Most Europeans fans think, that despite the presence of Hiddink, Austalia will not leave an impression at all. What do you think?
The way the Roos played against Uruguay will result in a nonconsequential 1st round knockoff for sure. It was heartening and exciting but nonetheless... I think it's critical that the Roos line up friendlies in prepartion for the WC! They need to play together and practice against WC caliber teams so that they can maximize their potential.
I'm pretty sure we have friendlies lined up with the Netherlands (in Holland) and Greece (here in oz). There are slots for about 3-4 more friendlies, and there are the 2-3 Asia Cup games as well before the WC.
Don't we have games lines up agaisnt greece, holland & croatia? I didn't think we played badly against uruguay at all. Given that bresciano played the game with pain killers & we certainly haven't seen the best of kewell given the time he's been out with injury I think there is a bit of upside to this team. Not to mention the fact that hiddink has a lot more time to iron out any problems he sees.
Do you guys know of Paftafa? It is something like that. He is Australia U-17's captain and just signed with Benfica, and I heard he is really good for his age. What can you guys tell me about him?
As for that Aussie playing at Benfica, there is an article in the Herald this morning on him.... http://www.smh.com.au/news/football/the-next-big-thing-is--small/2005/11/25/1132703381448.html He was not offered an A-League contract, but he is at the AIS so who knows. However he would be in good company to not play in the national league. Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill, and Craig Johnson just off the top of my head. Our national league is very small and they go for the established, "safe" players and dodge up and comers usually. That is a area that we need to look at badly. At the minute they are only required to contact 2 youth Aussie players which is pretty weak. According to the mail down here, Guus Hiddink wants him at PSV, Benfica were interested but nothing is in writing as yet. You would think he would follow the supercoach to Holland and not go to Portugal.
It's hard to say in the modern game. Let's face it, very few national teams play outstanding football these days, with the exception of Brazil. The way I see it, Australia only has about six teams to fear - Brazil, Argentina, Netherlands, Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic. The Czechs could be the real dark horse with a bit of luck. Australia has generally played well against the big boys over the years, but have proceeded to disappoint against their peers. The matches against the big teams have probably been treated like the World Cup Final, meaning that the team is 'spent' by their next match. Learning to pace the team will be Hiddink's biggest challenge after hopefully improving our play in the attacking third in the leadup friendlies. He will also need to include more pace in our defence, because Uruguay tended to play a surprising amount of long balls, meaning we needed size at the back to counter Richard Morales. As the last WC and Euro Championships have shown, this is not a great era for national teams filled with 'supastars' - a collective team spirit seems more important than technique in the modern game. In all honesty, Australia would do well to make the 2nd Round, and our chances will depend on the draw to some extent.
^^^^^^ Got to agree, the Aussies seem to really lift for the big matches against the toughest opponents then go flat against the average nations. I'm tipping Oz will do very well at the World Cup this time. It is so different then the past when our guys would be playing all heart and with little up stairs. Unlike in the old times, we will be as prepared if not better then our opponents. Now our team has the resources to be better prepared tactically, mentally and physically.
^^^^^^ Have to agree 100 %. We are very, very, quietly confident. But we are not getting carried away, just at the moment. We are playing the "grey man" role going into the cup. Just keeping a low profile before we take the sword to the lot of 'em!
The biggest thing Australia has going for it is that the Aussies love to win and everyone is underestimating them. I think Australia might surprise some people and get a couple of wins in the WC.
I'd like to think we'll make it at least past the group stage, and if we get the right opponent there, final 8 would be awesome! Semi's would probably be asking too much, but I certainly think we've got the players, coach, and finally actual TEAM to put a good account of ourselves foreward. And now moving to asia, we can hopefully improve with the stiffer competition and maybe build on next years performance... BTW, who would people like to see us send home early at the Cup if we got the chance? Personally, I'd like to send Vieri and the Italians home, since he didn't think we were worth playing for... Anyone else on your shite-lists, people? I'd like to send Uruguay home twice, but I think we'll have to wait for that... lol!