Football commentator Andy Harper is doubtful over just how successful new Socceroos coach Bert van Marwijk will be in this year’s World Cup.
The Dutchman, who managed the Netherlands to the 2010 World Cup Final and most recently steered Saudi Arabia to automatic qualification for Russia, was today appointed the next national coach, taking over from the departed Ange Postecoglou.
Despite understanding the logic of Football Federation Australia’s appointment and admitting that van Marwijk has a “very good CV”, Harper is worried for the gameplan the former Feyenoord man could implement on his new side.
“His crowning glory was the moment for which he was most heavily criticised,” Harper told SEN’s Time On with Sam McClure.
“He gets to that World Cup Final in 2010 but in the same moment in that game was when he was most heavily criticised from some of the greats of Dutch football including the late Johann Cruyff.
“That horrible tackle by Nigel de Jong where he nearly cut one of the Spanish players in half. That has become the bookmark for that Dutch campaign and that is why van Marwijk has been so scrutinised and so criticised in some quarters.
“That Dutch team had Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart and many other top quality players. If van Marwijk is going to go into a World Cup and play defensive with players like that, what’s he going to do with our Socceroos? If he coaches to the CV that we have seen recently, then I can’t see that being progress.
“What I am expecting is a foreign coach, who is going to come and get very well paid.
“How much does he really care about the legacy? I have got a very big question mark on that. How much is he going to invest in the local scene? A very big question mark on that.
“His mentality is going to be to go to the next World Cup and do as well as he can. Batten down the hatches and try not to lose matches so his reputation comes through untarnished.”
Harper says that he would have preferred the appointment of a credentialed local like Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold, despite the likelihood of this occurring once van Marwijk’s stint is over.
He believes that in hindsight, people may long for Postecoglou’s bold approach once the Dutchman is in the role.
“When we look back over the journey, most fans of the team and sports fans thought ‘you know what, that was good.’ We had a red hot go, he made a team from nothing and they have qualified for the World Cup,” the former footballer said.
“What you saw with Ange’s team was high tempo, possession based, in the opponent’s half and attacking at every possible opportunity, because that was the best form of defence and that’s what the best teams around the world do. We’re going to peg ourselves against the best teams in the world, not going to accept the stereotypes of sitting back and taking what is given.
‘It didn’t work every game, but we knew the team was going to go out and attack and represent the Australian sporting culture the way we have all grown up with.”
Harper considers that if the current Australian side had a striker of the calibre of former Socceroo Mark Viduka, Postecoglou could have still remained as coach today.
“We’ve undersold Ange as a country,” he said.
“If he (Viduka) played in this campaign with Ange Postecoglou, they would have won the group. It was the lack of goal-scoring which put us through the repechage against Syria and Honduras.
“If he (Postecoglou) had the Dutch team of 2010, they would have had a red hot crack at them.
“According to the late Johann Cruyff, Bert van Marwijk just piddled all over their football history, and they lost anyway.”
Listen to Andy Harper chatting with Sam McClure on SEN's Time On below: