Kanta's top goal to start first-up
BY JAMES GARDINER
02 Aug, 2010 04:00 AM
FRESH from leading the Young Socceroos to victory at the ASEAN Championships, Ben Kantarovski has set his sights on the next assignment - winning a place in the Newcastle Jets midfield for the A-League opener against Adelaide United.

Kantarovski returned from Vietnam yesterday after playing every minute in the Young Socceroos four games, the last of which was a rugged 1-0 win over Thailand in Saturday's final.

"It is always good to win a tournament, and the fact that we didn't lose a game added to the satisfaction," Kantarovski told The Newcastle Herald after arriving back in the city yesterday.

"The conditions were pretty tough. It was hot and humid and not ideal for playing quality football.

"But we worked very hard and managed to come away with the right results."

Jets coach Branko Culina was critical of the timing of the tournament, given that the A-League starts this week, but Kantarovski said it helped "top up my match fitness".

"I feel at my peak," the 18-year-old said.

"The treatment we received between games over there was tremendous.

"They really looked after us.

"Hydration was a big part of it and we had massages, ice baths, pool sessions . . . everything possible to help our recovery."

The Jets have today off training, which gives Kantarovski just three session to press his claims for a start at Hindmarsh Stadium on Friday.

Former Socceroo Kasey Wehrman has a mortgage on one of the screening midfield positions in Culina's preferred 4-2-3-1 formation.

Kantarovski starred alongside Wehrman in the opening three trial wins against Melbourne Heart, Northern NSW and Sydney United, but his commitments with the Young Socceroos have opened the door for Jobe Wheelhouse and Ruben Zadkovich, both of whom are coming off injuries.

Wheelhouse had double groin surgery and new signing Zadkovich had his start delayed by a fractured wrist and ankle problem.

"There are only two positions and about five or six of us fighting for it," Kantarovski said.

"It's good for the team and good for us. It will push everyone along and make us better players in the end.

"I'm not really thinking too much about it at this stage. I just want to get back to training and have some fun."

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Kanta has showed maturity beyond his years. Captain of the tournament-winning young socceroos and great performance in the pre-season games should have earnt him a place alongside Wherman. Imo he is a better player than Wheelhouse and the middle will have a good balance with the experience that Wherman has and the youth that Kanta has. He has been with the club for years and won player of the year in 07/08 he deserves to be a regular in the starting 11.

While I agree with you on most points, Kanta has one failing and that it his temper. Many times last season he blew his stake after getting mugged for the ball. Once he loses sight of the game he is lost and constantly finding himself out of position and having to chase his man.
Weherman will be a great teacher but I think for the first half of the season we'll see him coming off of the bench.
Hopefully in the second half he'll be playing in the Bundesliga.

Nice thread Marconi. :p

While I agree with you on most points, Kanta has one failing and that it his temper. Many times last season he blew his stake after getting mugged for the ball. Once he loses sight of the game he is lost and constantly finding himself out of position and having to chase his man.
Weherman will be a great teacher but I think for the first half of the season we'll see him coming off of the bench.
Hopefully in the second half he'll be playing in the Bundesliga.

Elrick and Zadko have played in the last 2 games but i think brockie has a slight niggle at the moment.

Dapuzzo and Abbas are also nursing niggles apparently.

would take Kanta's spot? Wheelhouse? Wheelhouse is the king of fouling.

Culina's scoop on Reds' new coach
BY JAMES GARDINER
05 Aug, 2010 04:00 AM


NEWCASTLE Jets coach Branko Culina was one of the few people in Australian soccer who did not need to consult Google when Rini Coolen was announced as the new boss at Adelaide United.

Coolen replaced Aurelio Vidmar last month, and although he worked as a professional coach in Holland for 12 years the Dutchman's appointment raised eyebrows.

But not with Culina, who will go head-to-head with the latest Dutch invader in the A-League opener at Hindmarsh Stadium tomorrow.

Culina's son and Socceroos midfielder Jason played under Coolen when he was coach at FC Twente.

The Dutchman also approached Culina when he was at the helm of Sydney FC in 2007.

"He was Jason's coach and actually applied for a job when I was at Sydney," Culina said.

"He contacted me and asked if I'd be interested in bringing him in as my assistant.

"He is a typical Dutch coach. Their philosophy doesn't change. That is the Dutch school.

"What you hear Melbourne Heart coach [John van't Schip] say, you will probably hear him say. It's just that the other has been here longer.

"Their philosophy is the same, it is about keeping possession, using wingers and so forth."

Coolen arrived in Adelaide three weeks ago and Culina does not expect he will have had enough time to make dramatic changes to their counter-attacking style.

"We know how Adelaide like to play," he said.

"The only uncertainty is what the new coach will do - whether he will want to change things or let it go for a little while before he puts his own stamp on it.

"It's hard to get people to change their habits. It takes time. If the team is used to playing defensively, they won't become an offensive team overnight.

"But what Adelaide have done better than last year is recruited some good players, namely Sergio van Dijk up front and midfielder Marcos Flores.

"They have added a lot of punch to their team, therefore they don't necessarily have to play on the counter-attack like they did last year. They will be far more formidable."

Though wary of the Reds, Culina has kept the focus on his own side.

"We will touch on Adelaide tomorrow a little bit," he said.

"It was important, with the lost time due to wet weather, that we focus on what we have to do first."

The Jets returned to the training pitch yesterday, but Culina has delayed naming a squad until this morning.

"We hadn't kicked a ball since Sunday and you could see we were a little bit rusty," he said.

"I was hoping to try a few things today, but with the heavy ground I was concerned they might get injured and it would take too much out of them."

Tarek Elrich, Jeremy Brockie and Sean Rooney, who are coming back from pre-season injuries, trained strongly but Culina remained noncommittal on their involvement.

"It is a matter of getting the right balance in the travelling party," he said.

The "If we jump, Hutcho dies ole ole" is my personal favourite