"Injuries and a thin talent pool have cost the Canadian men's soccer team so far this year. But head coach Holger Osieck isn't deterred by a 1-3 record in 2003, with lopsided losses to U.S. and German sides. "I'm not frustrated," Osieck said after the recent 4-1 defeat in Germany. "I'm fighting and I'm trying to get things together, and I got some positive stuff out of it (the loss to Germany)." http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/030609/6/tfhp.html Osieck takes a little shot at the A-League at the end of the article. A few of the Canadian players have developed their skills in the A-League before moving to Europe.
Have to agree with him though There is not a large pool of players to choose from so a string of injuries decimates the team in a hurry. I still think that the lack of substition use is a weakness of Holger's. I also agree with his view that the jump from A League to international is rather huge, but since the game was already over getting the players (Jordan and Budalic) some play could have done wonders for them by giving them a taste of how top flite ball is played. You don't improve by playing the same competition over and over and forcing the youngsters to take a couple of steps up may have helped a lot more in the long run then a short term bruising of their ego now.
I don't think he was taking a shot at the A-league. What he said is correct. It's too big of a jump. While the level of play in the A-league has significantly improved over the last 8 years it can't produce international caliber players. I do agree that he should have given those players a run out though. They could have impressed someone in Europe and gotten a contract.
I would tend to agree. The A-League is getting more on par with the German and Swedish 2nd Division, but more needs to be done in order to produce International Class players. Maybe more emphasis on keeping posession would help.
Re That's quite a stretch there comparing the Swedish 2nd division to the Bundesliga 2. Think you're off the mark there. I don't know squat about the Swedish 2nd (or any) division but the level of the Bundesliga 2 is above most A-League teams that I've seen (and I've seen quite a few).