Vince Grella isn't a man to be messed with. All you need as proof is to key his name into photo agency Getty Images' search engine to see a gallery of foes in various states of physical distress as Grella gets a toe, leg, arm or shoulder in the way to win the ball.

His no-nonsense manner on the pitch is mirrored off it too, as on several occassions during our interview he's quick to pull FFT up on issues he doesn't agree with, strongly but fairly.

What it takes to play for your country? "Some people don't understand the sacrifices we make."
The fans' support? "We need more than 20,000 in Melbourne coming out to see the Socceroos play."
Australia play with just one striker. "Be careful how you're wording that one."

However the one thing that gets Grella's goat more that anything else is that he's yet to show Blackburn Rovers' fans the kind of performances he's capable of. Injury has deprived him of regular football and he's eager to get an extended run in the side ahead of the World Cup.

If nothing else, Vince will need a bit of practice sending Premier League players flying before going for the world's best.

It's been a bit up and down for you at Blackburn, eh?
Yes, that's a pretty good assessment of things so far. It hasn't been easy but I think I'm coming out of the rougher end of the time I've been here. I'm looking forward to getting some games under my belt and enjoying the football in England which is the reason that I came over.

You've not really had a good run of games yet, have you?
One of the major disappointments has been that I haven't been able to show fans over here what I can do yet, especially after being here for such a long time and being hit with similar injuries. But while it's disappointing the challenge is still there so I'm enjoying getting ready to show what I can do.

What's been the biggest difference you've noticed between your time in Italy and England so far?
It's a different footballing culture between the two countries. From training methods to the actual games themselves, it's a different style of football. The speed and the physical nature of the game is obviously a lot different in the Premier League - physically especially because I think that if you're not physically strong then I don't think you can play here.

The Italians play a different kind of game, don't they?
The Italians pay it less attention because I think their style of football is a bit slower with more emphasis on the technical and tactical side. And sometimes that's what's made Italian football... I wouldn't say boring, but less interesting that the Premier League, which is exciting, quick and with a lot more goals.

Is it fair to say that you were ‘over' Italian football and you were looking for a new challenge?
Apart from the different style of football, which is always going to be fun for a player to adapt to, I think it was just the challenge of coming to a new country and establishing yourself again. I'd played in Italy for a long time and I was enjoying my football. It was always the country that I wanted to play in but after a while I think for my enthusiasm and to challenge myself, it was time to make a change. It was a chance to better myself and bring a new dimension to my game. The injuries have slowed that process down a little but I think I've seen the worst of those now and I'm looking forward to enjoying my football again.

Onto the Socceroos, you've been to the World Cup before. What was the best thing about being there?
It's the chance to play on the world stage. You're talking about the top nations and the top players are there for the world to see. It's a personal test to see where you are as a player when you go up against the best in the world. For Australia, who is a small country and not recognised at international level, it was personally satisfying to be a member of the Socceroos that put the country on the international map in 2006.

Is there a sense of pride in doing that?
I think all of the players took pride in achieving that and making Australia a recognised footballing nation. Whether we succeeded or not, people know who we are now. We've still got miles and miles to go before we become a big footballing nation but our country is still young and developing, so I think we can feel we've done a good job so far. It seems the older generation of players have a really good sense of how privileged you are to play at the highest level and that you are blazing a trail for future generations to follow.

Is that something you talk about amongst yourselves too?
Yeah, I think it's something that we take a lot of pride in. Some of the senior players have worked very hard for what they have achieved and to see so many players competing in the top leagues in Europe for almost a decade now shows how far we have come as a footballing nation. And many of us now want to put a good structure in place for the junior players coming through the ranks, so they can enjoy and experience what we have one day. We take a lot of pride in it and are grateful for the opportunities we have been given. We've made a lot of sacrifices as players to get where we are over the years as well.

Do you think it's recognised by most people?
Some people don't seem to understand that, because I'm noticing lately that at every opportunity, certain sections of the media or fans are looking to have a pop at the players and I think it's a little bit unfair because over the years we've all made massive sacrifices, between the travel and playing extra games. Sometimes people don't understand how hard it is for someone to keep a spot in a club team, playing at the top level week-in, week-out and then flying across the world to play for your country.

Expectations seem to be a lot higher now?
We've created those expectations from these results but sometimes it's been a little bit harsh on the team, especially in the last 18 months or so. I'm seeing a little bit of a pattern developing and I hope people recognise how hard it is for us. Even in the last game in Sydney [against Holland], people didn't seem happy to see the national team back and celebrate that we're going to the World Cup. It was a little bit of the reverse with people chipping away at the national team. There was a negative air there. We mustn't forget that there are some really big footballing nations that didn't make the World Cup, so we should look at it as a privilege. But it is a small minority. The majority of the Australian public and media want the best for the team and suffered with the players through the not so good times as well. They want to go and see a World Cup and see us do well in the Asian Cup.

I want to talk to you about the system Australia plays. First of all, clear it up for us. Is it a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1?
I think we can get stuck on the numbers here a bit too much sometimes. Pim in the time I've known him and worked with him as a coach has been pretty elastic with his formation and how he sets out his team. I don't think he has any formation written in stone. A lot has to do with the availability of the squad and who he has at his disposal for any one game. Pim may yet change his ways as we have a long preparation and the key to that will be who he has to choose from nearer tournament time.

So you're saying the 4-3-2-1 system isn't a given as Australia's style of play for the World Cup?
We can look at who's in form at the time and, really, it's the main thing that Pim has to think about. I think he has a good squad available but the key is going to be the physical side of things. If you can get everyone fit and healthy during the preparation then I think he has a lot of options open to him. What options he's going to take I'm not quite sure because I wouldn't say that we've played the same system every game.

But it seems when everyone is fit, Verbeek likes to have the two holding midfielders, three attacking midfielders and a lone striker up front. As one of the defensive midfielders, do you find it an easy system to play in?
Depending on the personnel, yes. It is a system that I've used often in Italy and I find myself very comfortable in that role. But it's got a lot to do with the personnel that play it, I'll be deadly honest. It's always the players that dictate the system as there's no system that's written in stone for us. As I said before, if everyone is fit then I think it's a system that works well for us.

What is the key to that system working well?
I think there are many keys to the system working well, not just one thing. For example, the fullbacks have to provide the width, the midfielders have to push forward and contribute goals, the lone striker has to work very hard out there on their own. It also has to do with how the opposition plays and whether that system is going to make life hard for the opposition. When you have Harry Kewell and Mark Bresciano on the wings and Tim Cahill running off a striker, they can cause any defence a nightmare. You're talking about some world-class players playing in that front area there. It's a system that makes sense, it's just a matter of whether the personnel is there at the time.

You're seen as the holding or defensive midfielder in the system. Do you mind that description of your role?
No, that is my role and I've built my career around playing in that position. It suits my style of football. Obviously it always changes in whatever team you play in, different managers have different guidelines they want you to follow. I don't think I'm very versatile so maybe it's been a good thing, maybe a bad thing. I've always played that role and played the same style.

But it seems for you and your position, if you do your job well, you don't seem to get noticed.
I know where you're going with that question. I'm happy that the footballing world knows how hard that role is and appreciates it. If someone comes and watches the national team and he's not really understanding the game or noticing what I'm doing but he's enjoying it, then I can live with that. I can be happy that he's just coming to watch the game and hopefully my teammates excite him enough that he comes back for the next game. As long as people keep coming to watch us, that's the main thing. We can't keep having just 20,000 people in Melbourne coming to watch the Socceroos. I can't believe it. Whether it's against Oman, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, whoever you want, we need to get everyone we can going out to see the national team. I remember when I was a young kid and the national team was playing I would have jumped the fence to go and see them play. I can't believe that we're only getting 20,000 people to watch the Socceroos. So I hope we can keep exciting the people and we can get lots more people to come and watch us play.

Seems likes a fashionable system to have one striker playing up front alone at the moment...
Be careful how you're wording that one.

How do you mean?
Because I wouldn't say that we were playing with one striker. I'd call Mark Bresciano more of a striker than a midfielder and I'd probably say the same about Harry Kewell. And Timmy when he plays for the national team is probably more than a striker than he is a midfielder. So out of the four up front, we've probably got two and half strikers and one and a half midfielders in there, if that makes any sense! They're constantly changing and taking on different roles and that can be hard for a defence to pick up. And that's the beauty of that system, the players are allowed to move and find spaces on the pitch and be dangerous. If you stick to positions you can be predictable and easy to mark and the beauty of Mark, Harry and Timmy is that they never really stay in one spot for too long. They're always moving and trying to find little areas where they can find the ball and be dangerous in attack.  

This article appeared in the March 2010 issue of FourFourTwo magazine. To buy back copies of this issue call 03-8317-8121 with a credit card to hand.