It’s Socceroos over Saudi riches as van Marwijk era begins at World Cup Bert relies on instincts
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 them to qualify for the World Cup, even when they offered him obscene amounts to stay, north of $ 15 million.
Instinct made the man who took Holland to the World Cup final in 2010 accept a very different assignment for the 2018 tournament in replacing Ange Postecoglou. TIM Cahill has declared his fighting spirits make him just as determined to help the Socceroos through to the knockout phase as he is about joining World Cup immortals.
If the Socceroos’ record goalscorer finds the net in Russia, he will join the game’s greatest player Pele, record World Cup scorer Miroslav Klose of Germany and West German legend Uwe Seeler as the only players to have scored in four separate World Cups.
Cahill, 38, was warned by Bert van Marwijk last March that his Russia 2018 fate could be doomed if he did not up his game time. Despite a paltry 63 minutes at Millwall this season, Cahill convinced van Marwijk he could prove a wildcard with his big- game experience.
“I’m really calm and everything leads up to the big dance, starting ( today) against France,” said Cahill, who presented in tip- top shape for precamp. “I don’t think I could be in a better space.
“I’d love to join the greats. But I’ll be as happy stepping on to the pitch. It’s extraordinary to get to four World Cups. You never think you’re going to play in four.
“If called upon, I’ll be ready. I know a World Cup’s not just about one game, it’s about being ready for three and as long as you make yourself available, a lot of these players are going to be used.”
“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, 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 tonight.
“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.”
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.
“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 World Cup has neared, so the TV replays of the 2010 final his Dutch side lost to Spain have intensified – including Arjen Robben’s missed chance to win.
“After that game, everyone was disappointed,” he said. “But I had disappointment at losing one game. You prepare for that game, do everything 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, and I see the chance of Robben. Then it all comes back.”