AT 33, Socceroo captain Lucas Neill has no intention of handing over his armband with a World Cup in Brazil still three years away

From Australia’s first friendly back in June of 1922 against New Zealand, up until the Germany World Cup in 2006, only the 1974 squad played at a World Cup finals during that 84-year period. Socceroo captain Lucas Neill now plans to play three consecutive tournaments, two quite possibility as captain – in just 12 years.

That is the current footballing landscape we assume in Australia. We now expect to be one of the top 32 nations competing at the World Cup and when FourFourTwo sat down with Neill recently, it was not a case of just reminiscing about South Africa last year and the Asian Cup final, it was about looking forward to another major tournament in three years time.

The qualifying draw for Brazil 2014 will take place at the end of this month and a gruelling campaign through Asia will commence once again. A tough campaign that the 50th captain of the Socceroos is ready to fulfill and claim the prize of World Cup football once again. There is no talk of not making it.

It is entirely plausible that Neill, who will be 36 in Brazil, will be able execute his desire. Physically fit and never one to overly rely on pace, Neill has that invaluable knack of reading the game and positioning himself correctly ahead of approaching attacks.

We spoke with Lucas to discuss the year since the 2010 World Cup, working under a new Socceroos coach, making Brazil and a “horrible season” at club side Galatasaray.

The last time we spoke it was before the World Cup in South Africa and we chatted about the feeling of leading your nation out at a major tournament. Now it has happened, what was it like doing just that against Germany in our opening game?
It was truly a proud time. It surpasses all your dreams, that knowledge that you are the first to walk out – it is just an amazing feeling. With that comes a little bit of responsibility and I probably took it a little bit too personally that we didn’t qualify for the second round, but I’m not going to let that tarnish the fact that I am one of a very lucky few that captained their country at a World Cup.

A year has passed since the World Cup, with such time for clarity, how do you assess South Africa?
I still think we did amazingly well – we just got off to a less than impressive start. Hindsight is always a wonderful thing, but perhaps at 2-0 down and with a man sent off we should have just said “right, let’s just lose this game 2-0,” but it’s never been in our nature to do that.  We are starting to learn that it’s not really about the performances, it’s about getting to each stage, and we really took that concept onboard at the Asian Cup where it was just about taking small steps at a time to making sure we were always in the next game, or the next round. Maybe we needed to make some honest mistakes to learn that. We played so  well against Ghana, particularly with 10 men, and should have won that game. Then it was an amazing spirited performance against Serbia, but what was more surprising is that Germany didn’t do us a favour in the other game. Look at Uruguay, who ended up being in the last four of the World Cup, a team that we have beaten in a pressure situation before. So, it’s one of those things, another one of those tournaments where it’s a “what if”, but still we have been to another World Cup and you can’t take that away from us.

Luckily we had the Asian Cup soon after! What was the key to going on that run to the final?
The mindset when we got there was to learn from each tournament. The attitude of teams that are successful in tournaments is to make sure they do just enough in the early stages to keep being in amongst it, keep advancing, and then obviously when it comes to crunch time, take advantage. We did everything we could to win the tournament but on the night didn’t execute. We created plenty of opportunities and apart from one out of character defensive mistake [Japan’s winner in the final], we were faultless in the tournament. And for me especially, I was disappointed I didn’t get to lift the cup, not just for myself, but on behalf of the country and all the guys. Plus a lot of people that have a put a lot of hard work into the game for a number of years. It would have been a sweet moment.

What was it like working under Socceroos coach Holger Osieck? What type of coach is he?
Very open, very honest, but I’ve been the same with all my managers. He [Holger] has been around long enough in football, in so many different environments, that he never gets over fazed by any situation. He never gets carried away and he never worries too much, he breathes an amazing amount of confidence in the squad and I think that’s evident by the fact that he’s willing to play younger players in big games too. He makes those yougsters feel like they’re good enough and gives them the belief that they can go out and perform. And he’s just a guy with tremendously good tactical knowledge of the game as well, all without complicating the game.

The Asian Cup ended in disappointment. Was that made all the harder as it was the last opportunity for this ‘Golden Generation’ to win a major tournament?
A lot of the guys didn’t know how to respond to losing the final because we were so determined and so sure we were going to win when we got to the final, without being over-confident. A lot of players will be thinking long and hard now about when does the next chance come? It’s up to your body, how long it is going to allow you to get selected. If that means getting to the next World Cup, which realistically we are not going to win, that would be something phenomenal. Just getting to the World Cup and getting out of the group stages is an achievement every time you go to a World Cup. And then anything’s possible once you are in the knock-out stages. But then beyond that is an Asian Cup in Australia, which would be amazing, but I suppose a lot of people think that’s probably a year or two too far [for me].

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Sasa Ognenovski and yourself looked accomplished at the back but is that pairing a long-term solution considering where both of you are in your careers?
It is as long-term a pairing as it is allowed to be! Sasa has come into the team late in his career, but looks like he’s been playing there for years. I certainly struck off an instant understanding with him. But as much as we’re trying to hold onto our own spots, we have equally been trying to offer experience to those coming through too. Nobody is going to get my spot in a hurry, I’m simply not willing to give it up and I’m sure Sasa will say the same.

So the Brazil 2014 World Cup is still very much a target for you?
100 per cent! With the year I’ve had, with the Asian Cup I had and the physical conditioning I’ve put myself through this season – I know I can play three or four more years. Both Harry [Kewell] and I have worked very hard on our fitness and game, which was evident in the way we both played in the Asian Cup in January. It really paid off and we’re ready to extend our careers by as long as possible.

Who can you see emerging in that centre-back position for Australia to either play alongside you or compete for your position?
There’s so many. It’s unfair to name anyone. I don’t want to put them under pressure. It is just getting them out there and playing regularly and performing.

Onto domestic matters. It was not a great season for Galatasaray...That’s being polite – it was a horrible season!
I went to Istanbul and joined one of Europe’s bigger teams and while you can’t assume you will finish in the top three every year, it is expected and usually achieved. It is hard to put your finger on it. Possibly the chemistry of the team wasn’t right; the attitude was all wrong going in. Everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong! Including key players getting injured, such as our captain and Milan Baros up front which cost us goals.

They are a demanding bunch at Gala. What has the fan reaction been like?
They have been more accepting of it than they probably should have been. I share their frustration and it is sad because a club with 25 million fans deserves so much more, and they’re still willing to come out every week to support their team. They deserve glory, they deserve to be playing for trophies and we’re nowhere near that, which is sad. But the fact that my name still gets sung in terraces in a bad season makes me feel proud, proud that I’m still putting in a shift and giving 100 per cent.

What about on a personal level, how have you been playing?
I’ve had one of my better years and it’s just coincided with the team having one of their worst, which doesn’t make any sense. I suppose the only way you can judge me is when people got to see me in the Asian Cup and that was how I was playing all year. Granted at Gala I was playing defensive midfield, right-back, centre-back and always having to fill in for the team wherever necessary as a result of players always being injured and certain things happening. It was a season that builds character and it’s never too late in your career to do that, but it’s not why I went there. I went there to try and challenge for trophies and titles. The team is going to need to rebuild now and I’m really not at a time in my life where I want to be in a team that rebuilds.

How has it been playing with Harry Kewell there too?
That’s been the only thing that has kept us both going. Plus having an Australian physio called David Joyce with us, who has done extra work and made us work for ourselves to become better and fitter. That’s been a saving grace really. To have each other there and to keep things a little bit Australian, keep things English and to make sure no matter how down it got, we never got down on each other and put a smile on each other’s faces.

You recently ruled out a move to Australia, for “a few things I’ve heard over the last day or two”. Can you expand on that?
That was because people were saying in Turkey and Australia I’m back to talk about my future, and categorically I’m back to have an operation and there’s absolutely no desire to play here yet simply because I’ve still got way too much to offer in Europe. There are too many challenges and goals that I want to achieve in Europe.

People are only suggesting that as they are excited about the prospect of you returning. Surely it is a compliment? 
Yes, it’s good but I think it’s more a case of people trying to put one and one together and coming up with me returning based on very little. One day though, one day… 

Lucas was speaking to us as an ambassador for Optus Small Sided Football Awards. Nominations for the awards are open until August 31. Head to www.optus.com.au/football for further details

This article appeared in the August 2011 issue of Australian FourFourTwo magazine. To buy back copies of this issue call 03-8317-8121 with a credit card to hand.

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