Pim Verbeek finally shows he has balls by criticising mess he left

Former Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek has been quoted in Qatari media as saying Australian football faces a bleak period as the brightest stars in Australian football history are slowly extinguished.

Well, you'd know, Pim.

His Aussie tenure was marked by Viking-style honesty. Did you ever meet someone so honest that every conversation you had with them ended up revolving around your faults? That's honesty to a fault, and that's Pim Verbeek. And despite their limitations, players like Danny Allsopp and Archie Thompson were hardly likely to produce positive results after such brutal “encouragement”.

How's that "promotion" to Morocco's U-21s working out, Pim?
Courtesy dohasportsplusqatar.com

While his latest assertions verge towards the correct – developing Australian footballers aren't of the same quality as those of fifteen years hence – Australia should still qualify for Brazil if their squad is managed adeptly.

Part of the blame for this dearth of top-end talent can be laid at Verbeek's size twelves. The Dutchman controlled Australia for three years, culminating in a morbid showing in the group of terminal illness at the Big Dance in 2010. During that time, he was relentless in his beliefs: not living in Australia, playing defensive formations and deploying far-flung experience at the expense of A-League promise.

The defining moment of his tenure in Australia wasn't a match, result or player evolution but a formation. In the Socceroos' ignominious defeat to Germany in their first match in South Africa, the team lined up in a 4-6-0 with untested Richard Garcia leading the line from the centre of midfield (and playing hideously out of position).

The Green and Gold Army was not only content but joyful at his departure. His time at the top left football in Australia without a legacy; in a period in which Australian soccer should have been building on the wonderful success of their 2006 World Cup campaign, his refusal to integrate local youth into an aging team was not only short-sighted but almost wilfully negligent.

His half-hidden attempt to parlay short-term Socceroo success into a bigger job was hardly surprising, but still disappointing because he was bequeathed a good team with a chance to establish something of real substance.

Perhaps Verbeek now feels able to comment because he recognises some of the same traits in Australian football as he, it's one-time figurehead, displayed as boss.  Yes, the country's footballing stocks are going through a changing phase, but as a smaller football nation that's the norm.  It's also a phase that was delayed nearly four years during his time in charge.

Cometh the hour, cometh Prandelli

While Mario Balotelli once again proved he has enough talent to justify any of his off-field misdemeanours and Gigi Buffon has intimated that all he's still the silent member of the World's Best Goalkeeper club, the man most crucial to Italy's semi-final triumph wasn't a player but their manager, Cesare Prandelli.

Prandelli has achieved an Italian harmony through measures both regulation and unorthodox. He ha changed formation as required – employing Daniele De Rossi as a libero in a 3-5-2 – as well as deployed Serie A's most effective as his stalwarts, regardless of repute. However, what has set him apart has been his deft handling of a forward corps brimming with unharnessed, childlike energy.

Few managers have managed to obtain the best from Balotelli. However, without him the Italians would tonight start to return home to start their holidays. When at midseason Balotelli indulged his amusing wilful streak, he found himself banished from the Italian team with only an even chance of making the squad for Euro 2012. However, with time he was reintegrated into the Azzurri squad and has formed its most potent attacking weapon thus far.

A potential collaboration between Mario and the man he superseded as the enfant terrible of calcio? The stuff of Marcello Lippi's sweat-drenched nightmares? Rather than fearing a situation of knucklehead-squared, Prandelli has with an attitude of easygoing respect made that couplet not just workable but fearsome, all silky skill and unpredictability.

If Lippi wouldn't countenance leading his line with the terrible twosome, backing them up with the venerable Antonio Di Natale would have been an act of fevered imagination. Yet when Balotelli hobbled from the field with cramp against Germany, the manager turned not to a defensive option but to the diminutive Udinese marksman. This is indicative not simply of the faith he has in Di Natale, but of a changed culture around the Azzurri.

The mark of an excellent coach is that they achieve buy-in from their players.  From the way that Italy plays - from the performances he's mustered from players as wide-ranging as Andrea Pirlo, Buffon, Emanuele Giaccherini, Thiago Motta and, ultimately, Balotelli - it's obvious that he has his men completely invested in his gameplan, and he himself as leader.

A sense of controlled adventure is encouraged, an endeavour that has served them well against Spain and Germany. It appears an entirely different side from the one that didn't make it out of their World Cup 2010 group. That was disgruntled side who were trying to get back to where they once had been; this one has accepted that rejuvenation was inevitable and embraced it. That open attitude is engendered by the mangement of Cesare Prandelli.

What happened to Holland?

Courtesy: thearmchairpundits.com

The Netherlands whimpered one final time, threw up their hands and now stumble away from Northern Europe. Three losses in a tough group has left the Dutch with fractured egos, a burnished reputation and questions as to the continued viability of employing manager Bert van Marwijk. Eviction from the tournament was always a possibility, especially in a group in which they were drawn against three other top-ten teams. However, the manner of their dismissal should be cause for extreme conern.

A constant tone of discontent undermined the tenuous harmonies of South Africa, goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg played all three matches despite poor play and two quality replacements, the Dutch defence showed as much resilience as a wet rolling paper and key players like Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder showed only a fraction of their full qualities.

Should he have any hope of retaining his position, van Marwijk will have to talk very hard – and potentially very quickly – to justify his creation: a dysfunctional iteration of the Dutch national team. Under his watch, Holland have displayed sublime talent, occasional violent streaks and a penchant for restlessness.

Any hopes of the Oranje making the same impact as in the 2010 World Cup was improbable almost as soon as the tournament began. Starting left-back Erik Pieters withdrew because of injury, while central defender Joris Mathijsen appeared unable to recover from an injury suffered playing for his club side. Despite a strong qualification campaign, Dutch achievements from two years ago appeared an effort of overachievement.