Mid-season Olyroos call-up is ‘bad for football’: Babbel

Wanderers coach says he is being punished for playing youngsters as two of his key men are whisked away on Olyroos duty.

Keanu Baccus will be missing for the Wanderers to participate in the Olyroos’ Olympic qualifying tournament Picture: AAP

Western Sydney coach Markus Babbel claims he is being punished for playing youngsters as two of his key men are whisked away on Olyroos duty for the AFC U-23 Championships campaign in Thailand.

Babbel has a selection headache for Wednesday night’s match against Brisbane Roar as Keanu Baccus and Tass Mourdoukoutas are away with the Olyroos for the tournament that kicks off next week while Swiss enforcer Pirmin Schwegler copped a one-match ban after picking up his fifth yellow card last week.

It’s just the thing the German coach didn’t need after winning his first match in seven weeks against Adelaide.

“It’s not good for Australian football,” Babbel said. “It’s normal that (Graham) Arnold is taking the best young players. It’s not ­Arnold’s fault, I don’t understand why there is no international ­window.

“We do something good for the league and then they take our best players. It’s not only for us, it’s for all the teams as well.

“Sydney FC only play with adults, there are no young players in the starting line-up.

“I understand every team that wants to win the title, they say, ‘No, I don’t choose young ones.’ You get punished for doing good with young ones.”

Babbel faces losing his two youngsters for up to three matches next month and it will be a new-look midfield for their home match against the Roar.

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The likely candidates to replace the missing trio include academy graduates Nick Sullivan and Kosta Grozos. Nicolai Muller may return to a central position but there will be the temptation to keep him on the wing after his two-goal performance last week.

If it’s any respite for Babbel, he’s facing Robbie Fowler’s Roar. who are equal on points with bottom side Newcastle, with four points from their past five matches and without an away win this season.

Despite the pressures and supposed downfalls that come with playing young players, Babbel said the club would stay true to its youth production philosophies.

“Our philosophy is that we want to bring young players from our academy into the first team. It’s tough. It is like it is. There is a problem and we have to find a ­solution,” he said.

Meanwhile, Fowler said his friendship with Babbel had provided an outlet amid the pressures of A-League coaching.

But the Brisbane mentor said he’d happily heap some misery on his former Liverpool teammate on Wednesday night.

Fowler has kept in regular touch with the former German international throughout the season but said the pair usually talk about things other than work.

“We don’t really speak about football all the time, no different with you and your mates,” Fowler said. “He’s the type of character that will get results — I hope he doesn’t get a result tomorrow (Wednesday).

“Look at the way they started the season, he was everyone’s best mate and all of a sudden you get some adverse results and it shows where your true friends lie.

“That loyalty you may have had at the start of the season, that just disappears when you get some bad results.”

Fowler dropped key striker Roy O’Donovan to the bench for the side’s weekend clash with Newcastle, preferring Aaron Amadi-Holloway and teenage debutant Mirza Muratovic in attack.

The visitors jagged a late goal in a 1-1 draw, giving them 10 goals for the season and a third draw to go with two wins and five losses.

The coach insisted they aren’t dwelling on their first-half goal drought.

“This thing with pressure doesn’t make sense to me … it’s not something we’re making a big deal out of (because) the result at the end of the game is more important,” he said.

Babbel said he had taken lessons from the 0-0 draw between the two teams in round four.

“You don’t get a lot of space (against the Roar), especially tactically. If you’re not in the right position it’s difficult to create chances with 10, 11 players in front of goal,” Babbel said.

The Daily Telegraph, AAP