For two years now, a doubt has been nagging me. Somewhere at the back of my mind. Often just on the tip of my tongue. I have seen a lot of very, very ordinary football by the Socceroos against average sides. I have seen the team get-out-of-jail more than once with a late, undeserved goal. I have seen a lot of uncohesive and unproductive football. I have also seen a lot of lucky escapes. Yet Australia finished top of their WC qualifying group.
This doubt stayed with me as the team prepared for South Africa with a terrible showing against New Zealand, a moderate performance against Denmark and a worrying display against the United States. Finally, we have the opening match hiding against Germany. It really hasn't come as a big surprise, sadly.
What's gone wrong? What is going wrong? Is the team getting too old? Are we still living on the earnings of the 2006 success? Is Pim Verbeek just not up to it? Maybe it's a combination of these factors and others too. There is now a very real risk that the whole campaign will melt down. Pim can walk away to his job in Morocco.
But it's left to lovers of the game back home to pick up the pieces.
No comments:
Post a Comment