Pim's Blueprint

The new head coach of the Socceroos, Pim Verbeek, probably didn't anticipate the debate that has dominated the Australian football community when he made his comments regarding the standard of the A-league compared to European leagues.

In the past couple of years, the Hyundai A-league has been doing things that many Australian football fans never thought possible - pulling big crowds, good tv ratings, engaging the mainstream media - but the question has always been in the back of fan's minds: how does this really compare to European football? Pim Verbeek's recent comments have brought this discussion out into the open - and all opinions are being laid on the table.

At a press conference last week, Pim made this claim: that a player who is training in Europe (specifically at clubs like Nuremburg and Karlsruhe in the German Bundesliga) would be better prepared for the upcoming World Cup Qualifier against Qatar than a player who is playing every week at an A-league club. These comments made headlines around the country - At times they were taken out of context, but they were very harsh comments. It is true that players who are training at big European clubs are generally better players than those playing in the A-league, with better skills and fitness, but training can not prepare you for a big international game, especially when you come up against a team like Qatar, who will be match fit - and very well prepared for the contest.

This is shown clearly by past results - in 2006 a Socceroos side with only A-league players beat Kuwait 2-0 at the Sydney Football Stadium (and were the dominant side), while a month later a side made up of European based players (many who had not been playing reguarly for their European clubs) were beaten comprehensively (loosing 2-0) in Kuwait City. Although the weather may have been partly to blame for Australia's loss on this occasion - there was no doubt that Australia's players were not ready for the physical contest. It was a similar story last year at the Asian Cup, the European based players were not ready - physically or mentally - even with a couple of weeks of preperation they could not prepare themselves well enough to even make the semi finals of the Asian Cup. If there was a bright spot in that campaign, it was the performance of A-league based players, who were match fit and showed that they had the quality to play at that level.

Both these examples demonstrate how the A-league, although maybe lacking some of the technical quality of many European leagues, provides decent preperation for international football. To say that to be training with a European club is better preperation for the game against Qatar than playing week-in-week-out in the A-league, is false - especially when the European based players will be getting off the plane only a couple of days before the match.

That being said, I still belive that the way Pim Verbeek has approached the game against Qatar - whether it be for the right reasons or not - is the best way to deal with these crucial matches - and should be seen as the blueprint for our future games of such nature. Pim has taken an A-league based squad, and prepared it for the game - he has worked with them for weeks, and they are ready to face Qatar in what will be a crucial game. He has then called up 19 European based players, due to logistical constraints, Pim will not be able to work with these players untill a day or two before the match. You can also expect that many players that Pim has called up will never actually make it to Australia, some will pick up 'injuries' on the weekend, some will miss the match through 'general soreness' - this is natural, and in reality these players would probably not be in the right condition to play against Qatar anyway.

This is why what Pim has done will work: when the inevitable occurs and many of the European based Socceroos do not arrive in Australia next Monday, Pim will be prepared - he has 20 A-league players ready for the contest. If 10-12 players arrive from Europe, in good condition and are ready to play against Qatar - then that is perfect. However if many players arrive tired, jet-lagged and ill-prepared for the game, then Pim has a whole squad of A-league players ready to step up. This will ensure a healthy mix of match-fit A-league players, and European based players who will add a technical 'edge' to the Socceroos side. You will not see a Socceroos side that looks slow, tired, unfit or unprepared next Wednesday - you will see a side in great condition, with a real attacking edge. This is the blueprint, that I believe will be used for years to come as we attempt to qualify for big international tournaments. What Pim has done has, I believe, has solved the problems we have over the past few years with no-shows and ill-prepared Socceroo teams. Whether he rates the A-league or not, I congratulate Pim on how he has approached next weeks game - let's just hope the result is the one we are looking for...

Chance to Impress

Uruguay has sent a full-strength team to play against Australia at Telstra Stadium this Saturday night, in the past we've had problems with attracting international teams to this country, especially ones that will field strong teams. We get a good opportunity, with Uruguay looking to give it's side a strong test before the Copa América and this time it is our side who doesn't feel motivated to put our best team on the park.

Players who will be missing for the Socceroos on Saturday include Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka, Tim Cahill, Mark Bresciano, Vince Grella, Mark Schwarzer, John Aloisi, Scott Chipperfield - read's like a who's who of Australian football. Tim Cahill and John Aloisi are legitamately injured - this was also the reason behind Harry Kewell not playing, although you would think at this stage of his recovery this would be a great opportunity for him to get some more match time under his belt.

Meanwhile most of the other big-guns not taking part are being rested. Granted, many of our players have had long seasons, and with the World Cup last year they have had little rest since 2005 (even then many were involved in the Confederations Cup) - however it wouldn't hurt to spend some time with the squad, and play even a small amount of football against Uruguay.

Although this lack of big-name players has prehaps meant this game is finding it difficult to attract as much media attention as it would have otherwise - I still think it will be a very interesting game to watch, and I think the team that will be out on the park will still be able to compete very strongly. Many players will be looking to put themselves into contention for a place in Australia's Asian Cup squad - but personally I am hoping to see a performance that will leave me optimistic about the future of our national team.

There are players in this squad, that haven't had much of an impact at this level in the past, but need to step up - in order for us to win this game, in order for us to perform well in the Asian cup and in order for us to qualify and do well in South Africa 2010.

A few I will be watching closely: Michael Beauchamp, Patrick Kisnorbo, Brett Holman, Matthew Spiranovic, Carl Valeri as well as Brad Jones between the sticks. I would not be suprised if all of these players are in the squad that eventually goes to South Africa 2010 - and Saturday will be their first chance to play a big international, against a strong side, at home in front of a big crowd.

I was recently very encouraged by the Olyroos, and the way they smashed Iran in Adelaide - a good performance on Saturday night and I'll be pretty confident about the future. Good luck guys!