LZ: It’s been just over a year since you were appointed as the Socceroos assistant coach – you’ve seen some brief lows but also some extreme highs with the AFC Asian Cup triumph in January – how have you reflected on the last 13 months in the job?
AM: It’s been interesting for me because I went from pretty much one season with the Wanderers finishing up in May and then going to a World Cup and it’s going to a completely different way of thinking; games in quick succession, players that you haven’t worked with day-to-day over a season and then coming in and playing international opposition. Going straight to a World Cup and playing Spain, Chile and Holland were teams that were all in the top ten at the time. It was a lot that happened very quickly in a short space of time but after a while I adjusted to the way Ange wanted things run within the football department here and working with these players was also another step up for me in terms of my learning and my coaching as well.
So it’s been a great experience and then after the World Cup there was a big focus on the Asian Cup and we all know about the preparation we went through, not only with our own games with opposition like Belgium away, Japan away, Qatar away, but also the scouting that we did. To put that all together was a very interesting first year in the job, highlighted by the Asian Cup success. But now that’s in the past and we start our preparation for the next World Cup and there’s no better place to start it than against the World champions in their own backyard so it’s one game that we’re definitely looking forward to tonight.
LZ: You went from assistant coach of an A-League club to assistant coach of the national team – is this something you have always aspired to do?
AM: I’ve been in coaching now since 2008 so with coaching I’ve quickly come to realise that you don’t look too far ahead. I was very fortunate that I had some great times and memories at the Wanderers as well and I was very happy there but when an opportunity like this came to work with your national team - again working with the best coaches but also working with our best players against the world elite - it was an opportunity too great for me to pass on. So I wouldn’t say that it was something that I was looking at doing when I started my coaching career but I’ve worked hard at my job and when this opportunity presented itself I was very, very grateful for it and I must say that I am really enjoying my role here. Ange always challenges us every single day, there’s a great bunch of players and staff to work with and I am actually improving as time goes on so it’s a great role for me and I am thoroughly enjoying it.
LZ: What do you feel like you’ve improved on specifically?
AM: Everything. Just the organisation sort of things. It’s not just about putting on a training session, it’s preparing the sessions, conducting them, evaluating the sessions, learning tactically about the opponents that you’re going to play and start thinking how you’re going to set up, how you can best counter them, how does that go into our playing style, there’s just a whole lot of things.
But the thing about international football, there’s so much research to be done because being in Australia we’re probably not as familiar as we should be with a lot of the players that are in Europe or Asia or South America, so it’s been a different test for me personally. I went four years straight in the A-League and after a while you pretty much know every single team and player to a fairly good degree. So coming up against oppositions like Germany and Macedonia, I’ve already now in the last couple of months, just on these two opponents, learned a lot about little things; where their players are playing, how long they’ve been playing for and their styles, so it’s always different when you’re coming up in international football compared to the day-to-day routine that I had in the A-League.
LZ: Now that I’ve mentioned your former A-League club, you have to tell us what it’s been like for you to watch your old boss Tony Popovic and the Wanderers struggle in the domestic competition – how have you assessed it all?
AM: Obviously I still go out there whenever I can to watch not only Western Sydney but Sydney FC or any A-League game that I can. The Wanderers had some fantastic success in winning the Asian Champions League - we should not forget how big that was and how difficult it was. When you look at a lot of those games that were played in our off-season and you compare the budgets to the other teams and the way they had to prepare and get fit enough for an Asian Champions League semi-final and final in a short space of time and with the squad they had at their disposal, it was an excellent feat. I think in some ways they’re probably paying for that now. There was also the trip to Morocco around that Christmas period that didn’t help.
I think the fixture pile-up and a few signings that probably didn’t go the way they expected and the players they’ve lost play a part. It’s difficult to concentrate and really perform well in two different tournaments going on at the same time year after year.
I still think they’ve got the quality there and even though this A-League season looks to be gone for them in terms of making the semi-finals, there’s still a lot of young players there that are getting some opportunities now and they’ve placed themselves well in this current ACL campaign. Hopefully for Poppa, he gets through to the next round so not only do they get through, but also that extends their season as well, so it helps in terms of his preparation for next year. Hopefully they get out of their group and I am sure that they can even maybe defend their title.
LZ: Back to your current role now. When results weren’t going in Ange’s favour he came under some criticism, but he proved everyone wrong and he’s done more for the green and gold than just win the Asian Cup, he’s restored the public's faith in the national team once again - what’s it been like working alongside him?
AM: It’s been great and that was probably one of the reasons why I wanted to come and work with Ange when he called me and was discussing the role with him.
When you’re involved in the game as a coach, and I was fortunate enough to work with Versleijen, van’t Schip and Popovic, to see what he had done at club level and to get the chance at international level meant a lot for me and he’s been great.
Even when things weren’t going so well with those results, he never changed his way of thinking or the way he approached things. He had a strong belief in the way he wanted things run and the style we wanted to play and that was encouraging to see. As staff and players we were brought into that and we knew we were testing ourselves against good opposition away from home but we still knew with the group that we had and the improvement that we were getting that in patches, it was all going to come together in the Asian Cup. Yes of course playing at home helps a lot for our boys in a tournament like that but I think it was plain to see that there was a lot of character there. I also think that the best that was shown was when we played that final; we had a day less recovery than Korea and we travelled from Newcastle, we conceded a goal in injury time in the 90th minute but then when extra time came, we found another gear so there was a lot of belief there and maybe even with Ange being a strong Australian himself, I think that rubbed off on the players.
Our whole preparation was about what it meant to be a Socceroo, to be part of the set-up and it was an opportunity that doesn’t come around too often to be part of a squad that wins the first Asian Cup for Australia but also in front of your family and friends so it’s been a very good time in terms of that.
LZ: How much of your input into the team do we see translate onto the pitch?
AM: To be honest, we meet regularly and we speak about a lot of things, especially here when we’re in camp. We observe a lot, we see the training sessions and Ange is always open to our feedback. Not only in terms of the way we approach the game and the personnel that we select but also the way we go about our training sessions and everything.
The whole football department works well with the medical staff, even little things like playing this game on a Wednesday, we get players coming in at all different times from all parts of the globe that have played different amount of minutes in the last few weeks. We put that all together and a lot of work and effort goes in; Ange of course makes the final decision but he’s always very open to everyone’s suggestions and ideas so in terms of those things, we work very much collectively.
LZ: On the eve of the match against the World champion in Kaiserslautern, the team has suffered some massive injury blows with Tim Cahill and Matthew Spiranovic ruled out, Tomi Juric is in doubt and Massimo Luongo is also battling a groin problem – what changes can we expect to see?
AM: There’s also a doubt over Trent Sainsbury as well. We’re just about to have breakfast and have our medical meeting and we’ll give everyone a chance to prove their fitness up until kick-off really.
We’ve got a squad here of 23, we’ve got some new faces and we’ve also got the Macedonia game as well, so everyone will get an opportunity I am sure, but at the same time Ange is confident he’ll put out his strongest side available for this particular match and you just mentioned there is a list of a couple of absentees and a few ones that also could be late withdrawals. Again, it’s just another opportunity for another player that’s been called into this set-up to do well against a high-class opponent so I am sure that whoever is selected in the first eleven will do us proud. Bearing in mind, that we won the Asian Cup with a goal and an assist from two substitute players in Troisi and Juric, it’s not just about who’s in the starting eleven today, it’s a whole squad effort. In friendly games, you can make six substitutions so everyone’s got to be focussed and ready to play their part when called upon.
LZ: You’ve brought in some uncapped A-League players into the squad like Tarek Elrich and Luke DeVere, but also Chris Ikonomidis from Italy to the camp – how have they found the environment?
AM: To be honest, Chris is a young boy that’s come in and he’s been fairly quiet. He’s had the two sessions that we had, and Monday pretty much just half the team was here. He’s been very keen and very receptive to the way we do things here and the older boys, even though they are a little bit experienced the two A-League boys that you’ve mentioned, they’ve come in late. Obviously all the A-League boys came in late because they had those games and the distance they’ve travelled but they’ve fit and well, they’ve slept better last night then what they had the previous night which is encouraging for us. But, all those things considered when you’ve got a game of this magnitude, they’ll be ready and if called upon I am sure they’ll do a good job.
LZ: Germany coach Joachim Low confirmed that Manuel Neuer has pulled up with an injury and won’t be involved on Thursday (AEDT) but he’s also said that his team will face a much different Socceroos side to the one it trounced 4-0 at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and lost to at home a year later. What are the expectations from yourself and Ange going into this match - irrespective of results, is it understood that you’ll take a lot away from this in the lead-up to the qualifiers?
AM: Of course you will and that’s why you choose these games. We were very fortunate that this game came about and we’ve done that in the past and we won’t change on testing ourselves against the best - it’s an indicator for all of us. Of course we go into every game wanting to win no matter who that opponent is and we showed that in the World Cup when we came up short, that’s just our way of playing - we want to be on the front foot, we want to attack teams. Our intent is to try and dominate possession, to try to complete a high percentage of passes, try to go froward and attack and create chances. It’s a good opportunity for, again, us to see where we’re at and you can take out a lot of things from this game.
Of course, as you can with every game but against the World champions I think we’d like to take our few positives from this game and then we move forward to the Macedonia game. We’re thankful that we have two really good opponents away from home and I think this is the kind of preparation we need to get us on track for our qualifiers that start in June for Russia.
