Riley McGree defies critics of Olyroos campaign to insist playing for your country comes first
It’s the club v country row that has overshadowed the Olyroos’ bid to take a step towards their first Olympics since 2008 and get to grips with the demands of international football.
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It’s the club v country row that has overshadowed the Olyroos’ bid to take a step towards their first Olympics since 2008 and get to grips with the demands of international football.
But Melbourne City midfielder Riley McGree, globally famous as scorer of the scorpion goal last season, insists he is happy to put the needs of national service before club politics in the pursuit of playing on the Olympic stage.
The Olyroos kick-off three games in five days in Cambodia late on Friday that will determine whether they reach the last round of qualification for Tokyo 2020, or add to the list of recent Olympic disappointments.
A week in Malaysia was their only preparation under coach Graham Arnold but even that brought protests from some A-League clubs and commentators, with former Socceroo Mark Bosnich branding it “disrespectful” to the competition having the players miss an extra game.
McGree, though, declared that the Olyroos’ already parlous prospects of progressing would have been terminal had they not spent a week acclimatising to oppressive temperatures and humidity.
“If we were to just show up today, we couldn’t be prepared,” McGree said. “The first week was invaluable in getting us acclimatised to the kind of pitch we’ll play on, the weather, the conditions.
“It’s also been about working out to play the way the coaching staff want us to. We couldn’t have done it without that extra week.
“We’ve not played together much, the first few days helped us come together as a squad and start to understand what we’ll be up against.”
Club teammates had queried on social media whether the Olyroos should have to miss an extra A-League game but McGree was adamant that his priorities were clear.
“It’s the national team that comes first,” he said. “The clubs have mostly been cooperative and I know Melbourne City were happy to let us go. It’s important for us to come here, we want to play in the Olympics.
“We’ve missed a game (from being in the training camp) but you come back to your club and work hard — if you lose your spot you have to work to get it back.
“Arnie explained to us that this is our chance to get on to the Olympic stage, it’s good in terms of the Socceroos but it’s also the world stage and you don’t know who’s watching if we get there.”