As any drawn out rollercoaster ride must, the reign of Pim Verbeek has finally come to an end. The World Cup stage was the perfect setting for Verbeek's swan song but ultimately proved to be a group-stage letdown.

Most people - myself included - won't be sad to see the Dutchman make his way to the soon-to-be football powerhouse of Morocco, unless of course you're Moroccan or haven't yet caught on to the sarcasm phenomenon. I can honestly that I tried to stick by Pim but that determination was beginning to wear thin.

To be fair, it's hard to say that Verbeek's time in charge of the Socceroos has been a failure for either party. He did manage to lead Australia to a second successive World Cup - third overall - for the first time in our history. Unfortunately, the negatives to come from Verbeek's time in charge are all too obvious and are likely to overshadow any of his achievements in the memories of fans. Overshadow they should, too.

No doubting, then, that the new gaffer will have some work to do.

But just who will that be?

Frank Rijkaard has ruled himself out of the running, Johan Neeskens is hesitant to leave Rijkaard's side and Sir Hiddink is soon to be wrapped up in Turkey.

Luckily we have an ambitious, football-loving businessman in charge of the FFA who is willing to spare loads of cash from his sizeable wallet in order to find the best.

That man, Frank Lowy, has declared that Pim's successor has been involved in the World Cup on some level. It's an encouraging sign that the next coach will have a strong pedigree.

One could narrow the field of thirty two senior coaches plus assistants down to a certain few names when considering who is realistically available along with the preferences and prerequisites of the FFA.

Looking at those who are now free agents and have been mentioned as possible candidates, it can be assumed that Paul Le Guen, Marcelo Bielsa, a Dutch assistant or two and maybe even Sven-Goran Eriksson are the key players in the group most likely to be persuaded.

The suggestion of Le Guen in particular has not been met with a lot of warmth. His recent effort at the World Cup with an individually brilliant Cameroon squad doesn't inspire a whole lot of confidence. Frank Lowy and his brains trust would be better off not praying that the Rangers failure can repeat his successes at Lyon.

Marcelo Bielsa, on the other hand, looks to be a far better proposition.

The man who led Chile to the second round displayed a penchant for attacking football led by his young brigade of stars. Replicating that style and bold attitude for promoting youth won't be as easy with Australia but he could be the one to develop the next generation of Socceroos. As someone who would also command the respect of senior 'Roos, he would have to be first choice.

However, should Bielsa be out of reach, the FFA could explore a distinctly different avenue. Consider this:

Offering the head coaching job to one of Phillip Cocu or Frank De Boer.

It could prove to be a masterstroke.

A great risk would obviously come with appointing another person who has only assistant coaching experience. However, the benefits could be great. Both men are relatively young and would therefore be keen to sink their teeth into early career successes. Both have been schooled in strong coaching establishments with De Boer learning his trade at Ajax and Cocu doing the same at PSV. They each hold positions as assistants to Bert Van Marwijk in the Dutch national team setup. Finally, they would each have a considerable amount of contacts throughout Europe and most importantly, would fit FFA ideals.

One downside to the appointment of one of these two football legends would be that if Holland's World Cup campaign is anything to go by, we might not see much of a departure from the mindset employed by Pim.

Although I don't necessarily agree with Australian football's Dutch revolution as it lacks a variety of ideas, it's an interesting option for Mr. Lowy to consider.

Who knows, he might just be working on a total surprise. Perhaps Lowy and the FFA are looking to entice Joachim Loew and assistant Hans-Dieter Flick to Australia with the promise of matching green and gold, jacket and shirt ensembles. I can just picture it now.