UTRECHT's Oz left-back talks Holger Osieck and breaking into the Socceroos first XI ahead of Brazil 2014.

Where do you see the Socceroos at the moment, in terms of young players pushing for places in the starting line-up?

The reality is that we’ve had basically the same starting XI for the Socceroos for the best part of eight or nine years and Holger’s challenge so far has been to bring in some new faces while also keeping the core of the older players, as they have so much experience and quality. The way he has done that so far has been really successful. He’s managed to find the blend while still getting results and taking us to the last round of World Cup qualifying. It’s been especially good for me as he brought me back into the set-up. I’m definitely enjoying myself under his leadership.

What do you like most about Holger?

Holger is a coach that’s very confident in his decision-making. We’ve seen that a few times already in the World Cup qualification campaign where he hasn’t been afraid to make a big call. And also in the Asian Cup, when Matt McKay was playing so well he was keeping Brett Emerton out of the team. I also think he’s not worried about things like reputations or age. He believes that if you train well and show that you’re good enough, you’ll get your chance. Personally that’s a real boost because I’ve been in and out of my club side this season and I have a lack of experience at international level. To know that I will be given a chance to prove myself when I’m with the team is fantastic.

One thing many players have mentioned about the coach is the trust he has in the players. Is that something you’ve felt too?

Yeah, of course. When everyone comes into camp they feel like Holger has confidence in them as players and that’s a sign of a great coach. I know that when I come into camp,he won’t hesitate to use me if he needs to. There’s no lack of trust – you’re therebecause he likes you. He lets you know what you need to work on and what he likes about you. It’s a good feeling and to know a coach trusts you is probably one of the most important things to have. With that kind of environment, I think Holger will be able to geta lot out of this group. We’ve shown in the Asian Cup and in the World Cup qualifiers what we’re capable of, and we’re building on some good results.

How hard is it to break into a team that has so many great, experienced players?

I think when it comes to the national team, people can be quite skeptical at first. You have to prove yourself over a period of time before they will accept you as, for lack of a better word, a ‘real’ Socceroo. I think that takes time.

But Australian football is waiting for the next generation to come through. Everybody’s asking: Who will be the next 2006-style Golden Generation?

People still talk about them, and how they were our most successful team. It was a real breakthrough period for our country and one that we all now have to live up to.

Do you think older players feel pressure from the younger generation coming up?

I think they’ve got enough motivation and desire to keep going on their own. They don’t need us to push them or keep them on their toes. The older guys in the squad at the moment are so professional. The kind of professionalism from Brett Emerton, Mark Schwarzer, Tim Cahill or Harry Kewell is not something you see every day – they’re model pros. I hadn’t seen those levels of commitment until I came to the Socceroos, not even in Europe. Of course, competition in a squad is a good thing and hopefully one day we can carry on from where they leave off.

You’ve not played regularly for Utrecht, especially last season. How do you think that affects your national team chances?

I don’t think you can overstate how important it is to be playing regularly. To have any chance of making the national team, you just have to be playing. It’s as simple as that. You lose a lot of sharpness and fitness when you’re not out there. And it’s been a frustrating second half of the season for me – everything was going well for me before Christmas, I was playing for the national team and in the first team at Utrecht, but since then my chances have been limited. It’s definitely made me re-focus on what I want to do with my career, where I want to go and I realise the Socceroos is what keeps me going. I just have to keep working hard, with the thought of playing for the national team as my reward.

So the next few months are going to be important for you. How do you plan to turn things around?

Yeah, they’re going to be pretty vital in terms of my club career for sure. I need to get back into the squad at Utrecht or find a solution to that, because for me to go forward in my career I want to be playing for the Socceroos and in order to do that I need to be playing for my club team. So that is really important for me right now. And then when you look at the national team schedule, the next few months are extremely significant. If we can get off to a good start there, it will set us up for the other games we have later in the year.

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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