MICHAEL COCKERILL August 08, 2012
Socceroos coach Holger Osieck has thrown out a couple of bones for those clamouring for generational change to feed upon, but his intrinsic conservatism remains evident in a largely unadventurous squad named for next week's friendly against Scotland in Edinburgh. Yet another chance to look beyond the horizon has been missed.
True enough, mainstays Tim Cahill and Harry Kewell are missing. But Lucas Neill, despite being without a club, is there to lead the national team for the 50th time, and Mark Schwarzer has been called up for what could be his 99th cap. Are milestones putting a break on the urgent need to rejuvenate the national team? You'd hope not, but while Neill and Schwarzer are clearly members of Osieck's first-choice selection, why this game, and why now? The match at Easter Road could have been the ideal opportunity to use the fringe players en-masse. What we've got instead is an all-too familiar squad, including recycled players such as Scott McDonald and Neil Kilkenny. That no members of the Olyroos (under-23s) squad get their graduation papers underscores the point.
For all that, there are four uncapped players in the 20-man list. The test is to see whether Osieck actually uses them. Most notable of the debutants is Jason Davidson. Never deemed quite good enough by the Australian youth coaches (he was a fringe players for the under-17s and under-20s), Davidson gets the chance to prove how wrong they were just a week after his 21st birthday. And if he gets on the park next week, he will be in rare company. Just two father-son combinations have played for the Socceroos - Alex and Lex Gibb, and Cliff and Jason van Blerk.
Davidson's father, Alan, was recently named in the Greatest Ever Socceroos team, and on the night spoke with heartfelt emotion about what it meant to wear the green and gold. Speaking today from a Melbourne hospital, where he is at the bedside of his gravely-ill father, his feelings were just as raw. "If he [Jason] gets on the field, it will be the proudest day of my life," he says. "Once I see him actually out there, playing for the Socceroos, I'll know it's all been worth it. Hopefully I can give him the baton and he can run with it. Hopefully he can experience what I did. You've got to be proud of your country. My highlight always was listening to the national anthem. There's no better moment in life."
Davidson has always tried to protect his son from the inevitable comparisons, but it's been tough love. Jason left home at 14 to live in Japan, where he went through the notoriously harsh high school system. After a brief spell back home with Hume City in the Victorian Premier League, he's been back overseas for the past four years, firstly in Portugal, briefly in Germany, and for the last 12 months in The Netherlands, where he's poised for his breakthrough season with Heracles Almelo. "I knew when he survived Japan that he was mentally tough enough to deal with everything that professional football can throw at you," says his father. "This is a massive opportunity for him, but I'm sure he's ready."
The other uncapped players in the squad are goalkeeper Mitchell Langerak (Borussia Dortmund), utility Chris Herd (Aston Villa) and fullback Ryan McGowan (Hearts) - the latter gets the chance to make his debut in his adopted hometown. Goalkeeper Adam Federici and striker Brett Holman are recalled after missing the recent World Cup qualifier against Japan through injury.