Nader Jahanfard: Australians may be new comers to Asian football but “Socceroos” are certainly no stranger to football loving Asian nations, and they are indeed united to make history!
 
With lethal combination of skill and experience, “Socceroos” are a definite threat to every squad and imagining them capturing the prestigious Asian Nations Cup this summer, is not a far-fetched fantasy!
Ausies are aiming for the Gold!
 
And this week I had the honor of interviewing their national team head coach, Mr. Graham Arnold.
Hope you enjoy this exclusive discussion as much as I did!
 
 
Nader,
Many thanks for accepting my request for an interview and I also appreciate the time you have given me.
Mr. Arnold, what are your expectations from Australian team competing in the Asian Nations Cup and realistically how far do you think your team will go in the competition this summer?

Mr. Arnold,
It's going to be a very tough competition. However with a good preparation, and if we avoid key injuries, we have a chance to win the competition. Of course in all major competitions it can come down to a bit of luck or the bounce of the ball on the day

Nader,
You only had one preparatory game against an Asian opponent in 2007 (China), and your next two games before start of the competition are against Uruguay and Argentina.
Why did you choose South American adversaries?

Mr. Arnold,
I'm very happy that we will spend two and a half weeks together in Singapore before the tournament in which time we will also meet the Singapore national team.

All South American opponents provide stiff opposition regardless of the context of the match and the Uruguay match will also provide excellent preparation.

Nader,
Considering the hot and humid climate in Far East this summer, what kind of physical conditioning/preparation you are planning to have for your team?

Mr. Arnold,
Our time in Singapore will be invaluable bearing in mind the conditions. The hard work begins once the squad assembles ahead of the match against Uruguay and then again in Singapore. Some players have had injuries this year and we need to monitor that but hopefully with a break before the team assembles the players will be refreshed and ready for tournament

Nader,
The general secretary of Australian Football Federation (Mr. Ben Buckley) has announced that he is looking for a replacement for your position at the end of the Asian games.
Are you planning to retire or is this something that has been forced upon you?
Why are you leaving?

Mr. Arnold,
The Chairman Mr. Lowy has been very open with me and the appropriate people within the FFA is doing due diligence in talking to possible coaches. I have a lot of support from my colleagues at the FFA but at the same time they need to be in a position to appoint another coach if they feel it is necessary.
I hope that the team will be successful this July, as that will make it hard for them to replace me.

Nader,
Your team is grouped with Oman, Iraq and Thailand. In your opinion who is going to be your toughest challenger in that group?

Mr. Arnold,
On paper I think all matches will be very challenging. When we last met Iraq two years ago in Sydney we only won 2-1 in what was a tough match. All the Persian Gulf nations are tough and Oman will be no different while Thailand will also be very tough at home.

Nader,
Please elaborate on your injured list. (Tim Cahill, Harry Kewell, Craig Moore, Brett Emerton and John Aliosi). Are they going to be ready for the games?
Who has a chance of complete recovery and who does not?

Mr. Arnold,
All indications are that all four want to go, but whether they're physically ready to go is another question. It's something we'll have to keep monitoring. If Harry (Kewell) plays a few games before the end of the season, he'll be 100 per cent available. Timmy (Cahill) is committed to going, but we'll have to see how he recovers and Craig Moore has had a horrendous year with injuries. All three are a major concern, but even without them we've shown we can get by. If we have them it will be a fantastic luxury.
Both John (Aloisi) and Emmo (Brett Emerton) have been playing recently so they should be fine.

Nader,
In your opinion, which countries are the toughest to face against in this competition?
Given a choice, which team you would have avoided to face?

Mr. Arnold,
It's going to be a very tough competition. The other 2006 World Cup teams will all be dangerous but as previous Asian Cups have shown the host nation has usually performed well. I don't believe there will be any easy matches and with hot conditions if you don't prepare well and go into each match with full focus you could find yourself in trouble.

Nader,
Iran/Japan and Saudi Arabia have won the prestigious Asian Nations Cup award three times each correspondingly. How are you preparing your players "psychologically" to compete against them?

Mr. Arnold,
To an extent we will concentrate on our own game, though having said that the players are aware of the prestigious record of the top Asian nations and aware of their fantastic history in Asia.

Nader,
What is your overall impression of Iranian national team?
Historically Iran has proven to have the "mental edge" facing the very powerful Australian team.
What would your strategy be against Iranians if you happened to face them at some point of the competition?

Mr. Arnold,
Iran as always will be extremely competitive being one of Asia's top nations and having a number of players at top European clubs. Iran showed their pedigree at last year's World Cup and with a bit of luck could have gone further. Australia and Iran have a great history on the field and that has continued even this year in the qualifying matches for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Nader,
In your opinion, who are the best Asian players at this point?
Could you name a few?

Mr. Arnold,
There are a number of great Asian players at the moment, a number of who are really making an impact in Europe.
Players such as Nakamura, Park Ji-Sung, Ali Karimi, Mahdavikia could trouble any opponent.

Nader,
And my last question, most Australian players compete in foreign leagues around the world as legionnaires. As a head coach, how do you fine-tune them with the rest of the team in a short time given?
This is a big dilemma for many countries and I like to have your secret!

Mr. Arnold,
There is no doubt it is a very difficult challenge. The players are generally familiar with the system we play but it is still a handicap that we normally have such limited time with the players. Fortunately for the Asian Cup we will have a lengthy lead-time with the players, which will be invaluable.
 
 
Acknowledgment: Many thanks to Mr. Peter Smith the Communications Manager of Australian Football Federation who made this interview possible. Thank you Peter!