Former Socceroos coach Rale Rasic says current boss Ange Postecoglou will ‘sack himself’
LEGENDARY Socceroos coach Rale Rasic says Ange Postecoglou will “sack himself” if he doesn’t remodify his ways.
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LEGENDARY Socceroos coach Rale Rasic says Ange Postecoglou will “sack himself” if he doesn’t remodify his ways.
After becoming the first Australian coach to lead the Socceroos to a FIFA World Cup in 1974 with a group of part-time players Rasic is worried now the nation must qualify for Russia next year via four stressful play off matches.
“If he continues to go the way he is going at the moment, he will sack himself,” Rasic said.
“He has to change.
“There is naievity.
“When (ex Socceroos coach) Holger Osieck qualified for the last World Cup he got the sack.
“The question is now, I think the football federation (Australia) thinks from a financial point of view rather than a reality check.”
The Socceroos first play off match is a potential banana skin, away to Syria in Malacca, Malaysia on October 5 before the return leg in Sydney five days later.
If the Socceroos win that clash on aggregate, in November they will face the fourth-placed nation - home-and-away from CONCACEF - the US which hasn’t missed any of the seven World Cups since 1990.
Postecoglou has been under severe scrutiny since Australia missed direct qualification to Russia.
Former Socceroos Mark Bosnich and Robbie Slater have been the most vocal critics with the pair advocating for change on the Australian bench after the 2-1 win over Thailand on September 5 while former Australia captain John Kosmina believes removing Postecoglou is pointless.
The Socceroos finished third in Asia’s Group B, on equal points but with an inferior goal difference to second-placed Saudi Arabia while Japan ended the campaign a point above the two nations.
But Australia losing 2-0 to Japan on August 31 riled Rasic.
“No-one has outplayed us more than Japan, we’re not in the same class,’’ Rasic said.
“The team is not always the 11 best players, it’s the 11 best solutions.”
Rasic also declared his disappointment after Postecouglou slammed the “garbage” criticism of his side at the post-match press conference after the win over Thailand.
The Socceroos boss seemingly became frustrated with the line of questioning before ending the media conference abruptly.
“I don’t think the homework has been done properly,’’ Rasic said.
“Something is wrong, the body language, it shows something is not right.
“I have been a national coach for so long and I can tell you one thing, you cannot walk out of any press conference, you can’t do it.
“Once you walk from the press conference, the media is your biggest enemy for life.
“It’s very difficult now, club coaching is different to the national team.
“The national team is man management, not coaching.
Originally published as Former Socceroos coach Rale Rasic says current boss Ange Postecoglou will ‘sack himself’
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