Punching Above Their Weight- A Socceroos Tale

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Pim Verbeek Resigns as Manager, Jovacs Sterjovski Signed as Replacement:
After the dutch-born Australian manager Pim Verbeek resigned as a complete shock to all followers of the Socceroos, Jovacs Sterjovski, brother of Mile Sterjovski and former Australian took the reigns of the Socceroos. At just 33, Jovacs is one of the youngest managers of the top 50 FIFA nations, although Jovacs is younger then some members of the Australian Squad, key members such as Mark Schwarzer, Lucas Neil, Harry Kewell and Scott Chipperfield backed him.

I've played with him (Jovacs), and he was a natural leader, although never named captain but int he dressing room he was well known for his tactical knowledge and even Guus Hiddink consulted him during the wonder World CUP of 06. He's got my full backing and no-one in the squad doubts him.
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Mark Schwarzer talking to goal.com.


However one thing remains clear, there will be a lot of pressure on Jovacs to perform in the World Cup, but he seems confident of handling it and called managing Australia "a dream", on par with playing for your country according to him. Although Jovacs didn't play in the 2006 World Cup due to a horrific season ending injury, he was quickly absorbed into the dressing room and coaching staff.
Verbeek_Pim.jpg


Pim Verbeek's media farewell.

Lucas Neil to Remain Australia Captain:
Jovacs Sterjovski has put to rest the rumors that eh would replace long serving Socceroos captain and star defender Lucas Neill with another player, although Lucas Neil had said that he would "be just as happy playing for Australia if he was captain or not; it's not a privilege it's a duty and in the end of the day, if the manager thought someone else could perform the job better then me, then i would back that candidate fully." There has no been no announcements about the vie captain however, but one thing is for certain, it;s not just the Captain and Vice-Captain which lead the squad, there's also the senior players such as Chipperfield, Cahill, Kewell, Schwarzer and Bresciano who lead on the pitch. Also, Jovacs handed out a warning to those who thought they could make it to the Australia squad n reputation alone, saying that "The squad will be selected not just form the best players, but also the hardest working and best team players."
Lucas_Neill.jpg

Australia's Captain, Lucas Neil set to play the World Cup as Australia's Captain.

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This is only the second story i have done, so any suggestions give us a yell. I'm aiming to make it to the round of 16, lets hope i get a good group :)

Also if you're following the story, please make little post every now and then, lets me know people are still interested :)
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Australia v. Ireland Friendly
26 Man Squad:
Goalkeepers:
Mark Schwarzer -went out injured
Ante Covic
Michael Petkovic
Adam Federici- Called up as replacement but then was concussed day before match
Defenders:
Lucas Neil (c)
Ryan McGowan- Uncapped
Jonathan McKain
Kevin Muscat
Matthew Spiranovic
Shane Stefanutto
Michael Twaite
Midfielders:
Mark Bresciano
Nathan Burns
Tim Cahill (vc)
David Carney
Scott Chipperfield
Jason Culina
Brett Emerton
Brett Holman
Harry Kewell
James Troisi
Luke Wilkshere
Forwards:
 Bruce Djite
 James Holland
Nikita Rukavytsya
Mark Viduka
Australia vs Ireland Result.
Australia's first match under Sterjovski management was successful and it leaves many Australian fans dreaming of future success. Tim Cahill opened the scoring after a defence cutting ball from Brett Emerton left Cahill with a 1 on 1 with the keeper. Mark Bresciano extended Australia's leading with a superb curling effort from nearly 30 yards out. Michael Doyle pulled one back with a placed shot that beat Michael Petkovic and Bruce Djite finsihed the scoring on the 91st Minute with a powerful finish after a beautiful ball from Wilkshere released him from the defenders. Bresciano was named Man of the Match
It's an absolute honor just to play for the country, but to receive the award is like being in wonderland. I'd like to thank Jovacs for starting me, there were some concerns over my fitness but we prevailed. I would also like to thank the Irish players for such a competitive match and I'd really like to point out Shay Given's effort, he performed some wondrous saves, that left us wondering how to score.
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Mark Bresciano after the match.

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yay finally a socceroos one good luck mate
try using screenshots
 
Yay, I got people responding, what do you want more screen shots of?

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26 Man Squad for South Korea Match:
View attachment 84132
Jovacs has opted for a very offensive squad and it has been reinforced byt he return of Mark Schwarzer from in injury, with an expected South Korea victory, Jovac's men are the underdogs, but many people know that is where the Socceroos perform best from.
Australia v South Korea, Seoul World Cup Stadium:
Starting Line- Ups:
View attachment 84133
Result:
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Stats:
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I am Very pleased with this match against South Korea, we always knew it was a tight match and many expected us to lose. I'm happy with the draw, we had a bit more control of the game but we couldn't convert one of our best chances. I'm glad to say that Scott McDonald appears to not have an injury but that's just preliminary testing but we will remain cautious after we had to sub him off. Chipper's header was quite outstanding, as was his whole game and he thoroughly deserved his goal. There was some offside debate about the South Korean goal, but it;s a friendly but that did highlight some weaknesses in our defence.
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Manager Jovacs Sterjovski talking to BBC Sport Australia
 
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Australia v Kuwait (Asia Cup Group B)/Australia v Indonesia (Asia Cup Group B)
The Australia squad has taken to massive injury blows, both Tim Cahill and Brett Emerton have been ruled out of the match against both Kuwait and Indonesia. Despite being favorites to win, these two injuries to key players could see a second-rate Australia performance. On the up-side for Australia, Grella has returned form injury and has a few good games for Blackburn, but Tim Cahill and Brett Emerton and sure to be missed. This could be a big match for Sterjovski's match to see how they handle without two of their most senior and best players. As replacements for these two players Carl Valeri and Jason Culina have been called up as replacements for the Kuwait match.
Brett Holman to play in Serie A?
According to a leading Italian football magazine, Brett Holman could be seen playing in Italy's Serie A for the club Chievo, if his current club AZ gets a high enough offer. Valued at approximately 2.3 million pounds, it remains to be seen whether Chievo will offer and if Brett Holman would be willing to give up UEFA Champions League football for a low ranked Italian team. With Brett Holman aged at only 25, he surely has a bright future ahead of him, having been capped 28 times to date.
Can Bresciano maintain his form?
Mark Bresciano has been a powerhouse for the Socceroos but he will surely have to step up with both Tim Cahill and Brett Emerton unavailable due to injury but the 30 year old has plenty of technique and experience up his sleeve which he will surely utilize in the match against Kuwait. Since Sterjovski's management started, Bresciano has played two matches, scoring once, assisting once and receiving the MOM award once.
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YAY! A Socceroos story! As an aussie im definately following! Looking good so far mate, keep it up and good luck! :)
 
Huzzah! I got the fan's pouring in. I was so heartbroken by our World Cup, especially how well we performed against Ghana but couldn't win it. :( Anyway, they did us proud.
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Scott McDonald and Brett Holman star as the Socceroos demolished Kuwait:
View attachment 84181 View attachment 84182
In Australia's recent Asian Group B qualifying match against Kuwait, they were simply too strong for the Middle eastern side. The only downside to the match is a 4 week injury to star winger Harry Kewell who suffered a twisted knee in the 74th minute. The Socceroos reacted well to the injury, considering that had already used all 3 substitutions and finished the match with ten men. This was a promising build-up for the Australia v Indonesia. The undoubted delight of this performance was Scott McDonald scoring his first ever goal for Australia, and the immense happiness could be seen on his face as he coolly slotted in a placed shot, nutmegging the keeper in the process.


Classy Culina drives Australia, even through debateable refereeing:
View attachment 84185 View attachment 84186
Jason Culina received the MOM award for his inspiring two assists as Australia won 4-2 over a rampant Indonesia. Despite Rhys William's highly debatable red card and a separate controversial penalty the Australia side was able to rally and defeat the Indonesian team. A brace from Scott McDonald meant that in the last two Asia Cup qualifiers, he has scored an incredible 3 goal and Brett Holman's two goals in two games in showing a bright future for the Socceroos, and these results show that they can play very well even without Tim Cahill and Brett Emerton.
Australia handed tough group:
Through the FIFA World Cup's group drawing system, Australia seems to be fated to fight, having been drawn with Argentina, USA and Serbia. Already many pundits have named the Serbia match as a must win, with hopefuls draws against the USA and Argentina. We managed to catch Jovacs Sterjovski for a comment.

Reporter: Surely after receiving such a tough group, the Australia squad may be a little nervous or demoralized?
Jovacs: I don't believe that they will be demoralized or nervous, rather i think they are looking forward to the challenge. Obviosuly there are some games we must win and other we must draw but this if football and anything can happen
Reporter: After such a strong qualifying by Pim Verbeek, surely you feel a little pressure to perform, even to attempt to make it through to the Round of 16?
Jovacs : I do feel the pressure, but I think every national manager in the world cup is feeling the same pressure. It would be a dream to reach the round of 16, but how we go, no-one can tell. But i have great confidence in the squad and I think with a full strength squad we can perform.
Reporter: Finally, with Scott McDonald and Brett Holman firing on all cylinders lately, this shows promise for the future?
Jovacs: Yah, i think the future looks very bright with such talent pushing through, both aren't even 26 yet and they're scoring regularly for Australia.



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Thanks, not looking good for my next Asian cup qualifier though, got 5 injuries to quality players :(

This is my demolished squad
View attachment 84210
 
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Australia's run continues:
View attachment 84431View attachment 84432View attachment 84433
Despite many pundits claimed that Australia's undefeated run would end, due to the lack of several keys players such as Tim Cahill and Brett Holman, the Australian side won in convincing fashion. Irregulars starters such as Wehrman, Holland and McKain rose to the challenge of the performing and supported the key players of the Australian squad. Scott McDonald has been staking his claim for the World Cup 2010 squad with another two goal bonanza as he easily beat Kuwaiti keeper Al-Khalidi . The striker found himself unable to score unable Verbeek, but has hit a rich vein under Sterjovski's management. A return goal from Tim Cahill showed that he hasn't lost the touch despite missing games due to injury. Substitutes Valeri, Federici and Carney performed admirably and we're sure to see more from them in the future. This performance saw the Australia squad qualify for the Asian Cup 2011, in fact having not lost a game in 5 matches.
Scott McDonald eyes the World Cup:
3487796383

Scott McDonald has hammered home an incredible 5 goals and assisted in two in his last 4 games for the Socceroos and now has his eyes set on the World Cup.
Everyone in the camp wants to do well at the World Cup, it would be an honour to just play int he World Cup, but I and the camp believes that we can make it to the Round fo 16 and hopefully further, especially against the weak Group G which contains Algeria, South Korea, Switzerland and Croatia.
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One thing remains certain, Australia may not necessarily need Scott McDonald to fire on all cylinders with Brett Holman, Mark Bresciano and Tim Cahill scoring their share of goals. But if McDonald performs as he has been now, the round of 16 beckons.

Key Australian Goalscorers:
Mark Bresciano:
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Brett Holman
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Tim Cahill
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Scott McDonald:
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Australia v Oman:
Squad:
View attachment 84434
In the preceding days to the final Asian Cup Qualifier against Oman, two major pieces of news have come out of the Australia camp. The first is that Brett Emerton is not fit to play and has been replaced with Carl Valeri. This makes it two games in a row where the Australian midfielder has been injured for his country. His inclusion in the World Cup now seems threatened. The secodn is that manager Jovacs Sterjovski has taken up the offer to manage Udinese along with Austraklia after they fired their last manager. Early reports indicate that his first math has been a success with a 2-1 win but ow he has to focus on the Oman game if Australia want to achieve.
Line-ups:
View attachment 84436
Full Time:
View attachment 84437View attachment 84438View attachment 84439
Australia simply overpowered Oman as they slammed three goals past the helpless Oman team. Despite one defence splitting ball which threatened Australia's 1-0 lead, Oman never looked dangerous and seemed content to let Australia attack them and hopefully not concede. The game was opened by Scott McDonald by scoring off a perfect pass by young defender Rhys Williams. Cahill then scored two successive goal sin 5 minutes, first off a backheel pass from McDonald then off a free header from a Bresciano cross. This result leaves Australia at the top of their group, 6 points clear of Kuwait. Australia now have just one final farewell friendly fixture against New Zealand and then their World Cup opener against the United States.
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Nice work mate! Will you be posting full updates from Udinese as well? Or just small additions?
 
Nah i wont be, but i've brought them from 13th to 8th in 10 games, been udnefeated :p Just ahd two players ent of but still drew, ref was so biased.
 
thanks, in april now, 1 month to WC! decided to take the Udinese job cause i got bored in spare time. only took it to july though, wonder if they'll offer me a new contract :p

---------- Post added at 01:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:30 AM ----------

Just as a Udinese update, finished 7th which means for the 2 or 3 months i managed i gained 7 league spots. Udinese now has european football!
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World Cup Announcements:
23 Man Squad:
View attachment 84516
New Zealand Friendly - Won 3-1
A mere warm-up match for the socceroos as they now travel to SA to play for the 2010 World Cup. Their first match is against USA and it could be a decisive match for the group.
Australian World Cup kits released:
View attachment 84517View attachment 84518
Australia have released their 2010 World Cup playing kits, designed and produced by Jose who was contracted to create their kits. There now selling at most sports stores in Australia that sell football gear.
Viduka spits the dummy:
Mark Viduka, the 34 year-old veteran Tottenham striker has condemned Sterjovski for nt selecting him to play in the World Cup. Scott (Scott McDonald) isn't good enough and Bruce Djite is too young to play in a World Cup, Australia will fail now because they don't have a good enough striker. This may have been reinforced by Scott McDonald's poor performance in the New Zealand match.
Australia v USA line up:
View attachment 84521
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Howard denies Australia victory:
An incredible match by USA goalkeeper Tim Howard saw him be elected MOM and help his team to a draw against the Socceroos. Tim Howard found himself flying everywhere trying to keep shots out of the net. If it wasn't for Howard the game would have been a route. However he couldn't deny Mark Bresciano and Brett Holman goals but Australia was let down by sloppy defensive work which saw them concede three goals and an unlucky equalizer off a free kick.
View attachment 84536
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