Welcome to the bizarro world, where Australia's 2-1 loss to the Czech Republic in their first game is regarded as their best ever start to a World Youth Cup. In reality, it was the worst ever result, being the first time ever that an Australian team was beaten in their opening game. In the world of SBS TV and "expert" commentator Craig Foster, the law of nature operates in reverse, where winning doesn't matter. It's all about "performance". For most people, that word would still conjure the idea of winning games, at least occasionally.
To be fair, the message wasn't quite clear from Foster. It seemed the "best ever start" was that the poor display on the pitch was a wake-up call to highlight the poor tactical and technical ability of the team and general youth development in this country.
Then came the next match. A humbling 3-0 loss to Costa Rica. This was the team that was smashed by Brazil 5-0 in the first game, and a nation that Australia had beaten each time in all four previous meetings at this age level. An "improved performance", the team showed "very good possession", they should be "paraded to the country", and the "only disadvantage was the result", came the response. The host, Mariana Rudan, obviously hypnotised by Foster's ramblings, was responsible for that last comment. Match commentator Vitor Sobral portended the post-match shenanigans when referring to the horror own goal with 10 minutes left as a "little mistake" when, in fact, other than kicking the referee in the head, it was about the biggest mistake you could make in the game. Under minimal pressure, Luke DeVere headed the ball straight over the goalie.
If losing the first game was the best ever start, losing the second game and being eliminated from the tournament must make it the best ever performance at a World Youth Cup, right? Especially so at a tournament that promotes the 4 best third-placed teams to the knockout rounds and Australia can't even qualify for that.
With Brazil the final game and an odds-on loss there, that would make it the best ever result of any team at a World Youth Cup.
Some sanity resumed with the post-match interview with coach Jan Versleijen. He called the first half a 50/50 result, before the reckless 55th minute red card by Tahj Minniecon, just 5 minutes after coming on, spoiled much of Australia's chances to recover the 1-0 deficit from half time.
The stats quashed the "good possession" comment with only a 54% advantage to Australia. It's often a rubbish stat, with some teams, like Costa Rica, content to hit on the break. Listening to the SBS crew, one got the impression that Australia dominated and controlled the game. Other than for an enthusiastic opening that hoped to get an early goal and set up the game, Australia spent much of their time in "possession" passing around the backline and created very few opportunities. Play constantly broke down whenever they went forward, with scrambled, scrappy chances almost the exclusive fare. That's exactly as we've seen under fellow Dutchman, Pim Verbeek, and the senior national team.
Before you even dare to consider that maybe there's a problem with the existing Dutch philosophy trying to be imposed on the team, Craig Foster already had the answer: the country let them down. That's right. Not the players at fault, not the coach, not the preparation, not anything. It's the country. We, as a country, let them down.
Foster's comment went without further elaboration. One would guess, along with his comment that the players should be paraded, that the lack of an adequate football environment being provided for the team to hone their ability is the reason the country let them down.
It's clear that the reason for this bizarre behaviour is just a continuation of the SBS agenda against local coaches. There's Dutch coaches at all levels now. In the face of such failure and poor performance, instead of having the courage to admit that maybe the coach got it wrong, or maybe this generation of players isn't quite good enough, let's pretend they did everything right, which includes two losses in warm-up games to the USA and England prior to the World Cup, and that the "only disadvantage was the result".
Jan Versleijen, Australia: To lose 3-0 is very disappointing. I expected a different
game to the one against the Czechs and was also hopeful of a different result. In fact, we
did get a different game and played much better. At half-time, you're thinking that 1-0
shouldn't be a big obstacle, and in the second half we raised our game and tried to get an
equaliser. But one of our subs gets himself sent off after five minutes on the pitch and
it's always tough to play with ten men.
Ronald Gonzalez, Costa Rica: I'm delighted. We tried to do the best we had with the
players at our disposal and to put them in the right positions. We didn't want to defend
the whole game but rather use counter-attacks to score some goals. Fortunately, this
worked out well for us.
Maybe I was watching a different game. Who knows. In the preview before Australia's final pool match, a 3-1 loss to Brazil and subsequent exit of the tournament with their worst ever record at a World You Cup, SBS's Craig Foster was again full of the superlatives, telling us that the moment reached at that point of the tournament with two terrible losses was "a beautiful moment for a Australian football". He enthused that the team should continue their same playing style, even if it will "inflict more pain". After the loss to Brazil, we were greeted with a "marvelous tournament" and the "approach spot on". The team bizarrely had good attack and good positional play while being found wanting and their system "exposes weaknesses in defence and attack". The results were "utterly of no consequence" and, in quite possibly the understatement of the century, they "played in a way no team has previously played".
On theworldgame website, Foster went one step further, posting an open letter, preposterously congratulating the team for "pioneering a new football". He summised: "Do not be at all concerned by the results. You are there to learn to play properly, not to gain a few lucky wins or points without passing the ball... Others have taken the easy route to cheap results, you are taking the more honorable path to lasting football success. You will be judged in time as the Class of 2009, those who finally set us on the right path. I heartily congratulate you all." www.theworldgame.com.au/blogs/craigfoster/well-done-boys-youve-pioneered-a-new-football-241581
Even the match commentator Vitor Sobral was not immune, musing after the one goal lead became a deficit that "they can play football".
In fairness, Foster would have a great point if Australian dominated games, had plenty of possession, passed the ball around and created many chances. All I saw was a flat back four and static midfield. Two of Brazil's goals were because the defensive midfielders of Aaron Mooy and Sam Munro didn't track back. We're talking about an opposition player a few metres away that was allowed to freewheel on without cover. The so-called passing extended mostly around the backline.
Trying to go forward, it all broke down. The team were devoid of ideas. Movement off the ball was terrible. The goal that Australia scored came from a speculative long-range direct free kick that the Brazillian keeper fumbled into the net. The few other chances seen - and we're talking the few number seen through the entire tournament - were in the traditional speculative method, from broken play or defensive errors by the opposition that we've been accustomed to seeing from both senior and national teams in recent times. The problem at this level is that the opposition do not give the requisite errors to create the chances.
The reality is that Australia does not have the depth of talent to play a rigid system or style that the coach wants. The system must be moulded somewhat to the suit the best talented players in the team and to exploit the strengths of the team. No point playing a system where your best players are out of position or restricted from executing their brilliance. At this level, individual brilliance is the trademark that often powers the most successful teams.
As for results not being of consequence, when are they of consequence? Surely at a WORLD CUP is the time for results. It seems under Foster's ideal that if you can pass the ball around the backline and defensive midfield and achieve a possession percentage of at least 55%, that's success. Forget that you couldn't get a result and were smashed in the process. That's because technically you were not good enough to play the system, so preferable to become pioneers for a future group of players.
That's the entire absurd logic in it. If it was the under-12 World Cup, then there's some merit because the same group of players could use their "pioneering" to inaugurate a process that would culminate in their own success at a World Youth Cup. As it stands, they get hammered, and some batch of future unknown players will somehow benefit? Who's to say they'll even have the same coach. In ten years time, who's to say even this Dutch system will be in place.
If there was a problem to identify with the team, it was temperament. The attitude and lack of conviction. Somewhat an arrogance. The divine right that the team should win, or at least get its own way. One clear example was Ryan McGowan yelling "f*** off" for not receiving a throw-in when his own error in snidely trying to win one, failed. It's permeated the ranks since the highly talented 1999 team and its subsequent horror early elimination in Nigeria, even into the senior national team. Maybe it's the symptom of Australia now being the "big fish" in the Asian pond and, previously for the youth teams, the whale shark in the Oceanic puddle. This tournament might be marvelous one sense - that the humbling outcome is a key lesson in learning respect.
Group E Date - Time Results 27/09 16:00 Brazil 5:0 (3:0) Costa Rica 27/09 18:45 Czech Republic 2:1 (0:0) Australia 30/09 16:00 Australia 0:3 (0:1) Costa Rica 30/09 18:45 Brazil 0:0 Czech Republic 03/10 21:30 Costa Rica 2:3 (0:1) Czech Republic 03/10 21:30 Australia 1:3 (1:1) Brazil Team MP W D L GF GA Pts Brazil 3 2 1 0 8 1 7 Czech Republic 3 2 1 0 5 3 7 Costa Rica 3 1 0 2 5 8 3 Australia 3 0 0 3 2 8 0