When Australia were about to embark on their first World Cup qualifying campaign in the Asian Football Confederation, many thought Football Federation Australia would return to a high-profile name to replace Graham Arnold after the latter stood down following an underwhelming 2007 Asian Cup campaign.
Instead, they chose a man whose experience in the region ranks alongside any in the game and although Pim Verbeek’s appointment was initially met with widespread cynicism by the Australian press, the decision was vindicated as the Dutchman guided the Socceroos to a second consecutive World Cup finals in impressive fashion.
Australia were in danger of losing the momentum gained in Germany four years ago, where they reached the second round under Guus Hiddink as Arnold came under fire for lacklustre performances in south-east Asia the following summer.
It was particularly concerning given football was battling to increase its market share in a country traditionally dominated by both rugby codes, cricket and Australian rules football.
Cahill is one of the stars of the Australia team.
Having enjoyed such success under Hiddink, and with a number of Dutchman integrated into all levels and age groups of the national team, the FFA once again turned to the Netherlands in the appointment of Verbeek.
The 54-year-old had served as both Hiddink and Dick Advocaat’s number two when they were in charge of South Korea and following the latter’s resignation after the 2006 World Cup, led the Koreans to third place at the Asian Cup after they beat regional rivals Japan on penalties.
It was enough to convince Australia that Verbeek was their man and his appointment was announced in December 2007.
“I am looking forward to the challenge ahead of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and I am committed to also helping to develop the game in Australia,” he told the FFA website.
“I am excited to be involved in what is an exciting time for football in Australia and I look forward to assisting the FFA in developing football in Australia and making myself available to support the national football development plan, in particular working with Australian coaches.”
Verbeek certainly had the right CV for Australia’s step into the unknown.
Having spent over 15 years coaching in his native Holland following the end of his playing career, Verbeek first moved to Asia when he took charge of J.League club Omiya Ardija in 1998.
From there he became Hiddink’s assistant with South Korea in 2000 and two years later, helped steer the East Asians to the semi-finals of the World Cup beating Portugal, Italy and Spain along the way.
Spells in Europe, Japan and the UAE followed before he once again returned to Korea in 2005, and success at the Asian Cup followed before he became the surprise choice for Australia.
“After very careful consideration and a rigorous recruitment process I am delighted that we have secured the services of a very experienced and respected national coach for the Socceroos,” said FFA Chairman Frank Lowy.
His appointment, though, was met with a muted reaction in Australia, particularly in light of his pragmatic approach with Korea that saw them fail to score but also not concede throughout the whole knockout stage of the 2007 Asian Cup.
And he managed to instil that ethos into the Australian team as they conceded just four goals in 14 World Cup qualifying games, eventually winning round his doubters despite accusations they were a boring team to watch.
“If you don’t have much time with your team, then I think you should start with organisation and that’s what we did. We always play the same system,” Verbeek told FIFA.com.
“Defensively I have a very good team but all my players are willing to do the hard job so it was very difficult to score a goal against us.
“Offensively, we scored the most amount of goals in Asian qualification of any Asian team, so I think we did very well. It’s funny, if you have a lot of clean sheets then people think you play defensively, so perhaps it’s better to win 4-3 than 3-0.”
His criticism of Australia’s domestic league also won him few friends.
“I explained later that I didn’t say it to insult anyone, I was just being honest,” he said.
“I said if you train six or seven times a week for a Bundesliga club then you are playing at a higher level than in the A-League.
“Everybody says, ‘You are right,’ but nobody wants you to say it. But at least they know I am honest.”
Verbeek, though, has decided not to renew his contract beyond the World Cup and will be keen to end his tenure on a high note as Australia look to negotiate a group containing Germany, Serbia and Ghana – one of the hardest in South Africa.
“It has been a very difficult decision for me after more than two years, but it is time for me to look for a new challenge,” said Verbeek.
“I have enjoyed every minute of being head coach of Australia and we achieved some fantastic results including qualifying for the World Cup and the Asian Cup.
“It is a good time to make this announcement so we can now focus completely on preparing everything perfectly for the upcoming World Cup in South Africa.
“If you go to World Cup and say ‘let’s win one game and we’re all happy’ then everybody’s laughing,” he added.
“We have the same target and the target is to do it better than 2006. I don’t say we’re going to do it better but that’s the target.”
Australia are 126.00 to win the World Cup 2010 and are 8.00 to win Group D.
Feel free to head over to www.bestworldcupbets.co.uk for all the best world cup bets and you can get a free world cup wall chart
Like What You See? Pass It On:
My goal here is to talk about not only the game of soccer itself but also getting in shape for the soccer season.
