Pim Verbeek's Socceroos Squad Is Justified

Goal.com's Chris Paraskevas runs the rule over the Dutchman's provisional selections.
By Chris Paraskevas
May 13, 2010 5:14:00 AM

So Pim Verbeek has announced his provisional squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

It is a collection of players typical of his reign as Socceroos manager: devoid of any A-League stars save for one (Jason Culina – who up until this season was a regular with PSV) and having ignored the calls for in-form but untried trio Eddie Bosnar, Sasa Ognenovski and Joel Griffiths. Can it be said that the Dutch manager has disappointed with his selection? Not really, considering we knew what to expect after over two years of relying on a core of hardened veterans to achieve qualification.

There is certainly a case for the inclusion of the aforementioned Asian-based players and especially Sydney FC duo Alex Brosque Simon Colosimo, who on the basis of their performance in the A-League this season arguably should have warranted a place at least in the provisional squad. In truth it is unlikely that any of the five would have made the final cut for South Africa, which is perhaps why Verbeek has instead elected to call up the likes of Tommy Oar and James Holland, for whom the preparations will serve a developmental purpose.

Having said that, there is nothing to gain from their inclusions for Verbeek unless he decides to take the younger members of the squad to the final tournament, an unlikely scenario given his selections for crunch matches in the past. It begs the question then as to why the likes of Michael Beauchamp, Jade North, David Carney and even the vastly experience Craig Moore have been preferred to Bosnar, Ognenovski and Griffiths, where the latter group are conspicuously fitter and more in-form.

The musings of National Technical Director Han Berger yesterday perhaps gave the best insight as to the logic behind Verbeek’s choices; the fact is that the manager would have had limited time to brief players unfamiliar with his coaching style and system, while at the same time nurturing a number of his bigger stars to a state of match readiness. Aside from the tactical adaptation that the incoming players would have had to make, consider also the need to familiarize the entire squad with each other’s playing styles and habits; the current collection of players know each other’s games inherently, Australia’s greatest strength heading into the tournament.

That familiarity will allow Verbeek to slot any of his squad members into the starting line-up without concerns about upsetting team balance and chemistry: Beauchamp, Moore, Neill, Milligan and North for example have all played alongside each other in defence at some point over the past 24 months. Particularly in the area of defence, the ability to communicate and operate on a level of immediate understanding is crucial to the way systems operate, which is what makes Moore’s inclusion understandable despite his farcical club situation.

Familiarity | The Socceroos know each other inherently

Yet no amount of telepathic understanding between players will be able to compensate for disadvantages in mobility and speed. The fact remains that a number of the players selected, questions remain about sharpness. Whilst Moore brings with him all of the experience of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, will that be able to help him if he is isolated by a German striker of the ilk of Miroslav Klose, who one would imagine might easily be able to skip around the 34 year-old? Similarly, will Harry Kewell have the confidence to be able to beat defenders who will be younger, stronger and fitter than he is at the moment?

Of course, the likes of Moore and Kewell bring with them a number of qualities that are rather more subtle and that those outside of the national team set-up might not be able to identify easily. Verbeek has spoken about the former’s leadership qualities in the past and even if he wasn’t to take to the pitch at the tournament, one can imagine the effect he might have on his replacement with a few simple words to calm the nerves before kick-off. Similarly, the psychological boost of having the likes of Kewell, Bresciano and Moore on the pitch and in the camp is something that cannot be quantified among the younger members of the squad.

The question also remains as to whether the alternatives to a number of the players Verbeek selected are in fact better alternatives. The likes of Ognenovski, Bosnar and Griffiths are fashionable at the moment but most fans and analysts haven’t had the chance to study their performances as consistently as Verbeek and his coaching staff who, by virtue of their rather more lengthy football qualifications, are in a far better position to judge.

Perhaps the best way to describe Verbeek’s selection is thus: whilst they aren’t adventurous, all of his call-ups can in some way be justified.

The best justification of course will come in the form of success in South Africa itself. On first glance at the list of players, it will be a succession of gritty rather than glamorous performances that will get Australia into the second round and in such circumstances, perhaps the likes of Moore will indeed flourish.

Probable final squad:

Goalkeepers: Mark Schwarzer, Brad Jones, Adam Federici

Defenders: Lucas Neill, Craig Moore, Mark Milligan, Michael Beauchamp, Scott Chipperfield, Luke Wilkshire

Midfielders: Brett Emerton, Vince Grella, Tim Cahill, Mile Jedinak, Marco Bresciano, David Carney, Jason Culina, Carl Valeri

Strikers: Dario Vidosic, Nikita Rukavytsya, Josh Kennedy, Scott McDonald, Harry Kewell, Brett Holman

http://www.goal.com/en/news/1863/world-cup-2010/2010/05/13/1922328/world-cup-2010-comment-pim-verbeeks-socceroos-squad-is