In an exclusive interview with au.fourfourtwo.com, Lucas Neill talks about the World Cup campaign, Pim Verbeek, alleged rifts and his passion for the development of the game.

Lucas took time out from meeting youngsters as an Ambassador for the Optus Small-Sided Football programme to cover a range of issues.

Lucas, how important is this new approach of Small Sided Football to developing young players and why are you so passionate about it?
 
It's everything. It's so important to keep the momentum going and keep the Socceroo brand rich in quality. The best way to do that is to start from the bottom with grassroots and let it work its way to the top.

Players like myself, experienced players, we have to pass that on and hopefully inspire. We want to play the game to scale for youngsters. It's great for them because there's more touches for them, more action, more involvement and as a result a lot more fun.

I'm heavily involved in giving back as it were. I'll never forget where I came from and the people who were involved to help get me to where I am today.

It would be such a waste if I didn't pass on to others what I've learned, whether it be good or bad experiences. I want to make a difference and I want to help build a legacy. There are plenty of people trying to make a difference to the development of the game, including Frank Lowy as mentor, and I'd like to think I'm one of them.

We want to become greedy in terms of having too much talent to pick from and hence raise the level again. You want people to play for the love of the game, to participate and hope you get some unbelievable talent along the way, players who can go on to be stars. If they can start that journey through Optus Small-Sided Football, it's tremendous and very satisfying.
 
That's the stars of tomorrow sorted. Back to the present. How tough was the Asian qualifying route compared to the old Oceania path which so often ended with a winner-takes all scenario?
 
You have to prove your consistency via this route and there are more tough games in some tough, tough places and I mean no disrespect to Oceania by that. You have to travel to these different countries, often with very little time to prepare. If you compare the two, this is a much harder way to qualify. That's why it's more satisfying. It didn't have the scripted, adrenaline ending that we remember from the Uruguay game but we did it with two games to spare.
 
How much credit for qualification should go to coach Pim Verbeek?
 
Pim was a shrewd, shrewd choice by the FFA because he has experience in the region. He knows where to stay, where to train, who plays what system and what style. He had his preparation and tactics pretty much spot on for the opponents we faced. So a very wise decision by the FFA and one that's turned out to be a massive, massive plus for us. From the moment we walked into the World Cup campaign under Pim there was this huge, unbelievable focus and concentration and energy to get there again.
 
The Socceroos were extremely effective in shutting out opponents during qualification with seven clean sheets in a row chalked up. How much satisfaction did you take from that?
 
I took plenty from that for two reasons. Firstly because I'm at the heart of the defence and defences are driven by clean sheets. We did it with various central partners and full-backs too. Guys were coming in and stepping up to the plate. So you take a lot of satisfaction from that. And as captain, to lead a team, not just a defensive line, that was resilient and took a lot of pride in not wanting to concede goals was very, very rewarding for me as a captain.
 
A lot has been made of who should play alongside you in the centre of defence in South Africa. What's your view of the situation?
 
The fact that there is no obvious choice is probably a good thing because it means there's a lot of strong competition for places. Just because I'm captain doesn't mean I can take anything for granted. An in form, fit team is the one that goes out there. For Pim it's fantastic to have so many selection headaches. We need as many weapons as we can.
 
Goals haven't really flowed at the other end with Scott McDonald suffering a well-publicised goal drought. Are you confident that drought will be broken?
 
To a point, strikers are a different breed and they are judged on goals. Any striker will tell you that it's hardest to get that first one but once you get it, they usually come quite regularly and I'm sure that's the case with him. You have to remember that every team we've come up against in qualification has probably seen us as the favourites, therefore they've defended like crazy and made it hard for us to make chances and give our strikers good opportunities to score goals. Will it be different at the World Cup? Probably, and let's hope the guys that haven't scored many goals are saving them for South Africa.
 
There have been some criticisms that qualification was more substance than style. How do you respond to such accusations Lucas?
 
Our objective was to qualify for the World Cup. We've done that. How we do it is not as important as doing it. I'd have hated the team to be really entertaining and lost 4-3 every time we played. Now we're there, it's about taking on the very best in the world. We can always be better but we're in the results business. That's what the players consider most important as does the manager, who drilled it into us regularly that no matter what happens we do not lose games and make ourselves very hard to beat.
 
There have also been suggestions in the media of a rift in the Socceroos squad? Is there any truth in that?
 
The only comment I'll say on the team is this: How good is the team spirit if you haven't lost in 12 matches or so? You need everybody working as a team to achieve seven clean sheets in a row and make it to a World Cup. The buzz in training is amazing, the intensity and competition for places is amazing. Everybody trusts Pim and Pim trusts us. It's a great camp to be in.
 
How important a role has Tim Cahill had to play in helping Australia to South Africa?
 
Tim Cahill defined Tim Cahill in the Japan games, once at the last World Cup and more recently in the qualifying game (where Cahill scored both in a 2-1 win). He has a knack of turning up in the right place at the right time and scoring very crucial goals for club and country. He is a huge part of what we're trying to achieve as a nation. He, like many others, will be hungry to go over there and do even better.
 
How do you think the world football community now views the Socceroos?
 
We're not considered a third world country in footballing terms now and we have the respect of the world. But we're still new to it. We can't get carried away. This is only our second World Cup in 30 odd years. We've still go a way to go to establish ourselves as a 'regular' World Cup team and a regular top 20 team. People know they have to raise their game against us because they know they're in for a tough game. Equally, we know every challenge is tough and have to raise our game as well. Victims of our own success I guess?
  
Should Mark Viduka be part of the Socceroos squad for South Africa next year?
 
I can't speak for Mark Viduka but I'm sure if Mark Viduka was fit and in form he would be playing for Australia. Only Mark Viduka can tell Australia if he's fit enough and in that form. Of course we'd love to have him in the squad but only if he's fit and in form.
 
Is there a sense of unfinished business for you personally Lucas, bearing in mind what happened against Italy in 2006?
 
There is a sense we want to get back there, pick up the momentum. We really felt we could have won that game and then probably beaten Ukraine and been in the semi-final. We want to go back, get out of the group and see if we can get to the dizzy heights of knockout football.
  
How important is Australia's push for the World Cup in 2018/2022?

Hey, we're in it to win it. It's huge. It's about the world coming to Australia. It's about advertising Australia to the world, off the pitch as well as on it. It's about bringing people together to support a common cause - football. We want to host the biggest event in the world in our own back yard. It's a privilege and an honour that not many countries have.

Optus is an official partner of the FFA game development program.