Have the guts to be yourself

Bert begs his men to accept challenge

IT was instinct that brought Bert van Marwijk to the Socceroos and it’s instinct that he has tried to teach the Australian players in the short time he has had with them.

Instinct made him walk away from Saudi Arabia when he had led it to qualify for the World Cup, even when the Saudis offered him obscene amounts to stay, north of $15 million.

Instinct made the man who took the Netherlands to the World Cup final in 2010 accept a very different assignment for the 2018 tournament in replacing Ange Postecoglou.

“I have to have a good feeling when I take a new job; when I don’t have it, I will not do that job, in spite of everything,” van Marwijk said.

But his instinct told him Australia was a challenge he needed to accept, and the weeks since have been spent trying to ready the Socceroos for the challenge of facing France — tactically, of course, but mentally as well.

In a World Cup stadium, in front of a big crowd, and most of all against footballing superstars, the best-laid plans can stall. So who van Marwijk picks, and how they line up, is driven by the need to be ready for the opening whistle.

“That is a good question,” he said. “We trained a lot in all of the situations that can happen. How we want to build up, how is the transition when you lose the ball, how are we standing when the opponent has the ball, where we press.

“But one of the most important things in my experience, playing against a country like France, is that you must be yourself. It’s easier to say than in practice.

“You have to have the guts to play and be yourself. My experience with the Dutch team [in 2010], is that when suddenly Pogba is standing in front of you or Griezmann, and Mbappe and the big fullbacks Mendy and Sidibe, you must not be impressed.

“You can have respect but you must not be impressed. You must be yourself. Normally you get that feeling when you get the experience.”

The unanswerable question is whether the players have taken on board his message sufficiently to have a prospect of repelling the French, one of the favourites to actually win the whole thing.

“When you ask me now, I say yes — but it can change on the pitch,” he said. “It’s so simple to say, ‘Be yourself’, but in practice it’s very difficult.

“We must be ready. We don’t have any chance to do something else. We have to be ready. I knew that from the beginning.

“When I see the development of the players from the first few days [in camp] until now, it’s a big difference. They developed, they improved, and we will see if it’s enough.”

Most of all, he doesn’t want them left with a feeling of “if only”. As the countdown to the World Cup has intensified, so the TV replays of the 2010 final his Dutch side lost to Spain have intensified.

“After that same, everyone was disappointed,” he said.

“But I had disappointment at losing one game. You prepare for that game, do every- thing to win; when you lose you are disappointed.

“But [the feeling of] losing the World Cup — that comes later. I never think about it — until I see it on television … then it all comes back.”