Why Australia & Pim Verbeek lost more than just the tactical battle vs Germany

Germany Coach Joachim Loew & Australia's Pim Verbeek

Loew & his team were accused of arrogance by the English speaking media! As it turned out they were doing their homework on the Socceroos!

The media in Australia did not waste a second after the Socceroos emphatic defeat by Germany! The knives were & are still out! Depending on the media outlet everyone & everything under the sun from Pim Verbeek to the players to the actual sport itself were attacked for the so called embarrassing defeat!

Channel Ten went as far as claiming today that 3 senior players had officially complained to the FFA about Pim Verbeek.

Ben Buckley & the FFA officially denied the rumours this afternoon. Of course we all know what it means when the officials resort to denial in any situation! It means that not all is well in the camp & the much envied team spirit & mateship that Australian teams in most sports are renouned for is lacking. Those of us who are dedicated World Cup followers can count dozens of teams, most notoriously several of the talented Holland teams, which performed poorly at World Cups as a direct result of disharmony in their camps.

But here's the point:

At the end of the day Pim Verbeek is the coach. Whilst he should allow players to have an input after the disaster against Germany, his position must be respected & all rebellion must be quashed at once.

True!, Pim Verbeek's tactical appraoch went horribly wrong & was very poor at best & very naive at worst. We were exposed throughout the match & our shortcomings were embarrassingly on display. He abandoned the much unloved & criticised, yet disciplined & successful system that had taken his team all the way to the World Cup, and we all paid for it! The players, the fans, the coach himself, the FFA, the (yet again) disenchanted casual non football fans & potentially our 2022 bid. But a coach's position is a revered one & must be respected until the end of the tournament.

The job at hand now is to unify & motivate the players & prepare them mentally, physically & tactically for the next two matches in order to redeem our national reputation, & indeed that of the players & the coach, and with them the midterm viability & popularity of football in Australia.

Having said all of that, I am absolutely amazed at the seemingly poor study & appreciation of the German footballing mentality prior to the game. Germans & the Dutch are bitter sporting & historical rivals. Pim, a Dutchman, has no excuse in underestimating the Germans so badly. Anyone who has followed German football over the years could have warned the team about some typical characteristics of the German national team, some of which I eluded to in my pre match blog last week. The Socceroos did not seem to go to the match with any of the following facts in their plans:

• When the former German great Paul Breitner was interviewed prior to the match, he admitted he as a commentator & most probably most of the German players knew little about Australia & its players, but he stated the staff in the team whose job was to get to know Australia were surely doing that!

• Germany have always worked on both mental as well as physical state of their players. Their successful track record in the World Cup owes as much to their physical & mental strength as it does to to their tactical prowess.

• All the English speaking media hype in Australia & UK pointed to arrogant & dismissive approach of Germany to Socceroos & lack of world class talent in the German squad.. What happened on the day was the exact opposite!

Australia , the second oldest team in the torrnament went to the match against the Youngest German side since 1954 expecting a rugby style physical game void of tactical matery! The Germans on the other hand fielded 5 tactically gifted players all younger than 22 & with a handful of caps between them in their starting line up & supplemented them with world class & tactically gifted stars such as Klose, Podolski, Lahm & Schweinsteiger!

The problem here lies with the English speaking media, and that includes all forms of media that is involved with the English Premier League & Enfglish football in general.

All we hear on TV shows & read in various English soccer magazines (& I have been doing both for more than 30 years) is how few tactically gifted footballers Germany has produced since they won the World Cup in 1990! Whilst this is correct to a certain extent, it is only relative to exceptional stars from a handful of countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Holland & Spain, and much less accurate in comparison with players in e.g. Italy & England & the likes!

It seems Pim Verbeek lost his Dutch instinct & started to believe in English speaking tabloid sport reporting expecting a German side void of talent or tactics! The likes of Ozil, Muller, Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Kedira, Klose & Podolski are all as tactically & technically as gifted as any of the top EPL players & many other players across Europe! & that showed on the night! Australia expected a physical opponent & got little masters of the ball instead!

• Germany always conduct their final preparations prior to the World Cup by playing a so called minnow such as Luxembourg or Lichtenstein in order to allow their players to practise tactical formations & sharpen their minds by scoring lots of goals. This year they played a local side in Italy for a 25-0 win before flying to South Africa. By the time they start the tournament they are hungry for goals & their first opponent would be wise to employ tried & tested & well disciplined tactics against them. Pim abandoned his tried 7 tested & well disciplined tactics of the past two years.
• As Craig Foster states, the modus operandi of the group stage, Germany are masters of the World Cup "modus operandi", i.e. win the first match & win by as big a margin as you can! This not only takes the pressure off, it also gives (in this case) strikers such as Podolski & Klose well needed confidence for the rest of the tournament (both had poor seasons & both scored against Australia). For e.g. in 2006 Germany won their opening match 4-2 (scored 4) & in 2002 8-0 & even a 2-0 in 1998!

The point I am trying to make from the above is that a good team performance & a respectable scoreline would have easily made up for defeat in the match against Germany. It was the poor performance that was so sadly missing that hurt the most. Amateurish tactics & inferior physical conditioning showed throughout the match!

But all is not lost! as long as our leaders can unify & re motivate the team, review the tactical approach & bring back the die hard Aussie spirit, we can still make it to the second round. neither Ghana nor Serbia impressed much in their first game & the Socceroos at their most disciplined are more than capable of grinding the right results out of the next two matches & redeem themselves & their coach!

Post no 2:FFA vs AFL: FIFA World Cup is a great marketing opportunity. AFL & NRL will risk missing out!

(Please also refer to the previous blog on this topic posted on 11th December)

The FIFA World Cup will be staged in Australia regardless of short sided panic driven attempts by the likes of Andrew Demetriou to derail Australia's bid. BUT Australia's bid will be successful ONLY IF the GODS want it to be. Here are the 4 major players:

1) Major Group 1: FIFA, the not much loved powerful international body (due to its lax treatment of cheating by players on the field) wants Australia to stage the WC because:

a) FIFA is interested in the untapped markets of INDIA/CHINA in particular & the rest of Asia in general (2/3 of the world population & a fast rising living standards)

b) Its rotation policy will mean that Oceania has to be given a chance as a continent to stage the games now that Africa will be doing so in 2010.

2) Major Group 2: Frank Lowy & the Federal Government: Mr Lowy & Kevin Rudd have worked tirelessly to position Australia as the ideal location to achieve a win win situation for all interested parties & we need their tireless lobbying & support to continue for the next few years. Our bid emphasises:

a) Australia's time zone being closer to Asia's making it easier to reach the untapped Asian TV audiences compared to Europe/USA, and hence better potential advertising revenue (and higher TV rights for FIFA)

b) Australia's infrastructure/political stability (NSW Govt aside!) & track record of successful large events management

3) Major Group 3: the Media giants like News Ltd & multinational sponsors of WC: they see the World Cup in Australia as a giant opportunity for marketing & promotion to football mad Asian audiences. (2006 WC in Germany had an approximate cumulative audience of 24 billion). By 2018/2022 Asia's prosperity means millions more TV sets & potentially 100s of millions of more TV viewers per match

What has to happen is of course agreement amongst all of the above, and reasonable compensation to other codes for altering their seasons for the year when it happens.

The "Poofters, Sheilas, Wogs" strategy by "football haters" in Australia to protect their miserable market share is no longer effective because:

a) Many AFL & NRL fans are second generation Europeans/ethnics of "Soccer loving" parents. These fans would welcome & support the bid for FIFA WC Australia
b) Many younger Aussies now attend soccer matches during their travels around Europe & have been exposed to the great atmosphere of competitive football
c) Internet & Pay TV are fast educating sports fans about football and creating new fans and/or making more Australians less negative or neutral towards football!

FFA vs AFL: Andrew Demetriou's strategy to embarrass the FFA & derail Australia's bid to stage the FIFA World Cup will backfire

The AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou has caused major uproar & controversy due to his myopic stance on Australia's bid to stage the FIFA Football World Cup in 2018 or 2022. trying to jealously derail Australia's bit for the FIFA WC 2018 or 2022.

There are various aspects of this controversy which have to be carefully considered:

It is fair to say that as the CEO of AFL, Andrew Demetriou's main responsibility is to make sure the AFL season is a success both on & off the field, protect & expand AFL's market share & profile& promote AFL. He's not responsible or has any moral or legal obligation to support or assist any rival code's aspirations.

At the same time, football codes & indeed other organised sports must be reasonably compensated for the potential loss of income if/when the World Cup is staged in Australia. FFA, The Federal Government & even fans acknowledge & appreciate this point.

However, the timing of Demetriou's comments (and the less publised claim by Shane Richardson of South Sydney) was clearly designed to destabilise Australia's bid because the final day for submissions was Friday 11th.

Sports administrators like Demetriou who are in charge of sports such as AFL which do not have a large international following or profile (and I mean no disrespect to the code by saying so) risk over stepping their authority with inflammatory comments which are designed to embarrass the administration of a rival code which is engaged in the complex web of international diplomacy & power play. Because in doing so, Demetriou's words may go as far as embarrassing the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who had been lobbying tirelessly to advance Australia's bid as a matter of national interest at the same time as Demetriou's comments embarrassed Australia & the FFA on an international basis. (Just check various football websites to see the adverse impact the comments had on Australia's profile) Mr Demetriou & AFL, with their small minded sport administration minds do not seem to have Australia's national interest at heart & are unwilling to acknowledge the positive aspects of staging the World Cup lest it makes fringe players like them look totally irrelevant.

Therefore Demetriou is either a trouble maker or is trapped in a world of small time sport administration & hence unable to grasp the scale & popularity of the FIFA World Cup. Demetriou's sporting world has a fan base of at best 20 million, or even smaller (assuming all of Australia & Ireland follow AFL!). The significance of Melbourne with its sporting infrastructure & passionate fans is massive. Demetriou & his backers are using this as a way of blackmailing the FFA & Australian fans for that matter. What they are forgetting is that AFL has contractual agreements with various venues but does not own Telstra Stadium & the MCG (& has a complex agreement with the privately owned Eithad Stadium). i.e. AFL can not, must not & will not hold the fans & the FFA at ransom over its use of various venues!

Staging the FIFA World Cup is the most sought after event in the world. It has shown to have significant positive cultural & financial impact. The cumulative worldwide audience of the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 is estimated to easily be more than the combined accumulative worldwide audience of Sydney 2000 Olympics and Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth games! That is why Prime Ministers get personally involved in the lobbying & promoting process. The likes of Andrew Demetriou have no place in the process, not unless their ulterior motives demand they get involved.

The AFL Board & Andrew Demetriou conveniently ignore the time line of 9 to 13 years to plan for the event as well as the cultural, financial & economic significance of hosting the FIFA World Cup.

For example, the USA bid documents (rivaling Australia) claim staging the World Cup in 2018 may bring as much as $5 billion to the USA economy. (please see

http://www.gousabid.com/news/entry/study-shows-hosting-fifa-world-cup-in-2018-or-2022-could-bring-in-5-billion).

World Cup 2006 played a major role in both improving Germany's international standing & perception as a friendly nation & was credited with helping to bring the recession to an end in Germany due to its major impact on creating employment in industries from construction to tourism.

On the other hand, AFL Board knows the significance of Melbourne as the Sporting Capital of Australia, both in terms of facilities and its passionate supporters. Melbourne has an integral role in the bid & the event, but Andrew Demetriou is neither the Premier of Victoria nor the owner of the MCG & Telstra Stadium (although AFL has a contract & ownership arrangement with the privately owned stadium!) Petty rivalry & jealousy between various codes must be set aside for a national cause, in order to stage the greatest single event (sporting or otherwise) in the world, the same way Australia came together & made the Sydney Olympics & Melbourne Commonwealth Games successful events.

This is imperative because FIFA is an extremely powerful organisation (in fact too powerful). In 2006, during the last World Cup, FIFA accounts show a gross operating revenues in excess of $800 million. In non World Cup years it's revenue is around $250 million. Getting to stage a FIFA World Cup is a huge financial, marketing, lobbying & preference enticing task which at times can the world of international politics look like child play!

FIFA's power comes from 1) huge media revenue due to football's irresistible marketability around the world, and 2) its vast membership base which currently stands at 208 Federations.

In comparison, United Nations currently has 192 members! (FIFA grants membership to countries/territories which for political reasons are not granted UN membership, e.g. Taiwan & Phalestine)

Of course, neither the worldwide popularity of football nor its powerful representative body FIFA should interfere with the rightful plans of any other sport. But for a sport that runs its fixtures from March to August, Demetriou can easily start to plan to have the code ready in time to have the 2018 or 2022's Calendar altered, the same way school holidays, various sporting leagues & daylight saving were altered during the Sydney Olympics or Melbourne Commonwaelth games! If not, it simply demonstrates incompetence on the part of Demetriou & in his team if they find it impossible to plan to alter a season in 9 or 13 years time!

If Demetriou can't plan for that far ahead then he is showing his administrative incompetence & should resign!

Mr Detemriou & the AFL Board must be careful not to over estimate their code's support base & consider the adverse PR risks involved in their risky strategy. They risk alienating the supporters they need for second AFL teams to succeed, especially in Sydney.

1. AFL does not have as strong a support base base in Australia's Eastern seaboard as it does in Victoria, SA & WA. League, Union, Soccer & cricket are still more popular than AFL in Sydney & Brisbane. Western Suburbs of Sydney is a hotbed of Soccer & Rugby League. If AFL are seen to be derailing the FFA World Cup bid, the adverse PR effect may jeapordise the viability of the planned second AFL team in Sydney.

2. Many loyal AFL supporters in the stronger AFL markets are of European ethnic origins. In fact, AFL supporters of e.g. Greek, Italian, Maltese & Croatian background would like to see Australia stage the FIFA World Cup more passionately than many non AFL supporters. Derailing the bid may also have an adverse PR effect on the AFL stronger markets.

3. Let's not be so myopic! Would Andrew Demetriou have stated the same objection if Melbourne were to be granted the next Olympics which is usually held in August?

4. Andrew Demetriou's legacy will be forever tarnished if he ends up depriving the sport loving people of Melbourne from staging the FIFA World Cup final because Sydney or even Brisbane will pounce at the opportunity to take the final of the world's biggest & most popular sporting event away from Melbourne, and potentially with it Melbourne's title of the sporting capital of Australia

In conclusion, whilst it is ok to demand a reasonable compensation for potential loss of revenue, & FFA & FIFA must acknowledge this fact, various football code adminstrators must understand that blackmail tactics to protect their patch will backfire & they can no longer supress the popularity of soccer in Australia by using the "shielas, poofters & wogs" redneck strategy! Not only more of us are travelling overseas & get to witness the wonders & fantastic atmosphere of football matches in person, we also have access to the internet & pay tv & hence a much broader exposure to the popularity of football across the globe.

Soccer is here to stay & it will challenge other codes regardless of whether Andrew Demetriou & the likes manage to dent our bid to stage the "World Game!" But staging the World Cup is not just about rivalry between codes Mr Demetriou! Wake up to your conscience & acknowledge its national & international significance, and the fact that a united national effort is required if Australia's bid is to succeed.

So, Go ahead! Andrew Demetriou! Give us your best Aerial Ping Pong Shot! It will bounce back & blow in your face so fast that you won't know what hit you!

The Socceroos qualified for the World Cup 2010 in an emphatic if not stylish fashion

Congratulations to the mighty Socceroos, Pim Verbeek, FFA and all backroom staff and all supporters of the mighty Socceroos for their back to back qualification for the world's biggest sporting event, the FIFA World Cup.

Thank God! Gone are the days when the Socceroos and their ever loyal supporters had to wait for the nail biting matches to determine the last qualification place! The Socceroos were the second nation to qualify for next year's World Cup on Saturday(in reality Japan and Australia qualified around the same time as the first two qualifying nations).

Since taking over as the Socceroos Coach, Pim Verbeek time and time again reminded everyone in Australia, in his slightly arrogant but endearing media interviews, that he was not recruited to deliver a team capable of playing beautiful attractive football! He was there to make sure Australia qualified for the World Cup! And now he has delivered, albeit by producing a regimented, disciplined and not so pretty to watch team which has shown itself capable of defending well and at times snatching crucial last gasp victories. A trait that all successful teams must possess.

Australia have qualified from the admittedly easier of the two Asian Group comfortably and in a dominant fashion. So far, with two matches left to play, Australia are also the only team in the world not having conceded a single goal in their qualifying campaign. However, their performances have been inconsistent, at times painfully hard to watch, and on occasions breath taking. Pim Verbeek will hopefully use the remaining time between now and the WC to fine tune the team into a more consistent unit.

The next immediate task however is to make sure the fans in Australia are not taken for granted between now and WC 2010. The Australian fans deserve to see all the available stars in their long awaited celebration game in Sydney against Bahrain in June. By fielding a very strong squad and providing an attractive attacking game next Wednesday, Ben Buckley and the FFA can avoid repeating the absolute PR disaster of last year's second class Socceroos 0-1 loss to China and risk alienating adoring fans and their hard earned cash during the current financial crisis. On top of this, the team can take valuable points out of its encounter with Bahrain and Japan, without the pressure of qualifying points at stake.

Having said all that, like many other Socceroos fans, I have been following their qualifying campaigns since 1973 and have travelled the emotional roller coaster with them over the years. It therefore fills me with great joy and pride to see them qualify as one of the very first nations for the next WC. Congratulations to the players, Pim Verbeek, Graham Arnold, all backroom staff, the FFA, and last but not least all the fans in the Green and Gold army.

With a little bit more luck than we got against Italy in 2006, we might even go all the way to the final in 2010!