SOCCEROOS FOOTBALL

Coach trip
Australia’s first foray into
the Asian Cup could mark
Graham Arnold’s last stint
behind the wheel.

WORDS MATTHEW HALL

T
HE PLAN GOES something like this:
spend two weeks or so in Bangkok,
head to Kuala Lumpur and four days
of Malaysian hospitality, then Jakarta
followed by, well, who really knows? As any
traveller understands, the unknown is at
least half the adventure.
Welcome to the 2007 Asian Cup and the
Qantas Socceroos’ July travel plans. Coach
Graham Arnold will navigate Australia
through a mini World Cup against some of
Asia’s top national teams. “It’s a great honour to lead the Socceroos LOCAL KNOWLEDGE Qantas Socceroos
But Arnold’s job is complicated. Football to our first-ever Asian Cup,” Arnold says. coach Graham Arnold gives directions to
Eindhoven-based midfielder Jason Culina
Federation Australia (FFA) has made no “It’s a new experience and a prestigious tour-
secret of the fact that it is searching the world nament with history. This is a personal
to replace Guus Hiddink (now coach of challenge, not just for me, but for everyone “You can’t put a figure on the difference in
PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

Russia) for the 2010 World Cup campaign. So
Arnold, the local, the next-best choice, has
something to prove to his employers. Even a
famous victory at the first attempt – Australia
was admitted to the Asian Football Confed-
eration in 2005 – may not be sufficient to
convince the FFA Human Resources depart-
ment to keep him on permanently.
involved. We’re going in very confident, but
at the same time it’s going to be a difficult
tournament. This is a test of character.”
Australian teams that have played in Asia
know that Mumbai, Ho Chi Minh City or
Kuwait on a hot, humid Wednesday night is
far removed from the relative luxury of the
English Premier League, or even A-League.
conditions,” Arnold says. “This tournament
will take a lot of our players out of their
comfort zones. Some experts think that going
into Asia is going to be easier than Oceania
[where Australia was previously a member],
but we don’t have an easier path, we have a
fairer process. World Cup qualification is now
not just down to a home-and-away games 

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 FOOTBALL SOCCEROOS

Socceroo Patrick
Kisnorbo in action
against Denmark

against South American opposition. We will

now have 12 World Cup qualifiers.”
The 2006 World Cup team has been tagged
a “golden generation”, with a significant
number of the players signed with top clubs
in England, the Netherlands and Italy. But
retirements – after the World Cup and the
upcoming Asian Cup – will have sheared the
squad of several big names by the time the
2010 World Cup kicks off.
With the team playing more World Cup
qualifying games than in Oceania, Bangkok
will open the door for several younger players
to step into the spotlight and lead Australian
football into a hectic future.
“There’s going to be a bigger onus on the
A-League to prepare players for international
football,” Arnold says. “We’re going to have
to call on a pool of 35 players to qualify for the
next World Cup. We can’t rely on the same 15
or so like previously. We need to fast-track
young players. They’re going to be the success
story of Australian football. If we are going to
be successful, a lot more younger players will
have to stand up.”
Two names that will soon become familiar
are Patrick Kisnorbo and Scott McDonald.
Kisnorbo, a 26-year-old defender, has Leicester contract releasing him from club top clubs in Europe, hopefully it will give me
impressed since breaking into the national duty when he is called up by Australia. a lot more opportunity.”
side after the campaign in Germany. Born in Across the border, striker Scott McDonald Like most Australians, McDonald watched
Melbourne, Kisnorbo’s European career was recently the subject of a tug-of-love the 2006 World Cup. He was glued to the TV
began with Edinburgh side Hearts before between Glasgow giants Rangers and Celtic. while on holiday and noted how the event
moving to Leicester City in England. Perhaps Also from Melbourne, McDonald was a caught the Australian public’s imagination.
with foresight, Kisnorbo has a clause in his member of the historic Australian Under-17 “I watched every single game and it was a
team that made the final of the 1999 World great achievement to get to the knockout
QANTAS SOCCEROO FLIGHT PLAN Youth Cup, eventually losing to Brazil in a round,” he says. “To play so well against Italy
PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

JULY 8 Australia v Oman, Bangkok
JULY 13 Australia v Iraq, Bangkok
JULY 16 Australia v Thailand, Bangkok
JULY 21 Quarterfinal, Bangkok or Hanoi
JULY 25 Semifinal, Kuala Lumpur or Hanoi
JULY 29 Final, Jakarta
penalty shootout in Auckland. Since then
McDonald has slowly climbed the big league
ladder and in July will leave his present club,
Motherwell, to join Celtic, the club that once
had Socceroo Mark Viduka on its books.
“I haven’t had much international experi-
ence, but I’m still young at 23,” McDonald
says. “Now that I’ll be playing for one of the
and be beaten in the last minute was very
disheartening, but the team did everyone so
proud. It’s amazing how football has taken
off, especially in my home town Melbourne,
where AFL had a hold for so long. The Asian
Cup is going to be a big event and if we can
win it, that would be a fantastic achievement
at our first attempt.”

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