill – This man needs no introduction, he shot into Australian sporting history when he scored the Socceroos’ first ever goal at a World Cup with his equaliser against Japan in 2006. He then of course gained legend status barely five minutes later when he struck again to give us the lead. Timmy’s had a very steady career progression, as he’s only had two clubs since arriving at England. Seven years, over 240 appearances and 60 odd goals at Millwall paved the way for a surprisingly cheap (1.5 million pounds) move to Everton in 2004, which has proven to be one of the best deals David Moyes has ever conducted. Timmy’s trademark, the late runs into the box behind defenders, is instrumental to the game plan of the Socceroos. As Pim usually only plays one striker, he needs the likes of Cahill to follow up into the box in support. In my humble opinion, Pim used him incorrectly as the lone striker against Japan, as I think this nullified his greatest weapon.

Harry Kewell – Finally, we arrive at Harry. The prodigal son of Australian football, he was the most famous footballer from our shores for nearly a decade, before injuries ripped into his career. The boy wonder began life at Leeds, and was part of the golden generation of youth players to have blossomed under David O’Leary in the late 90’s. The left sided winger mesmerised the Premier League with his close control, technique and pace, to the point where the Brits wanted to make him a citizen to solve their left flank problem. However, a controversial move to Liverpool was the start of his nightmares, as his injuries really began to ravage him, which in turn put him offside with the Liverpool fans. Played out of his skin in the second qualifier against Uruguay in 2005 to take us to the WC, and was unfortunately injured for our round of 16 match against the Italians. His recent move to Turkish giants Galatasaray has seen him playing and scoring regularly again, and hopefully this will lead to a return for the Green and Gold in the near future. Truly a champion player who’s potential was sadly never realised.

Potentials:

Carl Valeri – In his younger days, not much was known of Valeri in Australia, so imagine my surprise when I was playing good old Championship Manager (back in 01/02 I think) and I found an Aussie kid on the Inter youth squad! Unfortunately for him, he never got the chance to crack the star studded seniors ahead of him, and moved to Serie B side Grosetto, which he now captains. He has several caps under his belt, and is usually the backup to Vinnie Grella. At just 24, he’s the natural successor to Grella.

James Troisi – A relative unknown in Australia until he bopped up on the bench for Newcastle in a UEFA Cup match several years ago. Sadly, he never got to take the field for the Magpies, and was release by Kevin Keegan at the start of this season (about 5 minutes before King Kev himself got the boot). Was without a club for a while and there were rumours of him joining an A-League side, but eventually found a home in Turkey with Gençlerbirliği. Troisi is a winger who can hug both flanks and has an eye for goal. Depending on how he grows from here on in, he could be the successor to Emmo on the right.

Dario Vidosic – An exciting attacking midfielder who plies his trade at Nuremberg in Germany. Was the youngest scorer in the A-League when he was with the Roar, and caught the eye with his exciting style of play. He was another to suffer under the Graham Arnold regime when he wasn’t selected to go to Beijing. In-fact, he felt so cut by the snub that he threatened to quit the Socceroos and play for his native Croatia. However, FIFA ruled that he had committed himself to the Green and Gold already by playing U23 matches, thereby saving us a potential future star.

Mile Jedinak – The classy playmaker was instrumental in the success of Central Coast, before his talents were recognised by Turkish side Gençlerbirliği. A move in January to Turkey was seen as a great career move, and hopefully he can build on his decent start there to establish a successful career. The Socceroos hasn’t had a true playmaker like Jedinak for a while now, and Mile’s progression could see him cement a spot in the Green and Gold in the near future.

Nicky Carle – At 27, Carle’s definitely no youngster, but he remains one of Australian football’s greatest enigmas. He possesses flair and creativity comparable to the South Americans, plays regularly for Crystal Palace, but just cannot get a look in with the Socceroos. In 2007 he won the coveted Johnny Warren Medal as the best player in the A-League, and his subsequent move to Gençlerbirliği (these guys are starting to sound like an Aussie footballer farm) was meant to take him to the next step. He managed to get regular football with them, but Graham Arnold kept ignoring him for the Socceroos, and this trait has continued with Pim constantly giving Carle the snub. While his style may not be ideal for a starting XI berth, surely it’s wise to have a sparkplug like him in the squad to ignite the team if the situation arose. What’s going on?!

Michael Zullo – The diminutive 20 year old left winger from the Roar burst onto the scene last season along with fellow young gun Robbie Kruse. While Kruse’s stocks have dipped slightly, Zullo’s star has continued to rise, to the point where he is now in the Socceroos squad (the A-League one anyway). He possesses explosive pace and has shown a high degree of flair, often exciting the crowd as he takes on defenders. He’s been tutored fantastically by Frank Farina at Queensland, and at just 20 years old, there’s no rush for him to take off overseas yet.

James Holland – The central midfielder is the latest Aussie to move abroad, when he signed with Dutch high flyers AZ Alkmaar during the recent January transfer window. Holland had spent several successful years at Newcastle Jets, guiding them to the A-League championship last season. The highly rated 19 year old has represented Australia from junior levels, and has had several full caps under his belt. He’s definitely one for the future, and several years maturing in second tier European leagues will be extremely beneficial to his career.

Others to keep an eye on:
Tahj Minniecon, Queensland Roar, 20
Shannon Cole, Sydney FC, 23
Neil Kilkenny, Leeds United, 23