Upon Reflection – Socceroos in Brazil
Almost a week after our predicted group stage exit the Socceroos are returning home, most as heroes; but does this squad warrant those accolades.
Statistically Australia was only one of three teams who leave Brazil without a point. A 30th placed result, finishing ahead of Honduras and Cameroon on goal difference. The emotional rollercoaster of the Netherlands game and a brave second half against Chile glossed over the campaign, and gave supporters false hope on the dawn of a new era. Do we see this in the same light as a 5th set Wimbledon exit for Hewitt, gallant and brave but just not good enough.
The left foot volley of Tim Cahill resinated with the Australian public, and is now a moment etched in history like Aloisi’s penalty, and the Australia II America’s Cup triumph; but what does it really mean? Saturday mornings there will be hundreds of kids running around, pulling on a football kit wanting to recreate that moment at parks across the nation, the number four will be as popular here, as the number 10 in Argentina and we will create a new generation of Socceroos followers. Big picture this is great for both the game and the long term future of the game, but what about short term; where are we situated?
The first 65 minutes against Spain was a sneak peek into the future of Australian football, no Bresciano, no Cahill and it seemed no attacking options. Yes, we were playing against the reigning World Champions, but our players looked very much out of their depth. Ange Postecoglu and Mile Jedinak stated it was both physical and mental fatigue but the gulf in quality was glaringly obvious, even with my non HD television. Our ranking of 62nd was never more apparent than against the Spaniards, and whilst both campaigns were over and this was a dead rubber it was more than that to us back in Australia.
The last 20 minute cameo was more than likely the last time we will see Mark Bresciano grace us in a Socceroos shirt. His technical brilliance and ability to create something from nothing was second to none, and something we will miss greatly in this country. Tim Cahill has played his last World cup, and it’s still up in the air if he will play in the Asian cup next year. The promoters of the Asian cup have us believing he will be suiting up one last time for Australia, and it would be a fitting farewell, but in football nothing is certain.
We went to Brazil with no expectations, and the nation celebrated the mere fact we scored a goal during our campaign. Our squad was new, our coach was new and it was more than likely some of our initial 30 man squad hadn’t met each other. We entered the campaign with a ‘see what happens’ approach from the outset, and never really left the starting gates. Effectively our campaign lasted 14 minutes, 2-0 down in the opener against Chile on the back of some very ordinary defence, something that plagued the entirety of the campaign. From the outset our defensive frailties were on display for the world to see. Retirements and non selections were the cause of this, no Schwarzer, Neill, Ognenovski or Wilkshire created a new Australian defence that wouldn’t see many playing minutes together and the most confronting campaign of their football lives facing Chile, Netherlands and Spain. So did Ange make the wrong decision here? Probably not, it was never going to be pretty either way. Do we place duct tape over our defence, or do we go out and buy a new untried model.
Ange never took a backward step from the outset, and possibly never has. You get the feeling he could instil confidence into a pimply teenager to ask out the most glamorous girl in school, he has that type of quality about him. We were able to see Davidson and Leckie shine with the confidence and freedom he gave these players, but it doesn’t mean we should gloss over the defensive errors. Mathew Ryan is a great talent and had an outstanding year playing abroad in Belgium, but he would be one of the first to acknowledge he didn’t have a great tournament. Ryan McGowan showed promising signs throughout, and was played out of position due to the injury of Ivan Franjic but shouldn’t escape criticism for his performances at times.
We could go through the entire squad and select glaring errors made by one and all, but we could also state youthful exuberance, gaining valuable experience and playing under a new coach. Depending on your individual expectations and how you approached Australia’s participation at the tournament will portray your reflections and thoughts about the cup.
Mine are simply this; we shouldn’t be basking in the glory of finishing 30th at any tournament. Yes there are sufficient learning outcomes from the three games in Brazil for Postecoglu and his coaching staff but, we are still a long way off competing on the world stage. Without Brecsiano and Cahill we looked second rate at best, and as a football public we must be wary of this and wary of coining phrases such as ‘Golden Regeneration’ just yet.
We are heading in the right direction, but don’t expect too much too soon. Japan, Iran, South Korea and Uzbekistan will be tough to beat in the Asian Cup. That is the reality of the Socceroos at the present time, although some don’t want to make this admission.
#InAngeWeTrust but it’s going to take a while
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At least our new defensive unit did not leak 6 goals per match as did the old guard.