Roo debacle was on the cards

Pim Verbeek once told me that the problem with football in the Korean Republic was that the country got carried away by its success at the 2002 World Cup and placed unrealistic expectations on the national team.

Verbeek was Korea coach Guus Hiddink’s assistant when the Taeguk Warriors finished fourth in the tournament on home soil.

But the Koreans have struggled to live up to those heady standards.

Watching the Socceroos get flogged 4-0 by Germany in what will be remembered as the “Durban Disaster”, one would have been justified in pondering if the same thing has happened to Australian football.

After the Socceroos rose above all expectations to reach the last 16 at the 2006 World Cup, Australia’s football fraternity might have become guilty of erroneously thinking we had “arrived” as a football nation.

Outplayed, outclassed and outmanoeuvred for 85 minutes, the Socceroos were no match for a side that could defend, create and finish in a style befitting a country that has won the World Cup three times and reached the final on seven occasions.

It was very much a case of men versus boys. We never stood a chance.

The reason is that the current Socceroos side simply is not as strong and as quick as the one that took the world by storm four years ago and it is pointless - even unfair - to expect big things from the current group of players.

Some of them are under a fitness cloud, some have been cut by their clubs and others have not played regular first-team football this season.

Let’s not forget also that some players who took the field against the Germans hail from such small clubs as Gold Coast United, Sassuolo, Antalyaspor, Roeselare and Hull City and they were up against five Bayern Munich men who took part in the UEFA Champions League final against Inter Milan barely three weeks ago.

Nobody should not be judged by the club he plays for but this point is made to illustrate the huge disparity in stature between the two teams and why it is so wrong to expect too much from the Australian team, however hard it might try.

It is true that Verbeek raised several eyebrows by playing Tim Cahill as a striker after the Everton man was an abject failure in that position in a qualifying match against Japan in Yokohama.

It is true that the first match in a World Cup against none other than Germany is probably not the ideal time to experiment with Jason Culina as a playmaker when he spent all his Socceroos career as a holding midfielder.

It is true that defenders Lucas Neill and especially Craig Moore showed once again that they have become too slow for today’s quick forwards.

And it is also true that Cahill's sending-off was harsh. His tackle was crude at worst and deserved no more than a yellow card.

But these factors were not the main reasons the Australians crashed so spectacularly in Durban.

And the longer it takes us to acknowledge our team's shortcomings and start again with some fresh legs and realistic goals our national team will suffer, especially with the Asian Cup coming up in seven months.

Many have pointed out that there is still hope of getting through to the knockout phase and two wins against Ghana and Serbia would do it.

On the evidence of the first match, the Socceroos would be lucky to get two draws from their remaining two matches, let alone two victories.

Much was said about Germany’s supposed arrogance going into the match with Australia, especially from the jingoistic section of our written press.

Apart from the fact that Germany has every right to believe it should beat Australia and say so, we conveniently forget that we adopt the same condescending attitude whenever we play some Asian teams.

And let’s not even talk about the way we used to treat the Pacific countries when we formed part of Oceania.

Australia should take a good look at itself and stop being too touchy and precious. It should concentrate on trying to play better football.

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/socceroos/news/1008241/Roo-debacle-was-on-the-cards