Since Holger came into the national team set-up, the young players have really been given a chance to shine. Do you agree?

Definitely. Since Holger has taken over there’s definitely been a focus on youth and there’s been a group of us youngsters coming through because he’s selected us regularly. By giving us a chance to play for the Socceroos at this stage it’s giving us a lot of confidence. The likes of Rhys Williams, Robbie Kruse and Michael Zullo have all been given a chance to show what they can do and I think they’re better players for it. For me, I have only been in the Socceroo set-up since Holger took over, so he’s definitely had an influence on me.

The coach has been praised for his man-management skills as much as getting results. Is that something you’ve noticed?

I think he’s done really well in keeping the whole group happy. We have a lot of stars in the national team set-up, and while none of the players have big egos, Holger has managed to keep all of them happy since he’s been in charge. As well as looking after the established players, he also takes the time to speak to the fringe players too, telling you why you’re not starting or making sure you know you’re doing well in training.

At the end of the day, that’s what a coach should do but you still appreciate it when it happens. Getting that kind of feedback is great because you always want to know when you’re doing well and when you can improve on things.

And he’s got the tactics right, too...

Tactically he’s probably one of the best coaches I’ve worked with. And I think it’s shown with the results we’ve been getting, not just in the qualifiers but in friendlies against big teams like Germany. No matter what country we’re playing, Holger gives you confidence in his plan that we can go out on the field and win.

When does the time of ‘being given a chance’ end? When do youngsters need to start making a claim for starting spots?

I think it’s now. When you play your first one or two games you look at it as an opportunity, a chance to go out there and play for your country. But when you’re a part of the camp half a dozen times, you go past the point of being given a chance and you have to prove why you’ve been chosen. You have to push yourself because there is always competition within the squad to make the starting XI. Everyone needs to be competing for a spot to make sure you don’t get complacent. 

You’re competing for a place in probably the strongest part of the team – midfield.

Yeah, it’s pretty difficult at the moment to get a chance to start, especially with Mark Bresciano coming back – he played really well in the game in Melbourne. But you can look at it as both a good and a bad thing but I like to look at it as a positive, as I always like to prove myself. And I also want to learn from the players ahead of me, because there’s a lot of experience in the squad – if I’m doing something bad then they’re there to help me change things.

What was the experience of getting your first cap like, in the game against Wales?

Well I wasn’t even part of the initial squad but Brett Holman had to pull out because of injury and I was his replacement. On the day,it went really quickly, as I was warming up on the sideline but I was suddenly called over and told I was going on. It surprised me! It’s probably the biggest moment of my football career so far – to represent your country as a Socceroo is something you always dream about as a boy but you don’t think that it could actually happen. I’ll never forget that moment.

And what do you need to do now to kick on and take you to the next level?

I think I have to concentrate on my football here in Holland and become a regular starter here. I think if I become a starter here then the international side of things will take care of itself. But of course playing regularly is the key, because you definitely lose some of that sharpness when you’re not playing in every game. You get a different kind of match fitness and sharpness on the ball when you play regularly. But you always need to be ready and mentally prepared to play because you never know what is going to happen. Like my debut, you can go from being not in the squad, to being on the bench to being on the pitch very quickly.

What do you think about the last stage of qualifying? It’s not going to be as easy as some people think.

I think a lot of people underestimate how good the countries in the final round of qualifying are. You just have to look back at the teams that didn’t make it, like Thailand who were in our last group. They were a very good team that gave us some problems. It’s also very hard to go to a lot of these countries and get a result. It’s fine when
you see it on paper – people see Australia vs Oman and think that it will be a walk in the park but I think you can’t underestimate any of the countries in our group because they’re all there on merit. It certainly won’t be a walk to Brazil.

This article appeared in the June 2012 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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