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Klinsmann to coach Socceroos?
07/02/2007 08:07 - (SA)
London - Australia coach Graham Arnold insists he is not bothered by rumours that former Germany boss Jurgen Klinsmann will be parachuted in to take his job.
Klinsmann is reportedly being lined up to replace Arnold, who saw his team beaten 3-1 by Denmark in Tuesday's friendly in London.
California-based Klinsmann reportedly met up in Los Angeles last week with Peter Lowy, the son of Football Federation Australia chairperson Frank Lowy, for talks on possible coaching roles.
But Arnold was adamant he would be leading Australia into the Asian Cup finals in July and refuses to let his preparations be blighted by talk of a big-name boss being courted to coach the Socceroos.
"It doesn't have any effect on me so I don't think it will have any effect on the players," Arnold insisted.
"I can't control that so I don't even worry about it. I have had conversations with the chairman and I am informed of everything that's happening."
Arnold spelled out that Lowy had given assurances that he would be in charge for the Asian Cup.
"That's what he said. Big name managers don't always guarantee success. I'm confident in my own ability - but I don't make these decisions."
Arnold has plenty of thinking to do in the build-up to the 16-team continental tournament, being held in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Looking to build a 30-strong pool of top players from the European and Australian leagues, Arnold field-tested some fringe players in the Denmark defeat.
"International football is a totally different level to club football and that's why these games are so good for us. We can expose some younger players to international football where if they do make half a mistake, they get punished," he said.
"Some players, when they put an Australia shirt on, can't handle the pressure, so that's what these games are about: to learn which players can cope with the step up."
Arnold handed the captaincy to Blackburn Rovers midfielder Brett Emerton in the absence of injured regular skipper Mark Viduka.
"I'm trying to create a new leadership group to see who the armband fits best. Next time it will be someone different as well," he said.
"Tim Cahill, Vince Grella, Brett Emerton and John Aloisi are the leaders of the pack at the moment and I was happy with them all."
Denmark gave Australia their first defeat in London, with Danish captain Jon Dahl Tomasson firing in a dazzling fifth-minute opener. Werder Bremen midfielder Jensen headed in Denmark's second in the 27th minute and forward Tomasson side-footed in a simple goal 10 minutes later.
Emerton scored a deserved consolation goal with an 85th-minute free-kick.
The match was played at Loftus Road in the west London heartland of Aussie expats in Britain.
"I was very happy with our performance," said Arnold.
"The first half, we were a bit disjointed defensively. I thought our attacking play was excellent and with a bit of luck and better finishing it could have been much better.
"There were a couple of times that were totally disorganised. It wasn't just one player, it was overall.
"They scored three world class goals and sometimes you can't do anything about that.
"The fighting spirit was there 100% and it could have been 3-3 or 4-4. I'm being positive about a good performance but there's things to work on."
Denmark coach Morten Olsen said the Socceroos provided just the test his side needed ahead of their key March 24 European Championship qualifying Group F match in Spain.
"I didn't think that was easy. Australia are physically a very good team. We saw in the 2006 World Cup that they have a good attitude.
"We are in a good situation for the moment. Everybody is ready and we have many possibilities."
- AFP
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