No easy road to the World Cup

ONE of the most challenging periods ahead of any major tournament isn’t always the matches themselves, it’s the uncertainty beforehand.

For weeks leading into the World Cup, the Socceroos have been put through their paces under Tony Popovic and pushed to the very edge.

Every training session over the last few weeks would have felt like an audition.

I was fortunate enough as a young player to experience the build-up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup under Guus Hiddink.

Watching Hiddink put our golden generation of Socceroos through their paces firsthand is an experience I’ll never forget.

I was 20 years old and awestruck to be surrounded by my heroes.

What was even more astounding was to see how he pushed them daily, testing them and working them hard under fatigue.

It didn’t matter who you were, Hiddink knew what was ahead and exactly how fit and mentally prepared his players needed to be.

What stood out to me was how he targeted the senior players and leaders.

The ones guaranteed to be on the plane to Germany were often the ones he drove the hardest, sending a message to the wider group.

Senior professionals like Mark Viduka, Vince Grella, Tim Cahill and Lucas Neill, players who had succeeded in Europe’s toughest leagues, were being pushed daily to maintain standards. He didn’t care who you were.

As a young player, it quickly taught me what elite football really looks like and I believe current boss, Tony Popovic, is the perfect leader for that environment.

He personally experienced a World Cup himself under Hiddink and understands exactly what is required at the highest level.

 

He has built a reputation throughout Australian football on discipline, structure, hard work and demanding elite standards every single day.

If you speak to players who have worked under him, they’ll all tell you the same thing: standards never drop. Hiddink was exactly the same.

There’s nowhere to hide under coaches like that. They notice if your work rate drops. If your concentration slips for a moment, they’re onto it.

Sessions become demanding not only physically, but mentally, because the expectation is that you remain switched on every second.

The reality is Australia is preparing to compete against the best players in the world. To do that, the Socceroos will need to find another level.

From the outside, supporters see players living their dream. Behind closed doors, though, there are brutal training sessions, uncomfortable conversations and constant internal competition.

That’s why these camps often become defining moments in a player’s career. Players are desperate to make the final squad, and once they do, their focus immediately shifts to earning a place in the starting XI for the opening match.

This would’ve been one of the toughest periods these players have faced in their careers, a mini pre-season and a time that is often mentally tougher than the games themselves.

But the Socceroos will be ready.

Now, as fans, it’s our turn to get right behind them. The four-year wait is finally over.

Let the World Cup begin.

See you on the pitch, Coach Ado

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