Football news 2024: Graham Arnold breaks silence on dramatic Socceroos exit

Graham Arnold has broken his silence on his decision to step down as Socceroos coach, revealing crucial advice from a sporting supercoach which cemented his decision to leave.

It was some wise words from legendary rugby league coach Wayne Bennett that cemented Graham Arnold’s decision to hand over his resignation letter during the Socceroos’ World Cup qualifiers.

The 61-year-old said, on Fox Sports’ The Back Page Live on Tuesday night, the doubts started creeping in following the Socceroos’ early exit from the 2023 Asian Cup.

Their 1-0 loss to Bahrain in the last international window was the tipping point and Arnold reached out to long-time friend Bennett.

“Unless you’re a coach you don’t understand how the coach feels,” Arnold said.

Graham Arnold during the game against Indonesia, the last in his career as Socceroos coach. Picture: Getty Images

“I’ve got a great relationship with Wayne and always have. I spoke to him straight after the Bahrain game because I’ve been feeling this way for a number of months and he asked me three questions.

“The first question was when you wake up in the morning are you excited to go to meetings and the training pitch — I said no.

“He said when you look into the players’ eyes what do you see? And that’s really crucial because you can see in the players’ eyes if they’re really switched on and they’re focussed and I said no, I don’t think they are.

“The last thing he said to me was if you had a lemon and you squeezed the lemon is there any juice left? I said No.

“He said you’ve answered your own questions and all the best.”

Arnold’s resignation was confirmed by Football Australia on Friday and effective immediately.

The coach reiterated on the show that his decision was based on doing what was best for the team — especially with a spot in the 2026 World Cup on the line.

The Socceroos lost the first match to Bahrain 0-1 and drew with Indonesia 0-0 — taking just one point from a possible six from their first two games. They still have eight games left — with China and Japan their next opponents in October.

Football Australia were quick to hire Arnold’s replacement — taking just four days to officially announce former Melbourne Victory coach Tony Popovic as the new coach.

Wise words from NRL supercoach Wayne Bennett helped Graham Arnold come to his decision. Picture: NRL Imagery

Arnold wouldn’t comment on his thoughts on how quickly he had been replaced.

But said he had full faith in Popovic’s ability to get the best out of the team.

“What I tried to do is build depth for the squad and I do believe I’m leaving the squad very strong,” Arnold said.

“I expect Tony will do a great job and they’ll qualify direct for the World Cup.”

Arnold, the longest serving and most successful Socceroos coach, said resigning was not a difficult decision.

Tony Popovic was unveiled as the new Socceroos coach this week. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images for Football Australia

“Everyone thinks it was a difficult decision but it was quite easy,” he said.

“I always put the nation first, the team first, and myself last. And I just felt that probably ever since the loss in the Asian Cup, I haven’t felt the same, and I’m always honest.

“And you know, the stomach was telling me, the gut was telling me it was time to leave, and “I’d done my best with this group of players and so it was at the end of the day, as I said, it was an easy decision.

“I felt if I did stay on, that maybe things wouldn’t go the way I wanted to. So when you doubt yourself, that’s when you’ve got to get out and, you know, and maybe the players were feeling that a bit, but as I said, it was a decision for the right thing, for the players and the team.”

Graham Arnold has no immediate plans to return to the coaching arena. Picture: Getty Images

Arnold said he had no immediate plans other than to relax and enjoy his first free time in six years.

He was quick to rule out the possibility of ever coaching in Australia again.

“I’d like to go on a new journey,” Arnold said.

“I’ve done a lot for Australian football. I’ve been involved for 40 years and given everything that I’ve got and had but it’d be nice to go on a new journey.”

The Socceroos will play China in Adelaide on October 10 and then travel to face Japan on October 15. Just the top two of the six teams in each group will earn direct qualification to the World Cup. Australia sit fifth in their pool, just one point ahead of China and five points behind undefeated Japan.

Originally published as Football news 2024: Graham Arnold breaks silence on dramatic Socceroos exit