Josh Kennedy eyes lone striking role at World Cup for Socceroos

* By Grantley Bernard
* From: The Daily Telegraph
* May 21, 2010

SOCCEROOS coach Pim Verbeek has hinted Harry Kewell will be his lead striker at the World Cup, but Josh Kennedy plans to force the boss to reconsider.

The lanky, long-haired striker is the Socceroos' form forward with eight goals in 10 games for Nagoya Grampus in the J-League and there is every chance Kennedy will be the point of attack for Monday night's MCG friendly against New Zealand.

So Kennedy, who emerged as a weapon off the bench at the 2006 World Cup, is aiming to use the NZ game and friendlies against Denmark and United States to press his claim for a start when the Socceroos' campaign opens against Germany in South Africa.

"It's the same for me as for everyone else and everyone wants to to start," Kennedy said yesterday.

"So I'm going to do the best I can over the next few weeks in those friendly games that we have to show Pim that I'm in form and I'm fit and take it from there.

"It just depends on who he wants to play with and his formation and tactics. But I'll take it as it comes and hopefully come the first game [at the World Cup] I'm fit and in form and healthy and we'll see. I've played games, I've scored goals and I'm fit. That's exactly what I wanted before the World Cup."

With six goals in 16 internationals since his debut just before the 2006 World Cup, Kennedy has a good strike rate and the Socceroos have never lost a game in which the Wodonga-born striker has scored. But it might be that good club form in Japan is making Kennedy a realistic option to lead the Socceroos attack in South Africa, fulfilling Verbeek's selection criteria that he wants players who are playing and playing well.

Kennedy also has reasonably fresh legs and an injury-free body given the Japanese season only started in March. This might give him an edge over Socceroos squad mates who are coming off brutally demanding European campaigns.

"It's worked out better for me because I've only got half a season behind me, whereas a lot of the boys have had a whole season," Kennedy, 27, said.

"Hopefully I'll have that little bit of freshness where the others don't.

"I've got a bit of form. I'm scoring some goals and my confidence is pretty high."

After six clubs and nine seasons in Germany, where playing consistent first-team football was not always possible, Kennedy's move to Japan last year appears to have been well-timed, providing football satisfaction and an enjoyable lifestyle for his family.

Gone is the frustration and seemingly unreal demands of European football with its politics and coaches looking over their shoulders.

In its place is a more normal existence: playing football in an enjoyable environment and sharing the success with wife Jacinta and their daughters Jayda and Isobel. "Things have worked out exactly to plan," he said. "I have a coach who believes in me and a team I'm a big part of."

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/josh-kennedy-eyes-lone-striking-role-at-world-cup-for-socceroos/story-e6frexni-1225869408495