Socceroos coach Bert van Marwijk won’t be seen again in Australia
EVEN though there’s little emotional attachment to the fans and the country, Bert van Marwijk is the best man for the Socceroos job because he’s professional in what he does, writes Robbie Slater.
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THERE was very little emotion attached to Bert van Marwijk’s visit last weekend and we probably won’t see the Socceroos coach back in Australia again before the World Cup.
Do I agree with his appointment?
Yes, as I’ve already said he is absolutely the best man for the job. But is there any emotional attachment to the fans and the country? No, of course not.
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As van Marwijk himself said very matter-of-factly, he’s been given the job and he wouldn’t have taken it if he felt he couldn’t do it.
It’s very emotionless; he’ll do the job and he’ll do it professionally.
The reason I say we’re unlikely to see him back in the country is that no farewell match has been confirmed.
Van Marwijk would prefer more time on the training pitch to a friendly, which is fair enough given our first match against France is in just four months, but it’s the first time we won’t have a farewell match.
That probably sums up where we are in our game at the moment.
We wish van Marwijk all the best with our Socceroos, but a lot has been taken away from this World Cup because of what’s happened, including the departure of Ange Postecoglou, and because of what’s still happening at a boardroom level within the game.
We’ve got a coach who was in the country for five minutes, but this is the situation we’ve been left with.
The only game of real quality Van Marwijk watched last weekend was Melbourne Victory against the Newcastle Jets, but that wasn’t him bagging the A-League.
It was just the standout game and that’s very normal, even if you watch a weekend of Premier League games, to see one that’s not of quality. That’s all he was saying.
He would have been impressed with Sydney FC, particularly Michael Zullo and Josh Brillante, but also Alex Wilkinson and Luke Wilkshire because they have World Cup experience.
He needs players for the now, not the future, because he’s got no interest in what’s going to happen to the Socceroos after the World Cup.
That’s why the likes of Zullo, Brillante, Wilkinson, Wilkshire, Dimi Petratos, Andrew Nabbout and Jason Geria could very possibly find themselves in the mix.
Then there’s the young starlet Daniel Arzani who has no doubt been impressive and may be the “bolter”, as everyone likes to say, in the squad. I think we’ll find there will be a few surprises in respect to what the last coach did selection-wise.
He is his own man and he plays the style of football needed to get results.
It will be impossible for him to personally see all the players with so little time remaining, which is why he has sent his scouts across the globe.
My feeling is he will bring in a host of players for the friendly matches against Norway and Colombia, more than he needs, just to get everyone together and have a good look at them.
Then it will be about time maximising time on the training pitch before the World Cup begins.