There is no question that football fans in Australia are passionate, and I am expecting this article to insight nothing less in the football fans of this country.
But whether they like it or not, mark my words, Harry Kewell and Lucas Neill will not be on the plane to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Harry Kewell is an easy one. He limped his way to the 2006 World Cup, and crawled on his hands and knees to last year’s tournament in South Africa. He has done a tremendous job to fight back from adversity, and showed his class beyond measure at this year’s Asian Cup, but as a betting man I cannot see Kewell’s body holding up for another three years until Brazil 2014.
Much has been made of his return to the A-League this week, which is tremendous news for the game in this country, but to be fair he wasn’t exactly swimming in options. Outside of clubs in the A-League, the only other clubs bidding for his services were from the Middle East, which is the destination of Lucas Neill, and is more of a retirement home where players go to cash in, in the final years of their career.
For an example of this look no further than Fabio Cannavaro, who joined the league after the 2010 World Cup, aged 38. George Weah, was another who finished his career at Neill’s current club, Al Jazira, aged 36.
It’s not exactly a high quality league where Neill will encounter some of the top names in world football.
The biggest issue though is age. Lucas Neill will be 36 come the 2014 World Cup, Harry Kewell will be 35. The Socceroos had one of the oldest squads at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and it is in need of some much needed renewal ahead of the next campaign.
To be honest, I feel Socceroos boss, Holger Osieck has handled this well, blooding a fresh crop of young talent and trying plenty of new faces, who unlike his predecessor Pim Verbeek, Osieck has actually backed their talent and thrown them into pressure situations and reaped the rewards. The emergence of Matt McKay and strong impressions of the likes of Robbie Kruse are an example.
I was a bit concerned though to learn this week that Mark Bresciano and Vince Grella had been linked to Socceroo returns. This is not the direction the Socceroos need to go.
I see the likes of Robbie Kruse, Matthew Leckie, Tommy Oar, Nikita Rukavysta, Brent McGrath, Dylan Tombides and James Trosi as preferred options to Kewell in the next couple of years.
Whilst for Neill, it is time for Matthew Spiranovic, Mark Milligan, Rhys Williams and Luke De Vere to be given a chance. You could even include the likes of Matt Jurman in the mix, who has shown some promise, and who I expect to improve now he is under a manager who has faith in him at the Brisbane Roar.
I would be more inclined to take Sasa Ognenovski , who is an ageing defender himself, than Neill, given Ognenovski’s superior physical presence.
Lucas Neill has been in a steady state of decline for a couple of years now. He is often caught out of position and found wanting for pace, and you will get no greater evidence of that then his performance against Germany, in the 4-0 drubbing in South Africa.
Sure everyone can have an off night, but Neill’s form continued with some disappointing performances earlier this year. His performance against Poland in a friendly will make good viewing for anyone that doesn’t agree with my view.
Lucas Neill is a defender who built a career in the English Premier League, in which football is played at high intensity and is of a higher physical nature than other more “technical” leagues around the world. But as his pace has lessened, he has become more and more exposed and a potential liability.
For all players that are getting on in years there comes a fork in the road where they must re-invent themselves.
The best example of this is Ryan Giggs, who for so long was known for his blistering speed down the wings, and constantly gave the opposition nightmares when running at defenders. Giggs was in fact a player; Harry Kewell was compared to in his glory days at Leeds United.
As Giggs got older, the pace was no longer there and he was forced to re-invent himself. Giggs transformed himself into a more central player, who is now known more for his quality distribution than for his silky runs at opposition defenders. Credit must go to Giggs for seeing the light and making the transformation, doing so has prolonged his career. The fact that Giggs is still a feature now in a championship winning Manchester United side is testament to that.
But I cannot see how Harry Kewell can do something similar to Giggs. He is not known for his ability to link up with players, and has only ever played in a wide role or in leading the line.
A former teammate of Lucas Neill, Phil Neville, is another like Giggs who reinvented himself and prolonged his career. At United, Neville was somewhat of a much maligned defender who could cover a variety of positions. Sensing, his pace dwindling and options becoming limited at United, Neville sought a transfer to Everton and a new lease of life for his career.
Neville transformed himself into a bustling holding midfielder, known for his great energy and leadership, and someone who has become a solid distributor up the pitch and who can also chip in for a goal or two.
The problem for Neill though is that I cannot see a way that he can reinvent his game. His distribution is a weak point of his game, and Australia has some depth in the holding midfield role with the likes of Mile Jedinak, Jason Culina and Carl Valeri.
Lucas Neill and Harry Kewell have been great servants to the game of football in this country, and much of the success that the Socceroos have achieved in recent years is due to those two men.
But sentiment and compassion have no place in professional sport and sometimes hard decisions need to be made. Holger Osieck has an important balancing act in ushering in the next generation of Socceroos whilst ensuring Australia’s qualification for the 2014 World Cup.
Experience is an important factor in that, and is vital to any squad, but the Socceroos will be looking to the likes of Tim Cahill and possibly even Mark Schwarzer for that come time for Brazil.
A lot can happen in three years and nothing in football is guaranteed.
But in my eyes the only way, Harry Kewell and Lucas Neill will be in Brazil in 2014, is behind a microphone or leading a tour group.
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