Hopes for Ange Postecoglou

New Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou said he was surprised to hear from Mark Schwarzer by phone recently that he had retired. There was speculation from a Fox Sports commentator that Ange had a word to Schwarzer and Lucas Neill and said: you may not be at the World Cup 2014. But Ange dispelled these rumours, saying that he had had no such discussion with Schwarzer. He said it was a surprise, and that Schwarzer must have been thinking about it for some time.

It's good to hear such a straight talking style from a head coach. I'm optimistic about Ange's start as Australia national team coach.

I was slightly disappointed that Neill was included in the squad as I believe it's time for him to retire too. But Neill seems determined to play on. And I suppose Australia will have to make do with him as there's not a lot else to chose from at the moment. But overall I think this squad from Ange is a good start.

Wilkshire gone, Neill still here

Socceroos Squad for Costa Rica International Friendly – 19 November 2013:

Player, Club, Caps (goals)

Oliver BOZANIC	FC Luzern, SWITZERLAND	1 (0)
Mark BRESCIANO	Al Gharafa, QATAR	72 (13)
Tim CAHILL	New York Red Bulls, USA	65 (28)
Jason DAVIDSON	SC Heracles Almelo,  NETHERLANDS	3 (0)
Ivan FRANJIC	Brisbane Roar, AUSTRALIA	5 (0)
James HOLLAND	FK Austria Vienna, AUSTRIA	12 (0)
Mile JEDINAK	Crystal Palace FC, ENGLAND	41 (3)
Josh KENNEDY	Nagoya Grampus, JAPAN	34 (17)
Robbie KRUSE	TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, GERMANY	28 (3)
Mitchell LANGERAK (gk)	B.V. Borussia 09 Dortmund, GERMANY	2 (0)
Matthew LECKIE	FSV Frankfurt 1899, GERMANY	4 (1)
Ryan McGOWAN	Shandong Luneng Taishan FC, CHINA PR	7 (0)
Matthew McKAY	Brisbane Roar, AUSTRALIA	44 (1)
Mark MILLIGAN	Melbourne Victory, AUSTRALIA	25 (2)
Lucas NEILL	Omiya Ardija, JAPAN	95 (1)
Tommy OAR	FC Utrecht, NETHERLANDS	11 (1)
Tom ROGIC	Celtic FC, SCOTLAND	7 (0)
Mat  RYAN (gk)	Club Brugge KV, BELGIUM	3 (0)
Dario VIDOSIC	FC Sion, SWITZERLAND	18 (1)
Rhys WILLIAMS	Middlesbrough FC, ENGLAND	13 (0)
Alex WILKINSON	Jeonbuk Hyundai FC, KOREA REPUBLIC	-
Michael ZULLO	Adelaide United, AUSTRALIA	10 (0)

Postecoglou is not a top choice coach by any means -- he sure is no Guus Hiddink. But Australia's choices are limited right now, this close to a World Cup, and he is a good fit. 

If there was more time perhaps Football Federation Australia could find a better pedigree coach internationally, and give that coach time to analyse the players and make an informed decision on the squad to pick. But given the circumstances, probably the best the FFA could do, without spending crazy exorbitant money for an overseas coach, was to pick a local.

At least as a fan of the Socceroos, Ange would have been familiar with the team -- he would have a less steep learning curve than a foreign coach brought in cold. And Ange is much more than a mere Socceroos fan, being an A-league coach and some-time Fox Sports pundit as well. So he probably already had somewhat of a plan in mind even before he was confirmed for the job.

I don't agree with this business of a home grown coach feeling it more -- that you need a home grown coach to feel the passion. These days football is a business, and while the TV frames are filled with coaches punching the air emphatically after their team scores, passion really has little to do with it. Football is a business and the manager is the CEO. If Holger didn't have the "passion" for the Australian team it's not because was foreign.

So I don't really care if Ange is "home grown" or not, but I do think he is the right guy for the job at this time. 

I am a bit dubious on this five year contract though: five years is a long time in football. Certainly Ange should see out at least the World Cup 2014 and the Asian Cup just seven months after that in 2015. But five years? It's a long time.