Verbeek: 100% un-Australian. 100% correct.

Wednesday May 9, 2007 04:08 PM

Matthew Hall

Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek chose the week of Australia Day, the patriotic barbie-fuelled, zinc-creamed, celebration of everything under our Union Jacked Southern Cross to tell us that, actually, we're not that good.

"If you train for three weeks with Nuremberg or with Karlsruhe I have to be very honest, I still think that's better than playing A-League games."

Bewdy, Pim. Ripper. These Dutchies sure know how to spoil a celebratory party.

Or, if you prefer, Verbeek has given Australian football the slap in the face that it might need.

Right now, the A-League is an Australian Idol contestant that's been told by loving family and friends its entire life that, yes, you really do have talent.

Yes, you too, could be the next Kylie Minogue.

Harsh audition lights suggest otherwise, however. On current form, dreams of stardom will morph into a career fronting wedding bands and cruise ship cabaret.

(Not that there's anything wrong with that).

Yet, with a bit of luck and by listening to people who know about these things, you might be able to flip that raw talent into something very special.

First, though, you need a lot of hard work to make it to the top.

Let's go back a step.

In 2006, Archie Thompson was the A-League's poster boy.

Socceroo coach Guus Hiddink spotted some talent in Archie and, knowing Australia needed strikers for the upcoming World Cup, took the Melbourne Victory pin-up to Holland to spend a few months at PSV Eindhoven, the club that Hiddink also coached.

On a cold Dutch day in March, I stood on the sidelines of PSV's headquarters and watched as Hiddink and his coaches put their squad through a training session.

Phillip Cocu and Michael Reiziger, who included clubs like Milan and Barcelona on their CVs, were the old hands in a group of players that were hungry and desperate to be the best of the best on that morning.

Archie, it could clearly be seen at training, was a couple of clicks off PSV's pace.

It wasn't necessarily Archie's fault, either. He was the product of an environment where 60% is good enough to succeed.

This figure is the exact number that a former Socceroo told me was the level he needed to play at in Australia compared to Europe.

Hiddink agreed and one of the A-League's best talents barely played during his brief time in Holland.

Thompson then returned to Australia and scored 300 goals in the A-league Grand Final, or something. So there you go.

For players desperate to break into, or stay at, the top, in Europe, a training session is almost a matter of life and death. It can be a career maker or breaker.

I know this from scenes witnessed first hand while following Australian players abroad from Stoke to Munich to Parma to Blackburn.

But more shocking than Verbeek's forthright straight talk was the reaction from sections of the media and A-League apologists.

It was strange to learn that Australians appear so thin-skinned.

It's a similar mentality that blindly boasts Melbourne is "the world's most livable city" or Sydney has "a great lifestyle".

Yeah... nah... OK... whatever.

The main point was missed when Verbeek dropped his bomb.

Comparing the A-League to European standard is not the issue.

Importantly, unlike the parent of an Australian Idol wanna-be, Verbeek will not tell us what we want to hear.

In a world of smoke and mirrors and double-speak sports talk, the Socceroos coach is telling it straight. Which is a quality that Australians once held up as a virtue.

Ironically, Verbeek has quietly championed the local league with his selection of bolter James Holland and up-and-coming players like Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Bruce Djite, Stuart Musialik, and Mark Bridge but in a knockback patriotic fervour, you might have missed that.

If those guys listen to Verbeek, his influential technical Director Rob Baan, and the top Socceroos playing for European clubs, they too may make it past this audition stage.

"I am not here to please players," Verbeek told journalists in 2005 when he was coaching South Korea. "I'm not here to please anybody. I'm here to win the game."

If that's un-Australian, then I'm applying for a Dutch passport.

COMMENTS

The drover's dog could have told you that the quality of the A League is crap.

I remember someone's theory was that the quality of play in the A League should be better than that of the NSL as it has less teams. I suppose the League should contract rather than expand?

When you have a coach like Merrick, Kosmina and McKinna "acting" as coaches what do you expect. The way they have their teams playing is for the tip. Answer is foreign coaches as well as getting rid of the dead wood in the junior system.....

Kudos to Farina for trying to get the Queensland Raw to play some football

As for the apologists like Robbie Slater maybe he needs to leave his cushy job at Foxtel and get his hands dirty in coaching....Let Matty Hall take your place....

by Evan Binos on January 26, 2008 at 04:02 PM

Nice to see some honesty by Pim. There are deluded guys who i work with and they seem to think that the A-League is just about up to the standards of the EPL, Italian Serie-A & the Spanish La-Liga. I guess they have been reading too much of the Daily Telegraph as the writers in the Daily Telegraph continue to insult our intelligence by making out the A-League is up there with the best. Thats why ive switched to the Sun Herald and.

by Richard Duffy on January 26, 2008 at 04:32 PM

Ive been lucky enough to get to Spain and see the real teams play and there is no comparison at all to the A-League. We are 100 years behind with attitude and passion for the game. The kids training today may be able to be up there if the hype for the game stays the way it was at World Cup time and we have players to actually pick from. There are not enough players around at the moment that are good enough. In Europe there are so many that want to play that they can discard players of the best ilk. I think the Daily Telegraph is doing a good thing in their paper by getting people interested in the game that maybe would not normally read about football, and possibly get them into the sport of sports. I agree Richard that the paper does insult the intelligence of us that know!

by KJH on January 27, 2008 at 07:51 AM

I think Verbeek is right. These A-League players act like 3 year olds throwing a tantrum when anyone has the audacity to criticise them. They just want an easy ticket to international football without having to do the hard yards (i.e. go and tough it out in an overseas league). I think generally the A-League is making great strides and is an exciting league and I'd be more than happy to attend games but we need a reality check here. I'm encouraged by the fact that Verbeek is so honest, unlike Arnold etc. faffing on and bullshitting about how great the A-League players are - this shows you the difference in the calibre of these coaches already.

by JL on January 27, 2008 at 08:48 AM

Verbeek is totally right. We cannot mix the commercial success of the A-League with a ground roots improvement in the quality of football talent.

However, we all know that so let's just focus on winning the upcoming World Cup qualifying games.

by TN on January 27, 2008 at 09:28 AM

I think most fans of A-league know the standard isn't the highest in the world. But what I have found interesting is the venom in which critics of the A-league keep bringing up the fact we aren't Europe! Well of course not and no fan I have talked to ever thinks that.

by Tim on January 27, 2008 at 09:36 AM

3 years only the A leaque started, almost 40 years before Aussie entered the world Cup. Sydney FC beat LA Galaxy last year, give another 3 years to the A league and bring a Holland top club PSV to play A leaque Club, I bet they will go back licking their wounds.

by Real Deal on January 27, 2008 at 10:00 AM

Pim had every right to say what he said.... he's an outsider who has seen it all... the good the bad and the ugly. His honesty should be commended not like some of the people in the media who like to talk it all up and saying how fantastic the A-League is, yeah sure, it's a huge step up to what we had in the past, but you cant expect the A-League in its infancy to rival any of the European leagues or even the J-League or Korean league. Its a reality check for everyone. Why doe you think our young guys are playing their guts out?... to impress the European scouts.... Face it, we don't have the money that the European leagues and the North Asian leagues do, until we get an injection of serious funds and a lot of the corporate sponsorship that we need, none of our starts will want to come back from Europe early. The crowds are great, but we have to provide world class players to make "football" the number 1 sport in this country. So Pim's honesty is a good reality check for everyone who thought the A-League was world class, his job is on the line if he doesn't win the first game against Qatar, so he has every right to call on the strongest possible combination that can get him off the mark. Good on ya Pim....

by George Michaels on January 27, 2008 at 10:21 AM

I'm sorry, but I just can't get passionate about a league wherer only 50% of the passes hit their mark and we can't consistently put away the sitters. Sydney, I think, are an atrocious team and every week my mates leave the games with a bitter taste of disappointment and frustration.

Me: "How was it?"
Mate: "Shit, nil all draw and we missed 2 sitters!"
Me: "Typical".

I dont know what the solution is, but I think that the "professionals" playing the game need to start acting like professionals and training harder (not saying they don't train hard, but maybe not hard enough) and being open to and taking on board constructive criticism.

Thats my 2 cents :)

by Dente on January 27, 2008 at 10:43 AM

Dont get me wrong, i love the A-league and Sydney FC. But when i hear people around me at games say that they bet Sydney FC could give some of Europe's elite clubs a run for there money i wish a club like AC Milan or Manchester United could come here and give us a huge whipping, just to wake them up and give them some reality.

by Luke on January 27, 2008 at 10:58 AM

tranquillo dudes. It wouldnt be football if there wasnt a fair whack of self-hate in there. Any fan worth the name will despise the players and coach of their team at least 50% 0f the time (and thats in a good season). So of course we dont love our league too much either. You would find fans in most leagues considering their league not up to Serie A standard - hey guess what, we just joined the rest of the world.

by gramsci's nephew on January 27, 2008 at 11:17 AM

The response from some sections of the media is not suprising, Australian don't like to be critisized about it's sporting prowess, especially when the baiting comes from a freaky deaky dutch man.
The A-League has huge potential and Pim Verbeek has said some positive stuff about it but the negative gets more of an airing.
I don't care what Pim says as long as we qualify for the world cup and the rest of the country says "South Africa 2010 here we come!!

by Stamarocks on January 27, 2008 at 11:24 AM

Whilst I agree with what Pim has said, I am getting rather tired of the need to compare the A-League with Europe. We are not Europe. Sure the cream of the crop will play there and everyone else will want to be there but at the end of the day we are in Australia. We have three other codes to compete with, plus cricket. The A-League is only three years old, give it a chance to grow and adapt.

Forget Europe, they've been established for a little while now and should be regarded as the elite of the world. We are never going to reach that level, well not in my lifetime anyway, if we moved the A-league to England some teams may be able to get mid table in the championship, though more than likely most will be in league one. Depressing isn't it!

So let’s focus instead on mixing it with the locals, become a force in Asia and the Pacific so we can compare ourselves with the K-League, J-League, MLS and even Mexico. This is where the future of the A-League belongs. Conquer them first, and then we can think about Europe.

by Shane Hill on January 27, 2008 at 11:55 AM

Being a Dutchman and having lived all over the world ( 14 years in Oz ) , I need to agree with Pim.
I enjoy the A league for what it is, as it is so much better than the old NSL. From a youth development point of view Australia is probably another 10 years away from delivering a constant flow of well skilled and talented football players, rather than a trickle. From a quality level I believe that the A league is on par or just under with 2nd division Dutch League.

The World Cup is around the corner and we need to select the best possible squad regardless of where they play, as the tournament and the lead up to it is no charity.

by joost heymeijer on January 27, 2008 at 02:31 PM

Refreshing to see some honesty. Soccer in Australia has made some good in-roads but i hate it how all of a sudden the australian media make the A-League sound like its one of the best in the world now. Do they think we are stupid ? Ive been lucky enough to go to a Milan derby and the atmosphere and the technical play by the Italian clubs is amazing to watch even if the game does end up 0-0.

by Jeff Zammit on January 27, 2008 at 05:00 PM

Woooo Woooo Who!!!

http://blogs.smh.com.au/sport/archives/2008/01/verbeek_pulls_selection_surpri.html?page=fullpage#comments
Ze problem with all of you in ze downunders with the Carp about this, the Cod All Mighty I not do the good job well I want's to put all of you Floggers with the no good opinions of me in your Plaise.
I try and I try and now I bring to you a new goal's keeper for in the net. Yes ze player is from America but he is original a player from the tropics, no?
Well here he is after I do a search online to find his tryout's performance with a team earlier. I would like to do da thank you to my scout at the Farm Team Division. Thank you Flipper.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=QV3pZobiNO8
He is like me as I am do a fishbowl life here in the Advance Fair Day Country.
Posted by: Pimmy Ver Beekie on January 24, 2008 10:22

I was always more of a Falcon man. MH

by Skeeeter Boisverte on January 27, 2008 at 05:01 PM

"I think the Daily Telegraph is doing a good thing in their paper by getting people interested in the game that maybe would not normally read about football, and possibly get them into the sport of sports."
Oh Mon Dieu! (OMD like the OMG)
Whoop too many's beer for me. Wait if I hit my head on the edge of the keyboard agin I would be ready for the Daily Telegraph's opinion not that I would read that.
First of all Poster it is Soccer not Football's many code.
Sport's sport?
That is what every1 call Ice hockey in the downunder.
"Whilst" what kind of the contraption is that in the english language? Is it While Ist While I st' as for the stay?
"K-League, J-League, MLS and even Mexico"
And I thought Canada was the pathetic soccer's players' nation.
"tranquillo dudes"?
"You would find fans in most leagues considering their league not up to Serie A standard - hey guess what, we just joined the rest of the world."
Speak the english willya. It is Series not serie, Sheeesh. And standards with a s.
Guess what if that is a world you just join I say get the new selections of a favorite click on up in your the top tool bar thing.
"We have three other codes to compete with"
All Right Enough All Ready with that.
Oh The Good Old Hockey Game:
http://www.duncans.tv/2007/football-meat-pies-kangaroos-and-holden-cars
.

by Canuckie on January 27, 2008 at 05:28 PM

We will never compete with Europe, - the best players in the world are there! We can however become a breeding ground for players to go overseas to Europe. The A League will get better as time goes on, as far as how much effort a player has to put in to play in Oz vs Europe well maybe we need to change the structure slightly, longer season, no finals first and second through to Asia. It removes the mentality of "as long as you make the four". If Australians need finals run a knockout comp that involves all states Premier League comps as well. It gives the chance for what is nationally the next step down from A League to get involved. The A League Youth comp will help improve quality across the board. Like everything though it takes time, if we support it, it will get better.

by dee on January 27, 2008 at 07:45 PM

I don't think anyone in Australia actually thinks that the A-League is better standard than any European League. However, it is the what Verbeek actually said. He is telling our young players that he thinks that it is better for them to go to some team in Europe and sit on the bench and it is still better than playing in the A-League. Now maybe Verbeek didn't express it the way he intended and I will give him the benefit of the doubt but I thnk it is absolutely ludicrous.

How many of our young players have gone over to europe and wasted their time on the bench? Anyone that knows anything about football will tell you that training is no replacement for playing a competitive match.

The message we are trying to send to our young players is to wait for the right time before venturing overseas and here we have the national coach sending the opposite message. FFA needs to ensure that they are sending a consistent message to the young players or get Verbeek a translator.

by Brad on January 27, 2008 at 08:31 PM

Where is all this anger and scathing venom coming from? No one is truly comparing the proverbial chalk with the cheese, and I don't think anyone could honestly be the least bit surprised or shocked at Pim's comments. It's nice to hear an accurate assessment of where we sit, but let's keep things in context. We're a long way from the NSL and to go from nothing to the best, you have to pass through all the stages in between. Perhaps, in 20 years, we'll have a leave to rival those of Europe. Until then, hard work and getting the right people in the right places are all that is required. Rome wasn't...

So, be proud of our league and the direction it is heading, once we get a relegation system, then we can start thinking of loftier heights. In the mean time, why so much negativity? Let's be positive as a community for a change.

by Gary on January 27, 2008 at 09:11 PM

To even pretend that the A-League is anywhere near the level of Series A, Premiership, La Liga or Bundesliga, would be a direct insult to these leagues.

The A-League is what it is. A step in the right direction. Anybody who knows soccer thoroughly, can see that the A-League players have acres of space and time in which to move, and score.

Pim is honest, and people who are really interested in soccer in Australia, should acknowledge the facts. And then get to improving the standard. Rome wasn't built in a day.

by Ray on January 27, 2008 at 09:42 PM

Nuremberg is a pretty good team.

by bino on January 27, 2008 at 11:53 PM

I'm no expert on these matters... but from a layperson's viewpoint the A league....should be called the "s" league..... sure there is excitement but the technical standard looks very average..on a good day and the tactical play looks pathetic as a rule. Come to think of it...sort of resembles the national team.
I suspect we are afflicted with the horrible english mentality of long kicking. It looks good on the highlights at news time..but it ain't gunna win anything. It may also be a national mentality issue....we don't have the patience and intellectual wherewithal to develop the kind of strategic/tactical plays that overseas teams seem to specialise in. For example have a look at the ghastly set plays we have .... zip....it sort of reminds me of the Sydney Swans strategic play "kick it to plugger!"....the amended call might be...."wheerrreee's Harry!!"
Pim is right.... we have a long way to go...and maybe the A league "stars" are like the Aust Track/field team....look good in lyrca and sunnies.... but useless on the field.

by costa parki mik on January 28, 2008 at 12:27 AM

Gary, the anger has been building up. As a reader im sick of having my intelligence insulted as one blogger mentioned. The Australian media in particular are the ones who keep telling us how great the A-League is and then there are these silly fools who know nothing about soccer take it a step further in thinking we are up there with the best. We all know the English have the best league, i thank Mathew Hall as he has given us some news on other glamour clubs like Juventus & Milan. And we should be getting more news on these other clubs as well as our own league. the more news we get on the Serie-a or the la Liga the more we can learn from.

by Heavy-M on January 28, 2008 at 02:56 AM

I think it comes down to how much football you watch. Many A-League spectators do just thatï¿½ watch the A-League and nothing else - bar an occasional dabble in the EPL. There is far more football out there that really does put us to shame. Pims comments were harsh but spot-on, and realistically football in Australia will never compare nor compete for top players with Europe... we need to accept this and stop comparing them. Only 2 of Brazilï¿½s current line-up play in the Brazilian domestic league, the rest play in Europe ï¿½ this is the best team in the world, so why then are we so against it? One day we will be one of the best breeding grounds for overseas players. Weï¿½re not there yet, but realistically, thatï¿½s all that we can aim for.

by Diana on January 29, 2008 at 12:39 PM

Being over in England at the moment the standard of european football as in one would beat the other might be better but what a crap sport it is over here just blokes playing one game after another no build up no entertainment just a game ever 2 days against another random team in 1 of 63 different comps every team plays in - give me the a-league any day the quality of the players slightly lower perhaps but the structure makes it sooo much better

by joshua Burnell on February 03, 2008 at 12:14 AM

I am amazed with the amount of negativity by some people towards the A-League. Nobody ever said the A-League is better than the EPL or Serie A or La-Liga.
But there's no way anyone will convince me that most of the other European leagues are much different to the A-League. Let's see, we have the great Norwegian and Danish leagues, the Greek league, Romanian league and what about the Scottish League. Take away Celtic and Rangers and the rest will struggle against the best A-League clubs.
My point is, Europe is not just England, Spain and Italy. Does that mean people in every country should bag their competition if it's not as good as the top 3 European leagues? If you whingers are true fans of the game then you will support the A-League, which by the way has only existed for 3 seasons, rather than constantly compare. As for Pim, I think he's one of these Euro-centric people who thinks anything (football-wise) in Europe is better than anywhere else.

by Simon on February 17, 2008 at 02:01 AM

Hear hear Matty hall. You should be on one of those inside sport shows on foxtel with Mike Gibson! Not any of the current bozos! Pim hit the nail on the head. The A league is crap but it is getting better and it helps when the crowds are excellent! Sold out for the grand final! Plus they need better referees!
It will be a decade before the A league can anywhere near as such competitions like Europe has to offer! Even Austria has more quality!
People get disillusioned because we have alot of aussie players in european leagues and think well if they are good enough to play in europe, every player who plays here must be the same!!! Thats a laugh! Not true people but we are getting better. We need more strategic influence from overseas and not give coaching jobs to the old heads of football where thuggery is a tactic and not rubbed out of the game!

by zu zu on March 03, 2008 at 11:00 AM

The Sun-Herald

Matthew Hall

Verbeek: 100% un-Australian. 100% correct.

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