The Blame Must Lie In Verbeek's Tactics

Sydney Morning Herald

Monday June 23, 2008

Michael Cockerill

AS AGAINST Singapore, and against Ghana, Australia's second-stringers blew their chance against China last night, but there was one major difference. This time there were World Cup points at stake.

Thankfully, a dead rubber gives the Socceroos time to bounce back. Worryingly, the performance provided more questions than answers. The only certainty is that Pim Verbeek has to look harder in the mirror, and closer at his dressing room. Australia's first World Cup defeat on home soil in 27 years was a sobering experience. There's no point papering over the cracks.

There were some positives, although not many. The second half was much better than the first. Matthew Spiranovic, making his starting debut, showed promise. He was strong in the challenge, and got his head up when he had the ball. There was enough to suggest he might have a future in the heart of the Australia defence. David Williams also provided some life, running at defenders, after coming off the bench.

But that's about where the good news ends. Verbeek will point to the inexperience - only two players, Harry Kewell and Jade North - had more than 10 caps. But that is an excuse, not a reason. China hit the crossbar, missed at least two gilt-edged chances, and squandered a penalty at the second attempt. The Socceroos, by contrast, rarely came as close. Actions spoke louder than words in encapsulating this Australian display.

Verbeek's tactics have to take much of the blame. Pre-match, there was hope that Kewell would partner Bruce Djite in attack. Some also hoped Verbeek might jettison his preference for two holding midfielders in the process. Neither happened. Kewell spent most of the game fetching and carrying in the gaping hole between the midfield and forward line. Mile Jedinak and Carl Valeri tried their best to pivot, but mostly started from deep positions. And up front, Djite ploughed a lone furrow, outnumbered, and out-muscled, whenever he got the ball.

At the other end, Australia often had three players marking China's lone striker, Gao Lin. Verbeek bristles when he's described as a negative coach. This was his chance to make a statement. On this evidence, the perception remains.

So does the view that the Socceroos need to improve, substantially, if they are to harbour realistic hopes of qualifying for the World Cup. It's easy to blame this result on inexperience, but that disguises the truth. The old heads haven't played particularly well at any stage of this campaign. And the young heads don't seem to be ready just yet.

The blessing is that Verbeek now has three months to prepare for the next qualifier. Next week's draw will tell us who that will be against. What is certain is that the opposition in the next phase will be better than what the Socceroos have played so far, with the exception of Iraq. Verbeek not only needs to make some harsh, and honest, assessments of the personnel at his disposal, he also has to examine whether his tactics suit the ability, and mentality, of the players. The jury is out in that respect.

Australia had started with six Olyroos on the park, and another four on the bench. But the emerging generation was slow to seize the window of opportunity. The first half was disjointed and untidy. The pitch was poor, but didn't define the game. Poor decision-making, though, did have an impact. Given this was the biggest crowd many of the youngsters had played in front of, nerves might also have played a part.

The new faces would have been hoping for an early goal to settle the butterflies, but instead they found themselves chasing the game. Inexperience was evident in the build-up. No one picked up the forward run of Lu Jian from a throw, he was at the byline before the Socceroos reacted. A cutback was only half-cleared by Ruben Zadkovich, and Sun Xiang's thumping drive, which swerved away from Michael Petkovic at the last moment, did the rest. It was China's first goal from open play in the campaign. A couple of half-chances aside, the Socceroos stumbled their way through the rest of the half. Anxiety began to surface on the Australian bench.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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