---

Osieck Is New Socceroo Boss

Staff Writer 11 August 2010 16:53
FORMER Canada and Urawa Red Diamonds coach Holger Osieck has been appointed the new Socceroos coach, Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy revealed today.

German-born Osieck, 61, was an unexpected choice for the job after the post was linked with a string high profile names including Chile's Marcelo Bielsa and Italy's Marcello Lippi.

But the FFA are convinced he is the right man for the job despite a lacklustre CV compared to other candidates for the job.

Highlights from Osieck's campaign include winning the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup with Canada and the 2007 AFC Champions League with Urawa Red Diamonds.

But despite a much bigger budget at the J.League club, he was unable to get past Branko Culina's salary-capped Sydney FC, drawing at home and away on their way to the trophy.

Osieck was sacked by the J.League side the following season, having only just being recruited for the job that year.

He had a short-lived playing career with FC Mulheim for three years before a move to Canada where he joined Vancouver Whitecaps which he later went on to briefly coach.

He was an assistant to Franz Beckenbauer in the Germany national team between 1987 and 1990, going to the World Cup and winning the trophy with the side.

He returned to club management in the wake of that triumph with spells at Vfl Bochum, Fenerbahce, Urawa and Kocaelispor before taking the helm with Canada for three years.

He had a role as technical director with FIFA before returning to Urawa for their successful Champions League campaign.

Osieck was officially unveiled by the FFA via videolink from Slovenia to Sydney this afternoon.

But prior to the appointment Socceroos caretaker and FFA technical director Han Berger said they were looking for someone to fit into the Australian mindset more than simply being a top name.

“We’ve talked to a lot of people and we’ve done our homework well,’’ Berger told Fox Sports. “It’s important that we find someone that clicks well with the mentality of the Australian players and fits in with our team, someone who has international experience and has experience in Asia.

“It also has to be someone that has a proven record in working with younger players and rejuvenating a team.

“Someone who has communication skills and mentality to work with Australian players and coached and help move our game to the next level.

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be someone high profile, it’s more about someone with these qualities.’’

---

---

http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/17335...-afc-tour.aspx
EXCLUSIVE: A-League clubs could be playing for an extra Asian Champions League place this season if the competition passes an exhaustive health test next month.

An Asian Football Confederation inspection team arrives in Australia in September to run the rule over the A-League and see how it has developed since their last report was published in 2008.
The delegation will put every aspect of the A-League under the microscope in a comprehensive official check-up before filing a report to bosses at their Kuala Lumpur HQ.
At stake is a possible additional spot in the AFC Champions League for an Australian club from 2012 onwards.
At the last assessment of 21 of the AFC's 46 member associations across Asia, the A-League ranked seventh overall out of just 10 leagues that made the grade for ACL inclusion, topped by Japan.
A total of 500 points were available for organisation (20 points), technical standard (100), attendance (100), governance/soundness (50), marketing/promotion (20), business scale (100), game operation (20), media (20), stadiums (20) and clubs (50)
Australia scored 306, compared to the table-topping J.League which scored 470, followed by South Korea (438), China (415), Saudi Arabia (359), UAE (349) and Iran (336).
Key areas where Australia lagged behind in 2007/08 were in technique, surprisingly low organisation and governance scores, and a dismal business scale score of just 28/100.
However the A-League scored well in terms of clubs, stadiums, media, marketing and attendances.
FFA chiefs will hope to improve on their business scores, but average A-League attendances have fallen since the 2007/8 inspection, although overall attendance figures have increased.
When the last assessment was made, the rules allowed the top ten Asian leagues a maximum of one-third of their total number of top tier competing clubs to earn ACL qualification.
At that time, the A-League had just seven clubs plus the ineligible Wellington Phoenix, giving the premier Australian competition its two ACL spots.
Last week the AFC confirmed New Zealand-based Phoenix are still ineligible to play in the Asian Champions League, despite the club winning FIFA approval for a five year extension of its A-League licence.
But with the A-League now having ten clubs plus Phoenix, Australia could now be eligible for a third ACL spot from 2012, subject to the new AFC inspection report.
With the addition of North Queensland Fury and Gold Coast United, the A-League met the criteria for an extra ACL place in 2011 under AFC rules.
But FFA sources say no additional places were being granted until next month's inspection re-assesses the A-League's current eligibility.
Under existing AFC regulations, if approved, the three qualifying A-League teams will be those who place first and second over the home and away season, plus the winner of that season's Grand Final.
Should Phoenix qualify, their spot will be taken by the next highest ranked Australian team.
Any changes to the rules will not affect the 2011 Champions League which will see Australia represented by last year's top two A-League clubs, Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory.
An FFA spokesman said any alterations to A-League eligibility will only apply to the top three Australia sides this season for inclusion in the AFC Champions League competition in 2012 at the earliest.
However it is also possible the AFC may change the rules to instead restrict the number of eligible teams, by limiting leagues to a quarter of their total number of top tier clubs instead of the current one-third.
If that were to happen, even when Sydney Rovers join in 2011/12, the A-League would only have 11 eligible clubs - and possibly restrict the A-League's ACL entitlement to its current two spots.

---

---

Warren exhibition launched

As Australia gears up to compete at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the National Museum of Australia is looking back on Australia’s football past.

‘I told you so’. Johnny Warren and Football in Australia is a free exhibition opening at the National Museum in Canberra on 15 May.

Johnny Warren was a captain, coach, commentator and champion of football in Australia and was in the team that took Australia to its first FIFA World Cup in 1974.

In the 50 years that Warren was associated with the game, it evolved into a mainstream, international sport.

Ross Warren, Johnny’s older brother, will launch the exhibition on Saturday 15 May and said: “When we started playing football in the 1940s, it was derided as a game for ‘sheilas, wogs and poofters’. However it was English immigrants who first promoted the game in Australia from around 1880.”

Many other things have changed in football today. The introduction of the A-league competition has brought a new professionalism and organisation to the game in Australia.

Football is returning to its roots and taking to the streets with homeless people playing street soccer. Women’s football is one the fastest growing sports in the world and Indigenous kids are developing a love for the sport.

Thanks to a generous donation by the Warren family, the National Museum is the proud custodian, for all Australians, of the Johnny Warren Collection, which includes the FIFA Centennial Order of Merit awarded to Johnny Warren just months before his death in 2004.

The display includes the shirt worn at the 1974 FIFA World Cup by Harry Williams, the first Indigenous person to represent Australia in football.

Football is now part of Australia’s national sporting identity. As Johnny Warren once said: “I told you so.”

‘I told you so’. Johnny Warren and Football in Australia is on display from 15 May – 9 August 2010.

---

---

The AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ Finals Draw will take place at the magnificent Aspire Dome here in the Qatari capital on Friday, April 23, 2010.

The draw will start at 1900 hours local time at the world’s largest indoor sports facility, and by the end of the process 16 teams would have been slotted into four groups of four each (4x4) under the Dome’s distinctive sloping roof.

The 16 teams in the hat for the draw are: Qatar (hosts), Australia, Bahrain, China, DPR Korea, India, Iran, Iraq (defending champions), Japan, Jordan, Korea Republic, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE and Uzbekistan.

The tournament runs from January 7-29, 2011.

Aspire Dome is part of the Aspire Zone that hosts the Khalifa Stadium, Aspire Academy, Hamad Aquatic Centre and Aspire Park.

---

---

http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/12503...-kisnorbo.aspx
WORLD CUP FEARS FOR KISNORBO

PATRICK Kisnorbo's World Cup dream looks to be over after he was carried off with suspected Achilles damage during Leeds United's defeat by Millwall this morning.

The defender lasted barely seven minutes before being carried off and left Elland Road after the game on crutches.

Kisnorbo has been a huge hit since joining the Yorkshire club at the start of the season and was back in the frame for Socceroos duty.

However, if scans confirm serious damage then his South African dream will be in tatters - a shattering blow for the player and also leaving Pim Verbeek with one less option at the back.

Leeds boss Simon Grayson told BBC Sport: "I am absolutely gutted for the lad. Paddy's dream was to play in the World Cup and it looks like that dream has been shattered."

"Unfortunately he picked up a severe Achilles injury which will rule him out for the rest of the season and probably the World Cup as well."

"It is a huge blow for Paddy, he's been a real warrior this season."

---

---

Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek has confirmed he will quit the position after the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa, saying he is "looking for a new challenge".

"It has been a very difficult decision for me after more than two years but it is time for me to look for a new challenge," Verbeek said.

"I have enjoyed every minute of being head coach of Australia and we achieved some fantastic results including qualifying for the World Cup and the Asian Cup.

"It is a good time to make this announcement so we can now focus completely on preparing everything perfectly for the upcoming World Cup in South Africa."

Verbeek has guided Australia to both the World Cup and AFC Asian Cup finals during his tenure.

In 27 matches in charge, the Socceroos have won 15, drawn eight and lost four.

Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy said that Verbeek had done an outstanding job in charge of the Socceroos.

"Pim has been a great coach for the Socceroos and has earned the respect of everybody in football in this country and around the world," Lowy said.

"He has been the consummate professional in every aspect of his role and has led our national team with distinction here and overseas.

"Under his leadership the team has achieved everything we aimed to achieve and I expect he will have the team ready to perform at its best in South Africa."

It remains unclear whether Australia will appoint a full-time successor to Verbeek in time for the 2012 AFC Asian Cup finals in Qatar.

The other option is to appoint a caretaker for that tournament, then look to appoint a new full-time coach ahead of the 2014 World Cup campaign.


AAP

---