"It’s exactly 10.30,” says new Socceroos coach Holger Osiesk with a smile, as he taps his watch to let FourFourTwo know that the German, as you might expect, is precisely on time. 

Our meeting place for the first ever catch-up with the new man in charge is a stereotypical one, a Bavarian Bier Café, but it’s only a temporary location before we walk around to the restaurant on Sydney’s Manly Beach which will host our interview. “They do a great giant schnitzel on Tuesdays in that Bavarian Bier Café, ”adds Osieck, as we wander round on the sort of sun-drenched day the relocated European must be loving.

In the wake of an impressive result and, some would claim more importantly, an impressively open performance against Paraguay the previous weekend, Holger is relaxed, in good spirits and seemingly loving his new life in Australia.

While his predecessor Pim Verbeek had his time in the job defined by a few controversial comments (mainly around the A-League and the advantages of playing in Europe) that seemed to follow him everywhere, Osieck comes across as a man less likely to make such direct remarks.

Where Holger really shone in our interview was on more in-depth matters around the game and how he likes his teams to play. It’s understandable for a man with an incredible pedigree in technical development, most notably with FIFA.

There is plenty to discuss, from when Holger got the better of Guus Hiddink, to winning international titles with Canada to most importantly of all, what he plans to do with our beloved Socceroos... 

Holger, welcome to Australia! We’re delighted to have you here and we’re sure you’re going to do a fine job with our Socceroos. Take us back to your early coaching days and how you made the transition into life in the dugout?
I played football professionally in Germany, but I was also doing my university course at the time. 
I got my first coaching license when I was 21 and that gave me a taste for moving on to the next level. At first, 

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I didn’t think I was going to be a full-time football coach, but I started at the German FA working with our youth teams before getting involved with the national side which was very special indeed. 

During the ’90s you then had two spells in Turkey with Fenerbahçe and Kocaelispor, with time in Japan at Urawa Red Diamonds in between. How did you evolve as a coach during that period?
Working in various countries has helped me develop as a coach as you come across different mentalities, styles of play and environments. If you are open-minded you can pick up a lot which is beneficial to you.

At Canada you created “Holger’s Heroes” when you won the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Talk us through that tournament and what was the key to success?
Canada was a similar situation as it is here in Australia. Most players played abroad and it was often very tough to get them across to Canada. The Gold Cup itself was good as I had the players together for three and a half weeks, and we started improving from game to game. That time helped with the understanding between everyone and I was able to get my message across. At the tournament we came up against Mexico, who were and still are the powerhouse of CONCACAF, so to beat them in the quarter-finals was tremendous. Mexico didn’t know what happened, they couldn’t believe it! We won with a Golden Goal through a counter-attack. I was jumping up and down with joy and the Mexicans were stunned! Their coach was just sitting there shaking his head.  

During the ’90s you coached two national sides and five club sides in a single decade. Why did you have such a steady rotation of jobs in the period?
There are various reasons. You are often on a two-year contract and it is a question of staying on or not. For example, when I was at Fenerbahçe I got an offer to coach in Japan, so I said to my wife, “Let’s do something new and move to Japan”. Again it was a two-year contract, so I went back to Turkey again [to Kocaelispor], where I managed to win the Turkish Cup – the first trophy in the club’s history. I then left Turkey in 1998 as my contract was up again and I got a call from the Canadian association president who I have known for several years. He was Scottish and rang me to say [in bad Scottish accent], “Holger, we need a new first team coach and I think you’re the right man for us”. I said, “What are you talking about, I don’t want to go to Canada, I want to stay in the club business”. He said, “NO, you have no option. You have to come!” [laughs]. We then had a meeting in London and we agreed on a contract and looking back it was a good decision. It opened up a new world to me where we played against the likes of USA and Mexico. It is always good to enrich your stock of experience in new areas. We won the Gold Cup, and to prove that was no fluke we finished third two years later. We only lost on penalties in the semis to USA and in the third/fourth place play-off we played South Korea, where Guus Hiddink was the coach. We beat them 2-1 and Guus was not happy. After that he took the entire squad out of the domestic competition so he could have a three-month camp. From there he built his World Cup squad, but the starting point was the defeat against us.

You’ve done plenty of youth development work, most notably as director of the FIFA Technical Department. What did that FIFA role entail exactly?
The role gave me the opportunity to go to all the different World Cups, from Under-17s up to the senior level, plus the Club World Cup and Confederations Cup. When you get to follow these events and you’re in charge of the analysis of that, then it is amazing what you discover. I got to make the comparison between the South American, European and Asian approaches to the game. That is really helpful and again it enriches your assessment of global football.

What did you make of the Australian teams while you were in that FIFA role?
The first time I saw an Australian team in that role was the Under-20 team over in Holland when Ange [Postecoglou] was in charge. I was quite impressed and they were quite unlucky not to get through their group. The performance of the team was good. I was further impressed with the Australian team at the Confederations Cup in 2005 when they lost to Germany, but they really had a good game. 
I also saw the Socceroos at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups. I was in charge of doing the analysis in the game against Ghana in South Africa. So over the years I’ve got a good idea of Australian football at a national level.

You’re the Socceroos coach now. When you were named it certainly caught us by surprise! Did the ‘Holger Who?’ reaction bother you at all?
Not at all. If you were in Europe and you ask people about Australian managers they would also have a question mark behind the name. So it didn’t both me at all. I was a technical director at FIFA and the only involvement I had with Australian football was with Urawa Red Diamonds on a club level when we played Sydney FC. I don’t feel inferior to have this kind of reaction. I’m not Ferguson, as everyone knows him, or Mourinho. 

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When did you first become aware the Socceroos job was open and you’d have the possibility of taking the role?
We started talking in South Africa with Ben Buckley. We had an informal chat at first and we had follow-up discussion where they felt I could do the job.

What did they tell you about what the job would demand?
What the job demands is pretty obvious – to be successful and get Australia to the next World Cup. Another target was the Asian Cup. It is a great challenge and I’m going for it. 

You’ve made a very positive start to your Socceroos career and seem to be fostering an open and attacking approach to our play. What’s your footballing philosophy?
Discipline is a major factor in getting a team to work. Then it’s about how to put everything together. You have to get your defensive department right. And that is not just a matter of your back four, defence is a matter for the entire team. First you need to protect your goal, then you have gain possession of the ball when the opposition is attacking. But then what? Then the game starts. Once you’ve got possession of the ball you need to launch your own game. You need players who are constructive, who are solid and have decent technique. Not just shot-blockers and defensive players. That is my style. I always want people to be part of the build-up, to pass the ball, to call for the ball, to get involved and to carry on until you come to a finish. Teams should be like a working machine. There are a lot of options which decide a style of play and a lot depends on who plays, so you need to be flexible too.

What are your hopes for the Asian Cup?
We want to finish up in the top ranks. We would like to win and I know what it takes to win tournaments. You have to set realistic targets which are achievable. You also have to convince your players of this and I think my players have the same approach as me. 

You’ve got a choice: winning the Asian Cup with tried, tested, experienced Socceroos or putting in some positive displays with an unproven emerging set of players looking to gain experience...
You can never separate that, you have to combine it. No matter what players you produce, you will not get the recognition of the public unless you win games. You are not measured by the number of players you develop, you get measured by results. You cannot just go for the development, that is simply impossible.

Qualifying for the World Cup is more important than winning the Asian Cup, so are you conscious of blooding players at the Asian Cup?
I fully agree that World Cup qualification is on top of winning the Asian Cup. But why not do both?

We were one of the oldest teams at the 2010 World Cup. How are you going to transition us into the next generation?
Age is relative. Looking at our actual squad, even for our most recent squad against Paraguay, most of our players are not really old. What is old? If you are 29, 30 or 31 and are a good professional and your body is ready, then it is not a question of age.

It’s a common note that while Australian footballers have huge degrees of competitiveness and determination, that the technical side is sometimes lacking. What are you going to do in order to lift the country’s technical abilities?
When you generalise that is often when you’re incorrect. I’m working closely with Han Berger and I’m across the FFA’s National Curriculum which he set in place. That is all about focusing on the technical ability of young players and the players who go through that system with qualified coaches, then you are going to produce players who are technically sound.  

That National Football Curriculum you mention is partly based on playing a 4-3-3 formation. What do you make of that?
It is not a fixed system that you want to press everyone into. It is a system which assists with development, including say the ability to dribble for the wide players. It allows you to be flexible in the middle of the park where you can form triangles. It gives players a technical maturity when they are young. I don’t play a 4-3-3, I play a different system, but players who learn with that formation understand the demands of other formations a lot quicker and they are more versatile.

What’s going to be a standard day in your role then? How much is going to be Socceroos and how much the grassroots approach?
My first couple of weeks have been focused on the national team. I also want to get a good picture of the A-League, which I think is a very good institution in order to develop domestic talent. I will also go overseas to scout players, but I don’t need to scout players I know already. I don’t need to see Tim Cahill four times a month as I know what he can do and how important he is for the team. I don’t need to see Harry [Kewell], Mark [Schwarzer], or Lucas [Neill]. But there is definitely a group of younger players that I don’t really know and I will assess. Then when I have time I’ll attend a coaching course where I can give some recommendations there too.  

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