Ange Postecoglou reflects on 2015 in charge of the Socceroos and explains the scouting process to identify potential players
David Weiner FOX SPORTS December 08, 2015 6:00AM
THE Socceroos’ next World Cup qualifiers might be way off in March but don’t expect Ange Postecoglou to be winding down during the December holiday season.
The national team boss, who says he watches an average of five hours of football a day to keep abreast of his current Socceroos and those he has on his radar, is about to embark on more scouting as he looks to unearth his next gem ahead of the final two World Cup qualifiers from the opening group phase in March 2016.
Bradford City’s James Meredith is the most recent fresh face to enter the Socceroos’ ranks, in a year where Massimo Luongo took the Asian Cup by storm, before Aaron Mooy made his mark as an influential part of Australia’s XI.
With the opportunity to blood players further in the final two qualifiers in 2016 and a series of friendlies before the second phase begins, Postecoglou is eager to ensure every potential Australian available is being monitored on the Road to Russia.
“That’s probably the biggest part of my role at the moment, particularly with us being in a phase of creating depth,” he told foxsports.com.au.
“To make sure whoever is available to play for us, we get an opportunity to look and bring in if we feel it’s warranted.
“It’s about me watching a lot of games, keeping track of all the players and making sure whoever plays, we get a set of eyes on, be it mine, or Ante Milicic, or someone else. We track them for a while.”
Postecoglou has never been afraid to select a bolter and to test their wares in camp.
But while they might be shock selections to the general public, the Socceroos boss reveals the work that goes on behind the scenes to get to that point.
“A lot of the players, be it James Meredith, or guys like Aaron or Massimo Luongo, we track them for a long time before they’re selected,” he explained.
“People think they come out of the blue; James Meredith (we) pretty much started tracking when I first saw Mass Luongo. So it’s been a two year process. There are other players I’m doing that with right now; they’re probably not on the radar now but could be if they continue to make an impression.
Postecoglou says he has a database of players to track but then listens to “a tip or if someone highlights that they’re going really well”.
“Even someone like Milos (Degenek), who is with the Olyroos, we’ve tracked for quite a while. There was a bit of confusion over his status and nationality but we had someone like Craig Moore in constant contact with him so as soon as his eligibility became clear, we brought him in. It’s not just Socceroos players that I’m tracking, it’s at all levels.”
Postecoglou adds: “I’m pretty obsessive with these things — I tend to be the one … to put my eyes over it just to make sure to make we’re not missing anything.”
So how much football does a national team boss actually watch?
“I probably average about five hours a day; I’ll probably watch two to three full games every day then highlights or edited pieces for another couple of hours. Whether that’s live in the middle of the night, depending on my schedule, or during the day.”
Australia’s current crop of Olyroos will find Postecoglou’s remarks important, too. Not only do they have a crunch tournament in January in their bid to make the Rio Olympics, but it could be their door to a crack at stepping up to the next level.
“There’s certainly a few players I’ll be looking at giving some opportunities to in March and June. The bulk of the opportunities will come from players who perform well in that competition.
“That’s the most important one for us; we’ve already had Jackson Irvine, Josh Brillante, Chris Ikonomidis, Adam Taggart, who have already been a part of the national group. Milos, Mustafa Amini, Brad Smith, Jason Geria; they all play in positions where we lack a bit of depth and they’re now playing regularly or regular first team football.
“They’ve got a great opportunity to show what they’ve got in a tough competition. Anyone who steps up in that will be knocking on the door of the national team.”
Postecoglou has been diligent in building an expanded pool of players in recent years, but there’s still a couple of areas where opportunities beckon.
“As a broad perspective, fullback and still our striking role, we still haven’t found real consistency there besides Timmy (Cahill). They’re our two main areas. But it doesn’t mean we discount anyone else either.
“I thought we were pretty strong in midfield during the Asian Cup and still we’ve managed to bring Aaron Mooy through, who has become very influential. Tommy Rogic is getting stronger every time. It doesn’t mean we discount other areas. From our perspective we need to keep blooding players in certain areas just to make sure we’ve got plenty of cover and international experience.”
Indeed, that flexibility and depth can only aid Postecoglou’s vision.
“Through the Asian Cup we played in a particular way, but the emergence of Aaron and Tommy Rogic gives us some options. I’m always looking to evolve the team and our style of football and formation — I see it as something that is growing throughout the World Cup campaign. Having players like that in the mix allows us to get where we want to get to,” he explained.
“There’s a little bit of a misconception about me and what I do. I always tend to change things with Brisbane, or Victory, or national team. But regardless, home or away, I want my team to dominate and play in the opposition half. The way you day that with your formation you can change depending on the players you have and how you want it to evolve. Having those kind of players gives you the flexibility I’ve always wanted in my teams to change things and keep oppositions guessing what we do.”
It’s been a huge year for the Australian national set-up, headlined by the Asian Cup triumph in January and a stellar display against world champions Germany in a friendly during the year, while the green and gold are back in where they need to be in the first phase of World Cup qualifying.
Postecoglou explains that the reverberations of that have been felt around Asia, and in time, will be back home as well.
“Certainly there’s a fair bit of respect about (in Asia),” he said.
“The people in Asian football are aware of the transformation we’ve made and the regeneration of the team and a few of them are facing the same challenge now. Seeing us doing and have success has been of real interest to everyone, and the fact that I’m a local coach that has done it. Most of the Asian nations tend to go overseas, that’s had an impact as well.”
The Asian Cup win returned the Socceroos to the top of the billboard in terms of exposure on the national stage, and Postecoglou feels the flow-on effect of the triumph will only truly be felt in years to come.
It’s not dissimilar to the recent November 16 triumph, although Postecoglou feels the recent nostalgic celebrations were also a wonderful snapshot of how far the game has come as well.
“The biggest thing that hit me was how much the game has evolved. 10 years ago we celebrated qualifying for a World Cup and the coach is very much elevated to legend status, and two World Cups later we qualify for a World Cup and the coach is sacked.
“It just goes to show our expectations have risen as a nation, as they should, and qualifying for World Cups is no longer all we’re looking for. The public now, the football public in particular and the sporting public want more from the Socceroos than just qualifying. That’s pleasing for me because it shows the game is evolving all the time.”
http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/socceroos/ange-postecoglou-reflects-on-2015-in-charge-of-the-socceroos-and-explains-the-scouting-process-to-identify-potential-players/story-e6frf4l3-1227636656994