How Jamie Maclaren convinced Socceroos boss Bert van Marwijk to pick him for Russia 2018
SOCCEROOS boss Bert van Marwijk has revealed how his mind was changed by Jamie Maclaren, after the striker earned a second chance at going to the World Cup.
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SOCCEROOS boss Bert van Marwijk has revealed how his mind was changed by Jamie Maclaren, after the striker earned a second chance at going to the World Cup.
Hours after electing to keep Maclaren in his final 23 for Russia, after initially excluding him, van Marwijk said the 24-year-old had convinced him he was indispensable during what was effectively a five-day trial.
Van Marwijk described the emotion of telling four players they had been cut from the final squad, though he said the final permutation had given him more attacking options ahead of the World Cup.
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That includes Maclaren, summoned from holiday as injury cover but now in the squad in his own right.
“He was not in the first nomination, but I got him in because of the injury to Tomi Juric,” van Marwijk said. “He came, and I’m satisfied about him.
“He’s a typical player who always gets a chance (on goal) — it was difficult for him as he was already on vacation, I think for eight or nine days.
“Then he came and I wanted to give him a real chance, a week, and he had to train from the first moment very hard.
“We trained very intensively, a lot of times twice a day, so it was very difficult for him and not really fair to him.
“But he made a good impression, so I think I need him.”
In the space of 10 days Jamie Maclaren goes from moving to poolside dance beats in Dubai to being guaranteed a seat on a plane to the World Cup in Russia. Football is so unpredictable
— Ned Zelic (@NedZelic) June 3, 2018
Maclaren’s inclusion gives van Marwijk an extra pure striker, a luxury he believes he can afford thanks to performances elsewhere on the park.
“Of course I look at those problems, but defending, I think we have enough players,” he said. “A big positive is the development of Josh Risdon and I have another two players in the squad who can play in that position.
“We have enough central defenders, and the same for the defensive midfielders. Now I have more options upfront, with several types of centre-forward.
“Andrew Nabbout can play on the sides, or as the No 10, so I have more players who can play in more positions.”
Van Marwijk admitted that telling Josh Brillante, Nikita Rukavytsya, James Troisi and Fran Karacic they were going home was a task that had not been made any easier for his experience of doing it previously in his career.
“They are always the hardest decisions, and I’ve had the experience a few times,” he said. “I told them a few weeks ago, when we started, that this moment would come.
“You have to think as a professional but it is still always an emotional day for everybody.”
Jackson Irvine sat out training on Sunday, but van Marwijk said his was a minor hamstring injury that would sideline him only for a day.