Australia’s newest captain Trent Sainsbury puts team success before personal accolades
IN his 34th appearance for his country he became Australia’s 59th captain, but while Trent Sainsbury was ‘honoured’ with wearing the armband, the selfless defender had the bigger picture on his mind.
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IN his 34th appearance for his country he became Australia’s 59th captain, but Trent Sainsbury had focus only for how his team had played as the Socceroos’ World Cup countdown took a major step forward.
Made skipper in Mile Jedinak’s absence, Sainsbury was well aware of the honour in carrying the armband as his side put four unanswered goals past the Czech Republic in their penultimate pre-Russia friendly on Friday night.
The result could have been different had the Czechs taken some early chances as the Australian rearguard got to grips with a new defensive structure under coach Bert van Marwijk.
But Sainsbury - in tandem at the heart of defence with Mark Milligan - came to the rescue several times, and could look forward with confidence afterwards.
“We took a step forward, that’s for sure, but there were a few issues we have to adjust to,” he said. “We’ll look at it on the video and put the answers into practice on the pitch. But it was a good performance and the clean sheet was nice.
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“There were some teething problems at first but we started communicating better and slowly we started to gain more control in that defensive back third.
“In the first 10 or 15 minutes it was a little bit difficult to adjust, and we didn’t really know what system the Czechs would be playing so it was a bit of a guessing game at the start.
“Then we got a little bit more courage on the ball and started playing our football. “Football throws up so many challenges. To get the clean sheet and four goals, it’s always nice, but at the end of the day it’s a friendly and we’re looking forward to the next one.”
Sainsbury described the captaincy as a lifelong dream, with Jedinak sitting out the game through minor injuries.
“It’s nice to wear the armband and have the honour of captaining your country,” he said. “To do it in a 4-0 result put the cherry on top.
“It’s a nice little confidence boost, to have the approval of Bert himself. It’s a massive honour, something you dream about as a kid, and I got to tick it off the bucket list.”
Though Sainsbury is certain to be part of van Marwijk’s final squad, he said the process of eliminating four players from those who go to Russia would be painful.
“It’s a bit of a rollercoaster - you’ve got to feel for the boys who do get cut and no one’s safe at the moment,” he said. “Anything can happen - we have to take it as it comes.
“It’s a tight group and the boys will be feeling the pinch I think when it comes to decision time.”