Arnold deserves another shot at Socceroos job
Football Federation Australia should look to a local replacement for former Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou if it is serious about developing the local game, its coaching intellectual property and global reputation.
Postecoglou was an evangelist for the Australian game, extolling the virtues of local coaches and players, advocating an Australian playing style and inculcating a mindset that emphasised self belief and the desire to take the game on.
It didn’t always work – witness the struggle in World Cup qualifying – but it certainly raised the team’s profile in the domestic market, and the fact that Postecoglou lived here, advocated for the sport in the media and was its champion made a difference.
The FFA fully bought into Postecoglou’s campaign then, so surely it can’t easily jettison all that now.
If they share that view, then Graham Arnold, the Sydney FC boss, should be a walk-up starter as Socceroos coach.
If this appointment were just about the World Cup in five months, the selection committee might just focus on a ‘‘big bang’’ appointment (a Guus Hiddink-type gamble that worked so well in 2006) and worry about the future later.
But the future will arrive very quickly. The next Asian Cup is due in January, 2019, and there will be little time to experiment, or for a new coach to prepare for that tournament.
Whoever gets the job should have a long-term deal, for the World Cup, the Asian Cup and the qualifying cycle for the 2022 WC tournament in Qatar as well.
While it is flattering for Australia that so many high-profile, out-ofwork coaches are being linked with the post, the selection committee shouldn’t get too carried away with the interest.
Postecoglou got the job in 2013 because of the success of his Brisbane Roar team and the statement they made about the way A-League clubs could play.
Arnold’s achievements in the A-League are every bit as impressive as Postecoglou’s, in some ways more so.
He took the Cinderella club of the competition, Central Coast, to two grand finals, winning one after losing the first in extraordinary circumstances in a penalty shootout to Postecoglou’s Brisbane, having led 2-0 until the last minutes of extra time.
Now he has fashioned a Sydney team that landed the premiershipchampionship double last season and are, at the moment, romping away to this season’s title.
Arnold’s Sky Blues, in their ruthless efficiency, relentlessness and ability to take teams apart, are every bit as impressive as Postecoglou’s record-setting, ‘‘tiki-taka’’ Brisbane were with their aesthetically pleasing passing game.
Critics say Arnold’s teams are ‘‘boring’’ and ‘‘defensive’’. That may have been the case once, but it’s certainly not the case now.
How could you not admire and appreciate the fluidity of Sydney and their attacking prowess?
For some, Arnold has already had a chance with the national team and failed at the 2007 Asian Cup.
That, in the evolution of Arnold as a coach, was a lifetime ago. I covered that tournament, Australia’s first at the Asian Cup, and it was a huge learning experience for all concerned. Arnold was only a caretaker at that time and was feeling his way in the job.
If, in 2013, Postecoglou had been judged by his achievements up to 2007, he probably wouldn’t have got the job either.
After all, the FFA had just sacked him as coach of the Australian junior team after he had failed to qualify for the under-20 World Cup.
Arnold has has skin in the game here, is a proven success and has plenty of experience at the international level.
Surely no-one can argue that the grizzled, grey-haired veteran coach has not earned the right to have a shot.