By md_ - 12 Jul 2010 6:21 PM
One of the biggest stories to come out of this world cup was not much of a surprise, but nevertheless here it is: The Bundesliga is really very good. Presumably it's been good for quite a while and people didn't notice because they were too busy with Rooney and Ronaldo and Ronaldinho and Italy all of those other World Cup success stories. Nevertheless, I think it is now generally acknowledged that the Bundesliga is really very good, and probably was last year, and possibly even the year before that.
So, with that in mind. can I take you back a few years to here.
Might I remind you also of the specific context of those comments: The Aussieroos had stuffed up in the previous game, and Pim had been asked why he had picked Josh Kennedy and Michael Beauchamp (who were on the midseason break for Karlsruhe and Nuremburg and therefore had not played for 3 weeks) over "match fit" A-league players who had played across Christmas.
"If you train for three weeks with Nuremberg or with Karlsruhe, I have to be very honest, I still think that's better than playing A-League games."
I suspect that if we have any Bundesliga players come the next lot of qualification matches, their inclusion in any Australian squad (regardless of Xmas break) will just be an outright given. Indeed, questions will be seriously asked if they are excluded.
I'm a huge advocate for the A-league and all it's achieved, but before we bury Pim and against the background of that much liked 3rd placed team from the world cup, it's time to say that just possibly, Pim was spot on.
Cheers
md
Edited by md_: 12/7/2010 06:23:07 PM
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By Mark457 - 19 Jul 2010 10:09 AM
Pim is a man manager not a coach. He got us to the World Cup relying on indiviuals (Cahill, Schwarz,Kewell) who were better than their opposition, but when it came to applying tactics using domestic players he failed miserably. We can say whatever we want about A-league players but Adelaide and Sydney have shown that domestic players can match it with Asian opposition using the adequate tactics and good selections. Pim is not the man to take our game forward he is the man who massages egos and cannot make the hard decisions when it is time to drop players.
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