Vidmar backs undermanned Olyroos to still qualify for Paris
Much of the focus in the build to the Olyroos U23 Asian Cup campaign has centred on who's not there. But with the games upon us, coach Tony Vidmar is backing his squad in Doha to qualify for Paris.
Commencing on Monday evening, much of the build-up to the Olyroos' efforts to qualify for the Paris Olympics at the U23 Asian Cup has centred on who is not amongst them, centred on the raft of players blocked from competing by their European-based sides, the absence of the injured Marco Tilio and Adelaide United phenom Nestory Irankunda’s non-call-up. Understandable, given the sheer quality we’re talking about there. But for coach Tony Vidmar, the 23 players assembled in Doha are capable of punching their tickets to Paris.
The first of the group arriving in Qatar a week ago, the Olyroos squad was completed on Saturday morning by the arrival of Borussia Mönchengladbach flanker Jabob Italiano, fresh off 72 minutes for his side’s reserves against Rot-Weiß Oberhausen in the German fourth-tier. Highlighted by capped Socceroos Mohamed Toure and Garang Kuol, the scheduling of this tournament outside a recognised FIFA window means that the squad is largely made up of A-League-based players – domestic clubs obligated to release players as per the terms of the unbundling deal with Football Australia.
Undoubtedly, Vidmar would love to be able to call upon the likes of Alessandro Circati, Nicholas Bilokapic, Calem Nieuwenhof, Cameron Peupion, Nectarios Triantis, and Patrick Yazbek. These are all Socceroos or soon-to-be ones, good players. Their absence was confirmed just before the Olyroos took part in last month’s West Asian Football Federation [WAFF] Championship… after an initial extended squad list submitted to the AFC, which severely hamstrung efforts to look elsewhere. The unedifying saga surrounding Irankunda, meanwhile, hasn’t been good for anyone.
But now that the games are here, with the mammoth stakes associated with them now looming overhead. And he’s backing players like Western Sydney’s Nicolas Milanovic, Melbourne Victory’s Ryan Teague, and Macarthur’s Jake Hollman to make their mark, believing that the talent assembled in Doha is still good enough to qualify for Paris.
“We're confident,” he said. “Over the 12 months since I've taken the team, we've had a good depth of players coming in. This is an opportunity.
“They've done well at their clubs, and now we've had to integrate them in a short space of time. We don't have the luxury of working with them every day, so we've got to be precise and good on the information we give and what we do on the training field.
“Going into that WAFF tournament was a perfect lead-up to this. It gave the players that belief and confidence that their desire and our whole desire of all the staff is to go and try to win this tournament.
“We'll be definitely giving our all, giving everything knowing that you know we are playing against some good opposition as well. So it's not going to be an easy one but we definitely will be giving everything.”
And with just two days rest between games – the Olyroos will return to action on Thursday to face Indonesia – Vidmar expects to rotate his squad throughout the tournament.
“We'll look at game by game, [especially] with the two-day turnarounds,” he said. “Looking at potential players who can back up that for two games in a row or potentially three games in a row.
“But we would look at it game by game, what we think is the best fit for a certain opponent. And then also in the back of the mind thinking what we need if we need to score a goal or if we need to defend in a certain way, that's something that we would consider.
“I've explained to the players from the very beginning that each game will be a different team. It's not set in stone from game one.”
The equation for the Olyroos across the coming weeks is a simple one. Finish in the top three and they’re headed to the Olympics. Come fourth, and they’ll take part in a play-off with African nation Guinea for the last spot in Paris. Do anything other than these scenarios, and they’ll be watching the Olympics from their couches.
“They've seen the history,” said Vidmar. “They know the history of what the Olympics can do for players individually – where their professional football goes – but also where it goes with the Socceroos.
“They all have that understanding and knowledge and I don't have to talk to them too much about it. They know what is out there for them. We showed them a video [of Australian Olympic moments] yesterday, which was quite powerful. They’re ready to give everything and do themselves proud. I think that's the main thing.”
Drawn in Group A, the Olyroos open their tournament against Jordan at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium on Monday evening, hours after host nation Qatar gets proceedings underway against Indonesia, this means that their path will go through either Japan or South Korea in a quarterfinal – both Asian powers having been drawn in group B, undoubtedly to the group mates the United Arab Emirates and China’s chagrin.
But even before then, they’ll first have to deal with an Indonesian side that has brought 13 senior internationals to the tournament – highlighted by Ivar Jenner, Marselino Ferdinan, and Justin Hubner, who all played at the senior Asian Cup earlier this year – and a Qatari side featuring Jassem Gaber, who won the senior Asian Cup with The Maroons in February and scored in their semifinal win over Iran.
Jordan, for their part, only features one senior international – twice-capped Al-Wehdat winger Mohannad Abu Taha – but will be riding the high of their senior side stunning the continent by advancing to the final of that senior Asian Cup and wins over Thailand and Iraq in the WAFF tournament.
“They are a difficult team to play against,” said Vidmar. “They've had some decent results in the WAFF tournament as well. And we know that collectively, they're very well structured. Defensively, they'll make it difficult for us, limiting space in and around the box. So we've got to be precise in that.
“We'll probably have a little bit more of the ball than them. But what they are good at is hitting teams on transition. You get that with quite a few of the Middle Eastern teams who liked to play that way. So it's a new challenge. It's a new challenge for some of these players and they're ready for it.”
Image Credit: Football Australia