By Damo Baresi - 27 Jun 2010 2:26 AM
The Socceroos World Cup Campaign[size=6][/size]
1st UP - GERMANY. ( The Crying Game )
Josh Kennedy, I am a fan of yours but despite you trying your best you have not played well for the past few months. Now you may have been injured, I heard reports that you had a back problem, fair enough.
But had you been able to play better in the lead up games & no doubt in training also then I am sure that Pim would have started with you in the Germany game.
The fact is that you are a one trick pony, that trick is you are tall & good in the air. Unfortunately for you the German centrebacks are also tall & good in the air, this cancelled your advantage out. [-x
Pim needed someone more mobile than you were at that stage, to run & hassle & pressure the German defence so they couldn't build up play from the back easily.
For this reason I believe Pim played Garcia up front, with Tim behind.
Culina was moved over to the left because Chippers had bad games against USA & Denmark. Culina was there to help Chippers to deal with the speedy & skilful Lamm.
Bresciano came good later in the tournament but he is not much cover for Chippers defensively against Lamm, also he was underdone & performed rather ordinary in the three warm up games.
( Our other left back, Carney. As we saw in the Serbia game, Carney is not much defensively. Against Krasic he looked like he had won a competition to play in a World Cup game with the Socceroos. I noticed afterwards that he had his back or ribs strapped & so it seems like he was carrying an injury into that game).
So Pim played with the cards he had chosen. Those cards were his choice & his responsibility. But to be honest he did not have have the same luxuries of Guus. Guus had most of the same players 4 years quicker etc, he also had Viduka, Skoko, Lazaridis, Aloisi. Pim's top players were older & injured or out of form & rusty. Only Cahill & Schwarzer had improved.
Pim's papering over the cracks worked for about the first ten minutes & we attacked them until everyone in defence including Schwarzer & midfield were found to be either asleep or suffering from stage fright.
Except for Emerton, Valeri & Wilkshire.
Kewell obviously wasn't ready to play a full game & Josh wasn't up to playing a pressing game at the front, at that stage of the tournament, due to injuries.
Two goals down, Cahill got himself sent off with an hour to go.
No sense bringing Harry on now as originally planned. He would have to race around & work even harder, it was too risky. So Pim does the wise thing & brings on our two fastest, most mobile players, Holman & Ruka to try & get 10 men to cover the same area as 11 men.
Keep Harry now in cotton wool for the Ghana & Serbia games.
End result 4 - 0.
Craig Foster says to attack & play for the shirt but he does not specifically say what moves he would have made (even with hindsight ) for the Germany game or what players & positions he would have used or even what Pim should have done because Fossie can't.
It is much easier to blame the foreigner that is leaving soon than to admit our players, who we can't swap easily, let themselves down.
It is just a vague statement that he would have attacked them. With what Fossie? Who else was ready to go? Play them where? :^o
Don't forget, our players at the start of the tournament were not all ready to go & perform at the same level they did for the Serbia game, despite the best efforts of our medical & fitness staff.:oops:
Yes, those players can play really well, but only under certain circumstances. Pim had much less margin for error than Guus because of the state of the players fitness & form.
Also it was a tougher group than four years earlier as we didn't have a gimme game ( Japan ) equivalent.
Had we played Ghana first, Serbia second then Germany in the third game we would have had our best result & performed much better against Germany with the same squad of players & got a result.
We also played Serbia with 11 players including one of our star players Cahill for the entire game, first time in the tournament. Don't underestimate the importance of that.
I forgot to add a couple of other points. Something strange happened before this game with Kewell & Bresciano leading to their failure to warm up with the team on the pitch. I dont know what happened but I don't buy the explanation that Harry gave - eg it was on his physio's instructions. Bull. Also that still doesn't explain Bresch's absence. I don't know if they had a fight between themselves or it was coincidence or what. I subscribe to the Harry Bosch ( detective ) theory ie there are no coincidences. Both players being senior players & proud, I suspect that they were probably told by Pim that neither of them were starting the game & spat the dummy big time, maybe refusing to warm up. Like I said, I don't know but that seems the logical explanation. :-"
Also Pim has said it was difficult to give instructions on the pitch in the first half of the German game with the din of all of the vuvuzelas. So he was able to do that at half time in the dressing room.
POST BLITZKRIEG
After the German game Harry's comments were Pim's the boss & it was his decision I didn't play, I wanted to play & felt ready to play, words to that effect.
Bresch's mate Vinnie had a training pitch argument with Pim.
Bresch later played against Ghana & set up the goal with a great free kick. He was shitty when he was subbed off & refused to shake Graham Arnold's hand, ( you gotta admire him for that, at the least he has good taste ).
Harry was saved until the second game & before it he had an incident with the press, Mike Cockerill specifically. Then he got sent off but gee he looked the goods until then.
I have heard rumours from a few different sources that two star players don't get on with each other, won't talk to each other & wouldn't be photographed together. This rings true with my observations of what is said & done & what is not said & done with the squad. Sorry to be cryptic. Pim had to manage the group & keep everyone working together with this unfortunate rift. We may hear more about this later but the rift, as I understand it was not between Pim & the players over tactics but rather between two players over other stuff. :(
After the media frenzy of the Germany game which galvanised the whole group & then the second sending off & an improved showing in the Ghana game it is possible that they banded together more.
We should have won this game & would have with 11 players on the park for 90 minutes. ](*,)
AFTER GHANA.
In fairness to Carney, Krasic does seem like a fine right winger but defensive is not Carney's strong point as we saw with the cracker of a goal he scored against Ireland.
Josh seems to have struggled lately, perhaps he is carrying a back injury, perhaps it is the step up in class of the opposition defenders from Asian qualifiers. Ivanovic & Vidic are star defenders in two of the biggest clubs in the world.
Josh almost had a goal against Serbia but it skewed slightly wide. But apart from that he didn't seem energetic enough in chasing or holding up the ball. I'm not 6ft 6 but if I was I reckon I wouldn't be much of a runner either. Conversely when he did use body position to advantage in the Serbia match, to shield the ball he was unfairly penalised by the referee in my opinion, when it was just good work on his part. I guess it was because he is tall, rather unfair on him though, he plays fairly always.
Him as a tall target attracts the best defender in the air, which opens up heading opportunities for Cahill. I suppose that's what Kennedy meant.
He's a nice guy & just wanted to play all of the time, as you would expect. Roller coaster of emotions for all of our team. Still he did get a fair run of the friendly games & the World Cup games. I think Pim actually showed plenty of faith in him, ( no pun intended ) & gave him lots of opportunities. :-$
I really feel for Dario Vidosic who I reckon was quite unlucky not to get some game time at the World Cup after his performances in the friendlies. But his time will come.
None of us are perfect but I think any errors Pim made were in the choosing of his squad, not at the world Cup itself.
Honestly Scott McDonald has played crap in all of his games for Australia, ( not his club ) so far. Pim also gave him a number of opportunities, as he did with Nicky Carle.
( Carle has played crap for us so far, so did Holman pre tournament but his running at defences panics them).
As most people predicted I think Pim got it wrong choosing Moore & Milligan over Ogenovski, Colosimo or Bosnar. I would also have liked to have Brosque in the squad instead of Garcia.
To me Pim picked Milligan & Garcia out of a love of their versatility, jack of all trades but master of none.
He picked Moorey out of a misguided sense of loyalty. Moore should only have been called into the squad as strongman & organiser if Neill got injured before the games started & had to miss the tournament. Neill & Moore together were too much the same.
Moore first game was awful as were all of his warm up games. Perhaps Pim felt he owed him something. He did improve, through sheer will & pride, in the Ghana game. Still one of the other three I said should have been in the German game instead, or even Beauchamp, whose tackling against Serbia was surprisingly top notch.
On the subject of Nicky Carle, I can not for the life of me remember anyone in our team playing a single defence splitting through ball, not in the friendlies or the World Cup itself. Sure we overloaded them on the wings sometimes with two on ones but we didn't open up anyone's defence. Shots from distance, headers from distance but no turning their defence around. Amazing. #-o
Jason Culina is not nearly the player he was when he played in Holland. Grella played barely average. Looking back we would have got a higher standard in this tournament from Valeri & Jedinak instead of Jason & Vinnie. Sad but true.
Bresciano is a class above & a true professional, a valuable asset in attack not defence, he improved as the tournament went along, following being injured & unable to play most of 2010.
He obviously wasn't ready to go in the Germany game, his form in the lead ups was average but his determination & pride shone through in the 2nd & 3rd games.
Pim is a realist & just didn't have the talent ready, able & available.
He didn't want to attempt it with A League players & rightly so.
Imagine the difference minus Moore, Milligan perhaps Grella & Culina.
Who was injured? Who wasn't? Missing from our squad through injury, Kisnorbo & Williams. they would have made a big difference to our defence.
As I said, Colosimo & Brosque would have been really handy to have.
Our players in the squad that were semi injured, recovering from injury, carrying injuries, out of form or generally rusty were : Grella, Moore, Bresciano, Emerton, Chipperfield, Carney, Kennedy & Kewell.
Apart from Vinnie who got injured, the rest got physically better the more it went on.
Kewell was out with suspension. Against the odds they still performed admirably through pride & guts & determination.
Cahill was unavailable for one & a half games. Kewell unavailable for one & a half games.
We played two out of our three games with just 10 players.
If not in the Group of Death, we were in the group of Near Death ( or chronic injury, pun intented ).
World FIFA Rankings - Germany ( Ranked 6th ), Ghana ( Ranked 32 ) & Serbia ( Ranked 15 ) Australia ( Ranked 20th )
Considering all of the above it's little wonder we didn't attack our opposition more.
When the performances are analysed along with the circumstances at the time it's actually damn impressive that the team lost one, drew one & won one game. =d>
At the World Cup the coach did not have the necessary quality of cattle fit & available for all three games. #-o
LOOKING FOR OUR NEXT COACH. ( The Head Job ) ;)
I think the best coach for our Australian team would be Arsene Wenger but we probably can’t get him.
Next & more realistically I think we should try to get Aime Jacquet, Johann Cryff, Marco Van Basten, Frank Rijkaard, Radomir Antic, Oswaldo Oliveira, Jose Peckerman or Dragan Stojkovic.
Ronald de Boer would also be a good young up & coming coach having played at Ajax & Barcelona & at a few World Cups for the Netherlands. Currently Assistant Coach for the Dutch National Team.
I'd also be rapt if we got Marcelo Bielsa or Jurgen Klinsmann but wishes combined with realism I feel Oswaldo De Oliveira is both very good & gettable. =d>
It's a very interesting question, how old is too old to successfully coach a national team (as distinct from club coaching)? How young is too young?
I just did a bit of research on some of the coaching names I have thought of on Wikipedia, I don't know if they're available, but as Dick Advocaat proved, if the money is right they are available. Some of these may surprise you.
On the subject of their ages ( excuse my spelling of their names ), I have found out they are: Aime Jacquet 68 y.o, Alex Ferguson 68, Leo Beenhaaker 67, Alfio Basile 66,
Arrigo Saacchi 64, Fabio Capello 64, Guus Hiddink 63, Johann Cruyff 63,
Roy Hodgson 62, Sven Goran Erikkson 62, Nevio Scala 62,Luis Filipe Scolari 61,
Ottmar Hitzfeld 61,Joel Santana 61, Francisco Maturana 61, Radomir Antic 61,
Arsene Wenger 60, Javier Clemente 60, Jose Pekerman 60, Vicente Del Bosque 59,
Oswaldo de Oliveira 59, Louis Van Gaal 58, Johann Neeskens 58, Ossie Ardiles 57,
Alberto Zaccharoni 57, Jorvan Vieira 57, Carlos Quieroz 57, Daniel Passarella 57,
Bruno Metsu 56, Phillipe Troussier 55,Martin Jol 54, Pim Verbeek 54,
Marcelo Bielsa 54, Javier Aguirre 51, Pierre Littbarski 51, Rafa Benitez 50, Joaquim Low 50, Jose Mourinho 47, Frank Rijkaard 47, Ronald Koeman 47, Paul le Guen 46,( Graham Arnold (haha)46 ), Jurgen Klinnsman 45, Marco Van Basten 45, Gianluca Vialli 45, Dragan Stojkovic 45, Gianfranco Zola 43,Didier Deschamps 41, Ronald De Boer 40, Pep Guardiola 39, Phillip Cocu 39 y.o.
I don't know if there is such a thing as the best coach in the world but if there is then it is probably Jose Mourinho, at the moment. Needless to say we can't afford him.
Coaching a National team seems to be more the realm of an ( older ) experienced coach.
The best coach is not necessarily the best coach for us he needs to also be compatible, preferably to speak English, preferably to live fulltime in Australia for four years, to understand our culture, he can't be too old ( experienced ), nor too young ( inexperienced ).
Available & at the right price.
He has to get us through Asia, coach and educate our young players & also Australian Coaches, work with Aurelio Vidmar & be media friendly as football here is competing in a tough sponsorship marketplace. He has to work with Hans Berger & Jans Versligen too.
It has to be a win/win relationship.
We also have to be realistic, despite the money we have to offer we are probably not considered a really plum job. We can't be snobs & just get anyone we want, under the above conditions.
" I DON'T WANT TO BELONG TO ANY CLUB THAT WILL ACCEPT ME AS A MEMBER ". Groucho Marx
PLEASE NOT SVEN. [-(
Sven's a money grabber. Solely interested in the money, ( like Advocaat ).
He did bugger all at Mexico & England. He would be a huge mistake.
We play with our hearts, not our heads. We need a coach with passion, like ours.
Guus had this passion & we responded to it.
Aussies love character. Sven's an iceman, it wouldn't work.
Get someone with coaching nous & passion but stable. Not someone prone to quitting like Le Guen & Gullit.
Someone with passion & a real love of the job, like Marcelo Bielsa, not a love of money like Advocaat & Sven. [-o<
Damo Baresi. :d
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By Damo Baresi - 27 Jun 2010 4:38 PM
Damo Baresi wrote:
I have heard rumours from a few different sources that two star players don't get on with each other, won't talk to each other & wouldn't be photographed together. This rings true with my observations of what is said & done & what is not said & done with the squad. Sorry to be cryptic. Pim had to manage the group & keep everyone working together with this unfortunate rift. We may hear more about this later but the rift, as I understand it was not between Pim & the players over tactics but rather between two players over other stuff. :(
After the media frenzy of the Germany game which galvanised the whole group & then the second sending off & an improved showing in the Ghana game it is possible that they banded together more.
Sunday Herald Sun
Today
David Davutovic
THE CAHILL RIFT
Kewell admitted that he was upset with Tim Cahill in the aftermath of a story relating to an alleged incident at a nightclub.
"Look, I was upset with Tim when there were allegations that I leaked something to the press about him," Kewell said.
"I have never in my life done anything like that to a player. It's an unwritten rule.
"I was on his side and when that came out, I was disappointed.
"He did apologise personally but I didn't want my name to be associated with that, because I had nothing to do with it.
"But what's done is done.
"I do regard him as a good friend and as a good player. He does well for his club and country.
"We are on speaking terms. We all get on well with each other. :^o
"The only problem with Tim is that he can't play Hearts. I think he's a bit cut that I've beaten him a few too many times."
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/world-cup-2010/harry-kewell-opens-up-about-pim-tim-and-the-germany-debacle/story-fn4k63e5-1225884740968
How many times have you seen them together in photos or tv commercials?
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