Since his 2005 move to PSV, Jason Culina's feet have hardly touched the ground. And there's more to come...
Jason Culina has enjoyed a meteoric ascendency through the footballing ranks.
In just over three seasons, he has risen from bench warmer at Dutch giants Ajax to one of the first names on the Qantas Socceroo team sheet, via impressive stints at fellow Dutch sides Twente and PSV Eindhoven.
And it’s no small coincidence that Culina’s rise to prominence has much to do with former Socceroo boss Guus Hiddink, who brought the 26 year-old to PSV at the beginning of the 2005 season as well as installing him at the heart of the Australian engine room.
Now, after a successful World Cup, his coach might be different but the goal remains the same: Asian Cup glory.
What do you expect from Bahrain in this game?
They are a bit of an unknown quantity to me, but most games at international level are tough, so we’ll respect them. Even so we have to be confident of winning, especially as we’ve got home advantage. I know we beat them 3-1 over in Bahrain back in February, and I caught some of the highlights. It looked like a comfortable win and hopefully we can repeat that in this game.
What was your reaction to the defeat to Kuwait last month?
It was very disappointing because we should beat teams like Kuwait, but the conditions weren’t easy over there. I think the fact that we had already qualified for the Asian Cup probably took the edge off the game for our guys.
How do you think Australia will do in the Asian Cup tournament?
I really think we’ve got a great chance to win the whole tournament. As we showed at the World Cup we’ve got a very talented side, and if can keep the majority of that side from Germany together and add a few young guys we can do very well.
Who will be Australia’s main rivals there?
I reckon we’ll start as favourites along with Japan and South Korea, but I would fancy our chances of beating both of them. They are good and very fit sides, who can play some good football if you let them settle on the ball. But we proved we could beat Japan at the World Cup with that 3-1 win, and when we play them again we need to be aggressive and put them under the same pressure.
Are you enjoying the challenge of playing in Asia rather than Oceania?
This is just what we needed to help our progress. It could get pretty hard to motivate yourself to play against Fiji and the Soloman Islands. Playing against the Asian teams will make us a stronger and better prepared to perform in international football.
This will be your first game for Australia since the World Cup, so what are you most looking forward to?
I can’t wait to see the rest of the guys, it will be the first time since the World Cup. It will be great to get that buzz back, there is nothing like it. I’m looking forward to catching up with the rest of the guys and reflecting on the World Cup. We didn’t have any time after the last game against Italy to do that because the next morning we all went our separate ways, so it will be great to get everyone together again.
How has the team responded to playing under Graham Arnold?
He has done well with limited resources in his first couple of games. We all respect Graham, he knows the game very well and learned a lot working with Guus Hiddink. While Guus got all the praise, Graham played a major role in our success in qualifying for the World Cup and then doing well in Germany. He did a lot of the hard work behind the scenes and kept us all happy.
What are your main memories of the World Cup?
My last memory was a disappointing one as of course we were knocked out by Italy, but looking back I have a lot of pride in our performances. It was the first time any of us had been to the World Cup and we got to the knock-out stages from a difficult group. There was also a feeling of what might have been. You can’t help thinking, “What if.” We so nearly got through against Italy and I think we deserved to go on. If you look at how the draw opened up, we would have played Ukraine in the quarter-finals and they looked beatable. Win that and who knows what might have happened.
What were your favourite moments of the whole experience?
It has to be getting that draw with Croatia to qualify for the knock-out stages in Stuttgart. That was such a great night. We probably went overboard with our celebrations, going on a long lap of honour, but it was such a special moment, which might never happen again, so I’m glad we did it. After the game Archie [Thompson] grabbed a corner flag and sang in to it. Unfortunately I was back in the dressing room and missed it. He came back in buzzing about it and said, “I’m a rock star!” He didn’t play a minute at the World Cup, so that was his highlight.
How did you feel about your own performances at the World Cup? Did you do yourself justice?
Yes, I felt I did well out there. I was pleased with my performances in Germany, especially because I was moved around the pitch and had to play in several positions. I took a lot of confidence from the tournament. I reckon I am shown more respect back at PSV because of the World Cup. Every Australian player is respected more because we showed what we could do. Before we were seen as a rugby nation, but now we proved we are a football nation as well.
Was it difficult watching Italy going all the way knowing how close you came to beating them?
When we got knocked out I didn’t watch another game, not even the final. It was too painful. I went away on holiday and forgot about the World Cup. I didn’t hold any grudges towards Italy, not at all, in fact at least we could say we lost to the eventual winners.
How pleased are you with Mark Viduka’s decision not to retire from international football?
It is great for us young guys that Mark Viduka, Mark Schwarzer and Craig Moore have all decided to stay on because there was talk that they might retire from international football. It is an honour to play with them because they are guys I have always looked up to.
What are your expectations with PSV Eindhoven this season?
I’m feeling really good about it. We’ve brought in some new players and I reckon we can do well in both the Dutch league and the Champions League. Obviously Guus Hiddink has left for Russia, so we’ve got a new manager in Ronald Koeman. I played under him at Ajax, but I don’t get much of a run out then, but I’ve since matured and I am now getting a fair go. This should be a good season for all of us.
In just over three seasons, he has risen from bench warmer at Dutch giants Ajax to one of the first names on the Qantas Socceroo team sheet, via impressive stints at fellow Dutch sides Twente and PSV Eindhoven.
And it’s no small coincidence that Culina’s rise to prominence has much to do with former Socceroo boss Guus Hiddink, who brought the 26 year-old to PSV at the beginning of the 2005 season as well as installing him at the heart of the Australian engine room.
Now, after a successful World Cup, his coach might be different but the goal remains the same: Asian Cup glory.
What do you expect from Bahrain in this game?
They are a bit of an unknown quantity to me, but most games at international level are tough, so we’ll respect them. Even so we have to be confident of winning, especially as we’ve got home advantage. I know we beat them 3-1 over in Bahrain back in February, and I caught some of the highlights. It looked like a comfortable win and hopefully we can repeat that in this game.
What was your reaction to the defeat to Kuwait last month?
It was very disappointing because we should beat teams like Kuwait, but the conditions weren’t easy over there. I think the fact that we had already qualified for the Asian Cup probably took the edge off the game for our guys.
How do you think Australia will do in the Asian Cup tournament?
I really think we’ve got a great chance to win the whole tournament. As we showed at the World Cup we’ve got a very talented side, and if can keep the majority of that side from Germany together and add a few young guys we can do very well.
Who will be Australia’s main rivals there?
I reckon we’ll start as favourites along with Japan and South Korea, but I would fancy our chances of beating both of them. They are good and very fit sides, who can play some good football if you let them settle on the ball. But we proved we could beat Japan at the World Cup with that 3-1 win, and when we play them again we need to be aggressive and put them under the same pressure.
Are you enjoying the challenge of playing in Asia rather than Oceania?
This is just what we needed to help our progress. It could get pretty hard to motivate yourself to play against Fiji and the Soloman Islands. Playing against the Asian teams will make us a stronger and better prepared to perform in international football.
This will be your first game for Australia since the World Cup, so what are you most looking forward to?
I can’t wait to see the rest of the guys, it will be the first time since the World Cup. It will be great to get that buzz back, there is nothing like it. I’m looking forward to catching up with the rest of the guys and reflecting on the World Cup. We didn’t have any time after the last game against Italy to do that because the next morning we all went our separate ways, so it will be great to get everyone together again.
How has the team responded to playing under Graham Arnold?
He has done well with limited resources in his first couple of games. We all respect Graham, he knows the game very well and learned a lot working with Guus Hiddink. While Guus got all the praise, Graham played a major role in our success in qualifying for the World Cup and then doing well in Germany. He did a lot of the hard work behind the scenes and kept us all happy.
What are your main memories of the World Cup?My last memory was a disappointing one as of course we were knocked out by Italy, but looking back I have a lot of pride in our performances. It was the first time any of us had been to the World Cup and we got to the knock-out stages from a difficult group. There was also a feeling of what might have been. You can’t help thinking, “What if.” We so nearly got through against Italy and I think we deserved to go on. If you look at how the draw opened up, we would have played Ukraine in the quarter-finals and they looked beatable. Win that and who knows what might have happened.
What were your favourite moments of the whole experience?
It has to be getting that draw with Croatia to qualify for the knock-out stages in Stuttgart. That was such a great night. We probably went overboard with our celebrations, going on a long lap of honour, but it was such a special moment, which might never happen again, so I’m glad we did it. After the game Archie [Thompson] grabbed a corner flag and sang in to it. Unfortunately I was back in the dressing room and missed it. He came back in buzzing about it and said, “I’m a rock star!” He didn’t play a minute at the World Cup, so that was his highlight.
How did you feel about your own performances at the World Cup? Did you do yourself justice?
Yes, I felt I did well out there. I was pleased with my performances in Germany, especially because I was moved around the pitch and had to play in several positions. I took a lot of confidence from the tournament. I reckon I am shown more respect back at PSV because of the World Cup. Every Australian player is respected more because we showed what we could do. Before we were seen as a rugby nation, but now we proved we are a football nation as well.
Was it difficult watching Italy going all the way knowing how close you came to beating them?
When we got knocked out I didn’t watch another game, not even the final. It was too painful. I went away on holiday and forgot about the World Cup. I didn’t hold any grudges towards Italy, not at all, in fact at least we could say we lost to the eventual winners.
How pleased are you with Mark Viduka’s decision not to retire from international football?
It is great for us young guys that Mark Viduka, Mark Schwarzer and Craig Moore have all decided to stay on because there was talk that they might retire from international football. It is an honour to play with them because they are guys I have always looked up to.
What are your expectations with PSV Eindhoven this season?
I’m feeling really good about it. We’ve brought in some new players and I reckon we can do well in both the Dutch league and the Champions League. Obviously Guus Hiddink has left for Russia, so we’ve got a new manager in Ronald Koeman. I played under him at Ajax, but I don’t get much of a run out then, but I’ve since matured and I am now getting a fair go. This should be a good season for all of us.
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