Australian Socceroos: Ever
wondered why so many Australian footballers play overseas?
Holger Osiek selects
the Socceroo team for the Asian
Nations Cup in Qatar 2011.
The team is:
Nathan Burns, Tim Cahill, David Carney, Nathan
Coe, Jason Culina, Brett Emerton,
Richard Garcia(replaced by Tommy Oar), Brett Holman, Mile Jedinak,
Brad Jones, Harry Kewell, Neil Kilkenny, Robbie
Kruse, Scott McDonald, Jon McKain, Matt McKay, Lucas
Neill, Jade North, Sasa Ognenovski,
Mark Schwarzer, Matthew Spiranovic,
Carl Valeri, Luke Wilkshire
Saha Ognenovski will
bring much needed steel to the backline but pace at the back remains a
problem. Thwait
from Gold Coast United is missing and he could easily have added pace and
precision to the backline as an alternative to Jade North. Nathan Burns is unlikely to get much of a run
as he is likely to get a yellow or red just for being on the field. He is a highly capable player who can be
rather erratic. This is particularly
true in Asia where refereeing tends to punish physical players. Matt McKay will add needed pace and a super
engine room to the midfield. His performances for Brisbane this season have
been outstanding. McKay does lack composure in front of goal but is a good
provider of that killer pass. His style
should suit Scott McDonald who needs energy and quality passes. Hopefully Osiek
will play both players in an attacking format.
Osiek preference for the 4-4-2 suits the
players he has selected and this may make the Socceroos
a potent attacking side. Much will depend on the form of Cahill and Kewell who
when in form are unstoppable anywhere in the world.
It will be difficult
to score in Qatar. India should be no problem but South Korea and Bahrain will be very difficult
and the Australian Socceroos should be under no
illusion that the opening
group will be a romp in the park. Getting through the group stage will mean
meeting Group D opponents who the Australian Socceroos
have not met for some time. The South Koreans have an awesome squad and will be
very difficult to beat. Australia hasn’t
been able to beat South Korea in recent years and have often been overrun by
their mobile and pacey game.
South Korea’s final squad for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar
2011 (on 24 December 2010) is as follows:
Goalkeepers
Jung Sung-Ryong (Seongnam),
Kim Yong-Dae (Seoul), Kim Jin-Hyeon
(Cerezo Osaka)
Defenders
Kwak Tae-Hwi (Kyoto), Lee
Jung-Soo (Al Sadd), Cho
Yong-Hyung (Al Rayyan),
Hwang Jae-Won, Lee Yong-Rae (all Suwon), Lee Young-Pyo
(Al Hilal), Choi Hyo-Jin (Sangmu), Cha Du-Ri (Celtic), HONG
Jeong-Ho(Jeju)
Midfielders
Yoon Bitgaram (Gyeongnam),
Koo Ja-Cheol (Jeju), Park Ji-Sung (Manchester United), Ki Sung-Yueng
(Celtic), Lee Chung-Yong (Bolton), Kim Bo-Kyung (Cerezo
Osaka), Yeom Ki-Hun (Suwon), Son Heung-Min (Hamburger
SV)
Forwards
Ji Dong-Won (Chunnam), Yoo Byung-Soo (Incheon), Kim
Shin-Wook (Ulsan)
Clearly South Korea
is favoured to emerge top of the group. Australia will still need a result against
them to ensure progression into the second phase of the competition. The Australian Socceroos
will meet them in the second game. A
loss may mean winning the last game against Bahrain who have an excellent defence and are playing virtually at home. This “home” advantage is worth about a goal
to Bahrain. For the Socceroos
to win convincingly will be a challenge.
Meeting India in the first game is not to our advantage. The group could come down to goal difference
and a big win against the Indians might be needed for progression. India is not known as a powerhouse of
football and may collapse during the tournament if early results go against
them. A first round slaughterhouse will
always be difficult as caution usually prevails over bravado.
Iran and DPR Korea are the likely
opponents. It is unlikely Iraq or UAE
will get through the group stages but Iraq did surprise last time and are the
Asian Champions.
Tommy Oar has been
added to the Socceroo squad and he will bring youth, a lot of dash but not a
lot of science to the attack. He will
fight to the death and harass defences with this
weaving runs. At 19, he will be one of
the youngest players to represent the Socceroos if he
gets a game at the Asian Championships.
Harry Kewell was the youngest in the modern era at 17. The difference of course is that Tommy Oar
has very little experience in the top flight coming on only once for
Utrecht. From all accounts he was applauded
by the fans for his exciting style of football.
The step up to international level with the right formation should help
Tommy Oar become a regular Australian Socceroo.
Garcia a different style of player has been omitted due to injury. The Australian Socceroo squad is now stronger
and more attacking.
The colonial elitist mentality of the government owned ABC
National Radio continues unabated as it crows over a Moslem playing cricket and
that this somehow epitomizes the egalitarian nature of Australian society in
their ‘What on in sport today segment’.
This on the day the Australian Socceroos play
the UAE in the lead up to Qatar and the week of the opening round of the Asian
Cup. Was there any mention of the Asian
Cup in their sports report? No way. The reason for this is the bigotry endemic in
the ABC of Ignorance who see football, Middle Eastern
people and those from Asia as some kind of threat to their national socialist
ideals. This is to cover-up the bigotry
and fear of Asians and the cruel treatment of the poorest and most vulnerable
by the national socialists; groups such as refugees who are incarcerated in
desert camps where 50C is common or on offshore detention centres
where government abuse and criminal mistreatment of the poor go unreported and
is censored through secrecy acts. These acts of depravity are all brushed under
the carpet through collusion with the government granted effective monopoly
media to their crony colonial supporters.
The Ignorance resorts to the tools of blatant propaganda on the airways. The blackout of football and the
anti-football rhetoric are alive and well in 2011. The bureaucratic elite masters continue to
use their privileged access to the airways to denigrate football and avoid
where it can mention of the Australian Socceroos and
the Asian Cup.
The Australian Socceroos
manage to eek out a 0-0 against UAE in Al Ain and were lucky not to lose the game in the last few
minutes with brilliant fingertip saves by the Australian keeper and rescued by
the post on a second occasion. The team
consisted of fringe bench players with Osieck resting
the big guns after their hectic duties in the various leagues overseas. The defence was
most likely the first selection and it performed reasonably well and rarely
looked challenged except in the dying stages of the game when the UAE upped the
tempo. Tommy Oar and Robbie Kruse
rarely troubled the UAE and Tommy’s role as pin ball wizard and impact player
failed to materialize.
Australia has officially been given
the right to host the Asian Football Cup in 2015 and the Ignorance were at it denigrating the tournament claiming it should
be abandoned entirely and that Qatar might like to donated old air conditioners
for the tournament.
The bigots at the ABC Ignorance are out in force and using
tax payer monies to denigrate all that is Middle Eastern. The lack of basic respect and manners for the
people of other nations is appalling.
The Australian air ways are exclusive bigot territory controlled by
red-neck national socialists. The government media is part of this inexorable
rule by self-interested bureaucratic nincompoops that attempts control every
aspect of the life of the Australian citizen through fear mongering and torture
of dissidents. It is a bit like the USA,
where servicemen who have risk their lives for their country are tortured for
objecting to and exposing the USA murder of journalists and unarmed
citizens. In Australia, a similar
process is occurring, where people are disappeared on accusations and where the
reporting of their disappearance is illegal.
The reporting of instances results in the same treatment of high
security detention with regular Taser torture and bashings plus unrelenting
solitary confinement. The increasingly
dangerous nature of the State is reflected in its desire to control all aspects
of life in minutia including sport preferences.
Australia take on India in Qatar 2011,
and this must be a win if the Australian Socceroos
have any chance of finishing top of the group.
India will probably use the same tactics at the UAE and breakup play at
any opportunity and stop the flow. The
game will be the opening round, have the vagaries of the refereeing and is at
an international level; the Australian Socceroos must
be careful to win this game. It may be
that the Pim approach was the correct one in these
games. The Australian Socceroos need to take the game to India and amass a
respectable score without conceding a goal.
This is always difficult as the Indians will park the bus. On paper the
team is much too strong for an India.
Japan played at a high tempo to get a
draw against Jordan, who scored just before half-time. The slick passing of the Japanese finally
resulted in an equalizer as Jordan was out on their feet. A stoppage-time
header from Maya Yoshida rescued Japan as the three-time Asian Cup champions
drew 1-1 with Jordan in their AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011. The Japanese definitely looksa
threat to the Socceroos if we are to meet them
further down the tournament. Japan never gave up fighting but for the brilliant
goal keeping by Shafi, Japan could easily have overrun
the Jordanians. The Japanese coach Zacherroni was unimpressed by the Japanese start despite
the Blue Samurai’s dominance of the game.
The CSKA Moscow midfielder Keisuke Honda’s rasping free-kicks and slick
passing were a feature of the game and on his day Honda could have bagged a
number of goals. He is definitely a
danger man for the Socceroos, as is General Endo with
his superb passing and control of the tempo of the game. Uzbekistan looks a
very capable side and poses another threat to the Australian Socceroos. Neither
the Saudis nor China appears capable of matching the Australian Socceroos from the evidence of the opening games.
|
Group A |
|
Team |
GP |
W |
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA |
+/- |
Pts |
|
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
|
|
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
|
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
-2 |
0 |
|
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
-2 |
0 |
|
Group B |
|
Team |
GP |
W |
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA |
+/- |
Pts |
|
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
|
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
The Australian Socceroos
will not meet these teams until the Semi-Finals, and it looks like Japan and
Uzbekistan are the likely teams to go through on current form.
The Australian Socceroos
were never extended in the game against India and completely dominated
possession to record an easy 4-0. Osieck used experienced players for the match. The team selected by: Schwarzer, Wilkshire, Neil, Ogenovski,
Carney, Emerton, Culina, Jedinak, Holman, Kewell and Cahill. McDonald, Burns, McKay, Jones and Spiranovic were on the bench. Tim Cahill stood out as one of the best
players in the world today. His ability
in the air and on the ground is exceptional.
The whole team dominated the game and used an aerial approach against
the Indians. The India goalkeeper was
outstanding, making some excellent saves and interventions. Surprisingly, Osieck
gave Scot McDonald only 15 minutes to score towards the end of the game. McDonald continues to look impressive and his
hunger for his first goal showed when he went for personal glory instead of
laying off a pass to ensure a sitter. If
he makes the team against South Korea, he is the type of player who can play on
the ground in and around the penalty area and this would give greater variety
to the Australian Socceroo attack which can be a little one-dimensional with
its reliance on aerial power particularly given the refereeing.
The refereeing standard in the India game was
poor, with the referee often penalizing Cahill and other Australian Socceroos for challenging for the ball in the air despite
no contact being made between the players.
Even the slightest contact in challenging for the ball on the ground was
whistled. Football is a contact sport,
and it is obvious that the referee for the game has never played the game
because he had little clue about what constitutes a fair challenge.
Tim Cahill after netting
the second of his two strikes for Australia in their 4-0 victory over India on
Monday celebrated by gesturing to make a phone call. The gesture was to bring attention to a prize
he was offering in a charity drive for victims of the floods
that have devastated the north-eastern Australian state of Queensland. At least seven people have died, and many
more stranded after a flash flood swept through the Darling Downs city of
Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley. Others are stranded
on rooftops waiting for rescues that could not start before first light today.
Police have confirmed that seven people have died in the flash floods that
swept through the Toowoomba area in the state’s southeast yesterday afternoon.
Cahill said, “I’ve donated a prize to a telethon, and the link
is on EBay where two people from anywhere in the world get to bid for a chance
to come to Everton and sit in my box to watch a game, have some dinner, watch a
training session and get a signed pair of boots and jersey. I showed the
gesture because I want people to call in on the telethon, donate money and bid
on my auction”.
“This is football but
there’s a lot more that’s going on in the world, and to help people and
families that are struggling is my way of showing that I care.”
Qatar in the desert may
be a long way from the floods but The Australian Socceroos’ spirit and concern
for other Australians epitomize the approach of the team despite a largely
hostile anti-football environment from the media.
Meanwhile, South Korea
wins 2-1 in a controversial game against Bahrain. Two-goal hero Koo Ja-cheol helped Korea Republic get off to a winning start
at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011.
The Australia game against South Korea looms as an important decider for
the top position in the group. Korea
lost their regular central defender Kwak Tae-hwi against Bahrain, and this should open an opportunity
for the Australian Socceroos with an aerial assault
into the penalty box.
The Australian Socceroos draw 1-1 with South Korea in an even game where
the Koreans dominated the midfield but a resolute Australian defence kept the team at bay. Harry Kewell and Jimmy Cahill were used as twin
strikers and this kept the Korean's minds on defence
and helped to stifle the Korean offensive forays in the Australian Socceroos territory.
Osieck is the first coach to play both Cahill
and Kewll as strikers. It worked well against the strong Koreans.
Australia now only needs a draw against Bahrain, which sounds easier than it
will actually be. Three Australians were
injured so the team will need to be restructured. Most supporters think that Osieck should go with McKay and Oar. These two players will give the added pace
needed and that their youth will give the team added verve.
Great contributions have been made by the Australian
Socceroo football fraternity in aid of the devastating floods that have ravaged
Queensland. Clive Palmer the owner of
the Gold Coast franchise used his private helicopter to rescue many people
stranded on rooftops and in trees.
Cahill personally raised a lot money for the
appeal. The scale of the floods was
amazing. Suncorp
Stadium where Brisbane plays their home games was flooded with water. This means the houses in the street below the
stadium would have been under 20 metres
of water. The question has to be asked,
how can the Brisbane Council allow or at least not warn those who buy houses on
the floodplain of the Brisbane River?
People who build on floodplains will inevitably be flooded, unless there
are giant levies erected. The flood peak
was below that of the 1970’s flood, yet the devastation was greater. The rapid runoff is not just a function of
the rainfall intensity. It is also the
result of the runoff that accompanies urban development without proper
infrastructure. The government is
calling on donations to
help those affected. However, where was
the planning or the warning before the flood?
Morrow at the Ignorance previewing today’s sport does not even give a mention to the important Asian Cup match between the Australian Socceroos and Bahrain. This game will decide if Australia gets through the group and who will be the Australian football team’s opponents. Morrone’s attitude is one of “I’m a little boy who is frightened of those nasty foreigners playing really competitive sport.” The lack of knowledge and education at the ABC of Ignorance shows that government is not about the rule by elite but rule by nepotism and the Peter principle