By DPA,
Sydney: The fans were dumbfounded when Football Federation Australia (FFA) named German nobody Holger Osieck the new national coach six months ago.
His career as head coach – Turkey, Japan, Canada – looked as unimpressive as his time as a player. Despite being on the books of FC Muelheim, Osieck did not play a Bundesliga game for them.
Billionaire FFA boss Frank Lowy had promised a world-class coach would follow on from Dutch maestro Guus Hiddink and his understudy Pim Verbeek and said he was ready to write the cheque big enough to pull one.
Had Lowy been duped by his good friend Franz Beckenbauer, who had had Osieck as his assistant when West Germany won the World Cup in 1990?
When Lowy tapped him on the shoulder, the 62-year-old Osieck had been without a coaching position for two years.
Osieck has been transformed into the perfect pick. Lowy has been praised for his judgement.
Australia, shattered by a dismal showing at the World Cup in South Africa, is in the final of the Asian Cup against Japan and the Socceroos are in with a chance to get some serious silverware in the display cabinet.
“It will be a very interesting and challenging game,” Osieck said. “We kept our promise that we would be here on the last day.”
The plaudits for the former “Holger Who” have come fast and thick, with former Socceroos and Manchester United goalkeeper Mark Bosnich saying Osieck had brought “confidence, willingness to work and a general winning mentality” to the national side.
According to Bosnich, it was genius to reinstate Harry Kewell as a full forward and bring in newcomers Mile Jedinak and Matt McKay.
Ben Somerford, writing on the Roar sports website, said Osieck’s “ability to back his judgement and back his call has been evident and most impressive”.
“He’s been calculated, level-headed, humble and even humorous in that typical German way. It’s been refreshing and endearing.”
While supercoach Hiddink was liked and respected, Verbeek’s insouciance irked, as did his disdain for those who played their club football in Australia rather than abroad.
Verbeek also disenchanted fans with his focus on defence. Osieck has brought a more attacking game.
“We win the ball and we play our game. It sounds simple but it took some time to get the structure together,” Osieck said in Doha after his team belted Uzbekistan 6-0 to get to the Asian Cup final.
Marco Monteverde, writing in Sydney’s Daily Telegraph, complimented Osieck on his honesty and his strength in not pandering to the team’s big names.
Osieck has left veteran Brett Emerton out of the run-on side for the final, telling the Middlesbrough striker that his form did not justify inclusion.
“I’m a performance-related person and I have to acknowledge performance and not the ability based on names,” Osieck said.
Football commentator Gary Walsh said Osieck was a delightful change from Hiddink and Verbeek in that he saw his future with the Socceroos.
“This job is the biggest of Osieck’s career and no mere staging post on the way to bigger things,” Walsh said. “After the Asian Cup, it’s likely that Osieck can begin planning for Australia’s assault on the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil without the distraction of major job offers coming his way.”
A win in Doha and those major job offers might come his way. Australians, now his greatest fans, are hoping he turns them down.