What a difference a half of football makes. For seven weeks, football fans and commentators in Australia have been wary of Pim Verbeek, almost untrusting of his plans for the national team. He’d even been cruelly dubbed ‘Guus light’.
But by the time he delicately stopped a ball on the sideline and kicked it back to David Carney - Australia three goals to the good - the smiling Dutchman was given a rousing reception from the Telstra Dome faithful.
His initiation was complete.
While his thoughts were already focussed sharply on the next assignment, in China, Verbeek allowed himself the luxury of briefly basking in the Socceroos 3-0 destruction of Qatar to open its 2010 World Cup qualification campaign.
“I think we played a fantastic first half,” Verbeek told Fox Sports. “Created a lot of chances, scored beautiful goals. Never gave anything away.
“We never give them one chance. The ball was running from left to right, and every cross ball was a dangerous cross.”
The second half was a far cry from the first, with Australia’s overseas contingent wilting. Verbeek was forgiving of his charges, most of which had travelled from Europe after playing on the weekend.
“They lost power. They were tired. I knew that. We told them we had to finish it off in the first half. And we did.
“This qualification round is not only quality, it’s also mentality. You saw that in the second half. I could have changed eight players in the last fifteen minutes.”
The Dutchman put a rod on his back by almost exclusively picking overseas based players for tonight’s match. The lone selection of local player Craig Moore confirming Verbeek’s dislike of the A-League.
“I had a great training week with the A-League players. But in the end it’s about the results. The boys that travelled for thirty hours did a great job.”
The initiation may have been slow, but it seems Verbeek has grown on the Australian public. It appears the feeling is mutual.
“I’ve learned a lot about the culture, the people,” Verbeek told Fox Sports.
“For the first time, hearing the Australian national song, it was impressive.”
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