He wasn’t selected with all the Olyroos but his reaction after that was very good. He’s got these qualities and the ability so now it’s time for him to show that. But I will say that three or four weeks ago, I reached out to his agent, Adrian Griffin to speak with Nestor. The conversation was all about him moving to Germany on the 8th or 9th of June so we had to get that change from Bayern Munich so he could have stayed with us with a FIFA window.
And also around his match fitness because he hadn’t played a game with Adelaide for four weeks. It was important that I went down to the A-League All-Stars game to see how he physically was, as well as some other players. He showed that he was ready and that’s why he was selected.
Maty has got a small issue with his knee so I just feel that we’re giving that period now to tidy that up. And when I say that he’s as good as gold, but he’s had a heavy season, especially after the Asian Cup. He’s also off contract at AZ Alkmaar so it’s important he gets his club future sorted out. We obviously have other goalkeepers so that allows us to look at them. But one thing I will say is that my intentions and my expectations are winning these two games and performing. It’s not a matter of resting people through those types of things.
It’s about players that are available and ready to play these games. Some players haven’t played for quite a while. As I said, in Nestor’s case, and A-League players like Taggart and Stamatelopoulos, it was important that I went to the All-Stars game to see how they were. But some players that I have rested like Sam Silvera are coming off the back of a 50-game season where he left the A-League before that and played 24 games for the Mariners so he’s quite fatigued. What’s important for me is creating a bit of depth, but also the welfare of the players at this moment in time and making sure that they’re ready for preseason at their clubs as well. And that they’re ready for September (third round of qualification).
It will be a leader. We have got some younger boys in here for this camp so it adds more responsibility on the older players around the leadership. With Jackson, he’s the captain at St. Pauli and has done a great job with leadership. One of the big reasons I bought Mathew Leckie back is because of the amount of younger boys we have in this camp as well. Also Aziz Behich.
We’ve got a good mixture and good blend with some of those younger boys and guys that we call young but they are 24 or 25 like Kye Rowles, Harry Souttar and Keanu Baccus. We are also bringing in Mark Milligan as my second assistant for this camp to give him that opportunity. His knowledge of Nestor at clubland can help him settle in very quickly here instead of taking potentially a bit of time.
Well, I will say that it’s great to have the fans excited about Nestor and also Daniel. It’s exciting for me also to have them in the squad but it’s about performance. Daniel for me, has had a very good season under Tony Popovic and I think Tony Popovic has got the best out of him. You can see his work rate defensively has improved out of sight.
He still has that action and what I have been impressed with is his final ball or his final pass and his end product. That is where he has stepped up a level which is great and gives us an opportunity here for Daniel to fit back into the mould of the Socceroos. But it’s all about attitude as well and these guys are coming in to fit into the culture and what our expectations are of what we expect from ourselves to get ready for these games.
Let’s not forget the tough period that kid went through when he went to Celtic where he did his ACL and was out for a year. He came back to Australia and it didn’t really work out with Macarthur and now he’s had to rebuild. As I mentioned before, I think Tony Popovic has done an outstanding job with him. He’s got him fit, and he’s got him hungry again. The last six or seven weeks are probably the best that I’ve seen Daniel since I had him with the Olympic team. This is his opportunity to come in. With the non-selection of Sammy Silvera, we’ve still got Martin Boyle and Leckie who can play on that side of the pitch but Daniel gives us the option to play on both sides.
It’s a great opportunity for the kid to come in and show us how it shows how much he wants to be with the Socceroos and how much he wants to play for the nation, but also how much he wants to go to the US World Cup. This is again an opportunity for some of these players to come in and build more depth in our squad. We still have the ongoing factor with the A-League because I might not be able to pick some of these guys in September or October because the league hasnt started. If I don’t do it now and give Stamatelopoulos, Nestor and Daniel this opportunity to show us while they fully fit at the end of the season, then it could take another six months. That’s why it’s important that the boys come in and they’re in good shape, and we get the best out of them for these two games.
What’s important is the next step. A lot of times for players, the step is too big and too high so they end up not playing. What’s important is that they go up the ladder one step at a time and they get the right club that suits them. A lot of times the players will reach out to me and ask me about my advice so I’m always here to help with that type of thing.
Daniel Arzani has spoken about this type of thing before where he said Celtic maybe wasn’t the best decision for him, in terms of the style of Scottish football. It’s important that those types of things are right for the player.
It’s a good question because Harry’s not in camp yet. I am here in Bangkok at the moment and the boys are arriving today and tomorrow for us to get a bit of preparation and climatisation, which is important. Harry is obviously one that I will sit down with when he gets here and see what’s happening because it’s important. Not just for us, but also for Harry Soutter that he sorts out his club career and gets back playing because it’s gone on a bit too long now.
But what Harry does for us every time he comes in camp is great and we’ve got some depth now in that position. It was hard picking the centre-back side of the squad because you have Kye Rowles, Cam Burgess in the Premier League and Harry, (Alessandro) Cicarti, Thomas Deng and these guys that have done exceptionally well for us and we have some good ones coming through. So it’s important that Harry sorts out his club career.
We played him against New Zealand and his maturity for a young boy was outstanding. We gave him that debut cap next to Harry Souttar and he’s got quality. You will see him play in either one or two of these games. I think it’s important that he gets to know us well but he’s fit in perfectly when he’s been in camp.
He’s done very well for us but it’s the club form and the club qualities that are the great things about the future of the Socceroos. With him getting promoted into Serie A, he’s going to play against some of the best strikers in the world and we’re going to benefit from that in the long run.
I would never force anyone to play for the nation unless they really want it. As I said, I’ve had the conversations with Nestor and he wants the emblem on his heart so that is the most important thing. I wouldn’t just be capping people, I’ve never done that. It’s so important that not only the player wants it, but also the family wants it.
The mum and dad are behind some of the decisions so it’s not just about capping them and getting them locked down for life. It’s about them and representing the nation that they want to represent and doing that nation proud. I have no doubt that those two boys will do that for a long, long time.
I wouldn’t say crossroads but we might have to find a way to fit them all in. That’s important because we don’t get much training time. But yes, we have Alessandro playing in Serie A next season which is incredible for the nation. And that was one of the most important things. We get rewarded with those types of things as a nation when the players are doing well at their clubs and playing at the highest level.
Cam Burgess also just got promoted with the Ipswich into the EPL and Jackson Irvine and Connor Metcalfe got promoted into the Bundesliga. For the national team in the future, it should be great for us.
Game time. We’ve got a number of players that are out injured like Riley McGree and Calem Nieuwenhof at Hearts. He’s one that I’ve been watching for over a year now and if he was fit, there’s a good chance he would be in the squad as well. We’ve got a number of injuries so this gives the opportunity for Cam to come back. He’s been doing well at Hearts and playing a lot of football since he’s come back. This is what this is about, show me why you want to be with the Socceroos and show us that mentality of why you want to be part of this journey to America.
Every time we go into camp, the expectations are always high to make the nation proud. But also, it’s down to the individual’s mentality as well as how much they want it. Getting Cam back in after having him at the World Cup in 2022 in Qatar and having had him with the Olympic team, he has had a bit of a down period, but he’s been playing a lot of football at Hearts of late, and it’s good to see him back.
Outstanding. Perth had a very difficult season as a team but Tags getting the leading goalscorer in the A-League was very, very good. You can just see it in his body and his demeanour that he’s very, very happy being back in Western Australia around the family and his mates. That’s important and probably why he has had the season he had. The fact that we are playing Palestine in Perth is a great thing for Tags and let’s not forget about Alessandro Circati who was born and bred in Perth and Cam Burgess. We have a number of boys that have grown up in Perth and I know that they’re extremely excited to finally have the Socceroos in Perth.
I should have mentioned his leadership earlier because I think that impressed me a lot with him at Perth Glory. He’s not a big talker but he doesn’t need to be because he leads with action. Just by scoring, he lifted the players many times at Perth. He’s not a leader by words, but by action, which is also important.
There’s one huge benefit with Lecks. He can play four or five positions. He can play left-wing, right-wing, number nine and number eight. He’s been showing that at Melbourne City this year.
Lecks always brings his leadership qualities. Just to have him around is always important for a number of the boys and it’s important for us that we keep him going because he has that physical capacity to get to the next World Cup and a lot of it’s down to himself. I know he has that motivation so it’s good to have him back.
If you look at the squad, Craig Goodwin is out with broken ribs so that gives an opportunity on that left-hand side. I picked those wingers in Nestor, Daniel Arzani, Boyle and Leckie who can play on both wings but also Jordie Bos can play on the left wing as well. He’s shown that at the Asian Cup. With Westerlo, he’s playing more as a wingback.
He’s up and down the whole sideline, so we can do that as well. He brings in the quality of his end product with the crossing and scoring which is great. The most important thing at the moment, is the boys are getting here today and tomorrow so we get an opportunity to have four or five days here in Bangkok to acclimatise and get ready for what’s ahead of us in Bangladesh. We need every player ready for that occasion.
Bangladesh Subway Socceroos
Thursday, 6 June
Bashundhara Kings Arena, Dhaka
Kick-off: 4.45pm local / 8.45pm AEST
Broadcast: Paramount+
Subway Socceroos v Palestine
Tuesday, 11 June 2024
HBF Park, Perth
Kick-off: 8.05pm AWST / 10.05pm AEST
Tickets: Start from $15 Child, $20 Concession, $25 Adult, and $50 Family. Tickets from Ticketmaster.
Broadcast: 10, 10 Play, Paramount+
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Subway Socceroos v Bangladesh or Maldives (World Cup Qualifier) Date: Thursday, 16 November Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne Time: 8:00pm AEDT Tickets on sale now!
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