Overview

The Australian team is an interesting factor in the 2013 East Asian Cup. It is the debut for the Australian team, a considerable force in Asian football. Since Australia is not a member of EAFF(East Asian Football Federation), it enters the competition as a guest team. However, Australia isn’t taking this invitation lightly. Australia has legitimately climbed the ladder from the preliminaries. In the regional preliminaries in Hong Kong, December 2012, Australia recorded three wins and one draw, outrunning DPRK by goal difference and making it through to the tournament. We shall wait to see if the team continues on to cause as much stir in the knockout stage.

The head coach Holgar Osieck built his team mostly out of Australian A League players. After criticism that the national team players are rather old, the team seems to be seeking to find their jewels for a generation change in the East Asian Cup. The process is also a procedure in readying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Osieck has gathered players mostly from Melbourne Victory and Newcastle Jets, both of which are top teams in the A League. Although the team lacks any football stars like Tim Cahill, the team is expected to display solid teamwork as most of the players have run in the same teams. With veterans like Archie Thompson and younger players with prospect like Adam Taggart, the team is an adequate blend of the youthful and the experienced.

Head Coach Holgar Osieck

He gained fame as a leader when he contributed to West Germany’s victory in 1990 FIFA World Cup, assisting Franz Beckenbauer as a coach. He later led teams such as the Turkish Fenerbahce SK and the Canadian national team. From 2004 to 2006, he worked in FIFA as the chief of their technical department. He has also led the J-League club Urawa Red Diamonds to the top of the AFC Champions League, showing his active involvement in East Asian football. He has been leading the Australian Socceroos since the head coach Pim Verbeek who resigned after the 2010 FIFA World Cup. His leadership was recognized in Australia when he led the Socceroos to the final match in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. However, he has received some criticism after his slightly disappointing results in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying rounds. Therefore head coach Osieck is expected to use the East Asian Cup as an opportunity to find new player with potential for the FIFA World Cup. Also he is determined to silence the criticisms that arose during the World Cup preliminaries.

Star Player Archie Thompson

The striker Archie Thompson scored an astounding 13 goals in a single match against West Samoa in 2002 FIFA World Cup, setting the official FIFA record for the most goals in a single International A Match. He is a veteran who mostly stays as a backup. However, when he is called on to the field, he never lets us down. He is a versatile player both as a striker and a winger. His mastery of space and penetration, and well-composed footwork is his strength. He is also known for pushing the game very hard once he starts to score. For the Australian team this year, which is built mostly on A League players, he is expected play his role as the leading scorer.