Osieck defends Kewell, Thompson selection

Updated May 16, 2012 09:29:48

Socceroos coach Holger Osieck has been forced to defend his selection of Harry Kewell and Archie Thompson for next month's friendly against Denmark and following World Cup qualifiers against Oman and Japan, after admitting match fitness was a concern.

The Melbourne Victory team-mates have not played a competitive fixture in almost two months after their A-League campaign ended in the final round of the regular season on March 24.

But while Osieck, who on Tuesday named an extended 26-man squad for the upcoming matches, admitted the duo - the only A-League representatives named - may not make the final cut he was adamant they deserved a shot to prove their fitness.

Osieck said he had a "very intense chat" with former Liverpool star Kewell.

"He is aware of the situation and he knows my point," Osieck said.

"He is training with a personal trainer and I will definitely give him the opportunity to show whether it is good enough or not.

"Looking back at (the final match of the previous stage of World Cup qualification in February against) Saudi Arabia, he had a decent game and whenever he plays for the team, since I've been in charge, he does a job.

"So why should I not give him the opportunity to show that he is in a good state to play?

"Harry still has a lot of potential, we can't argue that."

Osieck said he will be relying on assistant Socceroos coach Aurelio Vidmar to monitor Thompson's performance in Victory's friendly against Greek club Olympiakos on Saturday before deciding if he will make the final team.

"In his last game against Saudi, when he came on, we were 2-1 down and he changed the picture completely," Osieck recalled of Thompson.

"As coach you should never forget what the good players have done and at least give them the opportunity.

"But the fact that these two guys are on the list doesn't really mean that they will be included in the final selection."

Chris Herd is the only new face in the squad with Osieck saying he was delighted to finally have the West Australian, who plays for Aston Villa, fit after he was unavailable for February's fixture against Saudi Arabia due to injury.

Tim Cahill, Brett Holman and Matt McKay are among those who also missed the Saudi Arabia clash through injury or unavailability to be recalled.

Josh Kennedy was included despite being ruled out of his Japanese club Nagoya Grampus' Asian Champions League clash with the Central Coast Mariners on Tuesday night due to a back injury, with Osieck saying he was waiting on a report from his club's medical team to know the extent of the injury.

Sydney FC marquee pair Nicky Carle and Brett Emerton were not named - Carle has been dropped from the last squad, while Emerton is recovering from ankle surgery.

The Socceroos take on Denmark in Copenhagen on June 2 before kicking off their World Cup Asian fourth-round qualifying campaign against Oman in Muscat on June 8 and Japan in Brisbane four days later.

The Socceroos can book a spot in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with a top-two finish in Group B which also includes Iraq and Jordan.

Osieck will reduce the squad to 23 players prior to the qualifier against Oman.

Australia:

Mark Bresciano, Alex Brosque, Tim Cahill, David Carney, Nathan Coe (GK), Adam Federici (GK), Chris Herd, Brett Holman, Mile Jedinak, Joshua Kennedy, Harry Kewell, Neil Kilkenny, Robbie Kruse, Matt McKay, Mark Milligan, Lucas Neill, Jade North, Sasa Ognenovski, Nikita Rukavytsya, Mark Schwarzer (GK), Matt Spiranovic, Archie Thompson, Carl Valeri, Luke Wilkshire, Rhys Williams, Michael Zullo.

AAP

Tags: socceroos, soccer, sport, australia, melbourne-3000, vic

First posted May 16, 2012 09:29:48

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Ancelotti defends Torres selection

Posted April 13, 2011 11:47:00

Carlo Ancelotti defended his decision to pick Fernando Torres despite another disappointing display from the Spanish striker as Chelsea crashed out of the Champions League.

Torres, who has not scored in more than 11 hours of football since joining Chelsea for a record 50 million euros in January, was substituted at half-time as Manchester United powered into the semi-finals with a 2-1 victory.

Chelsea veteran Didier Drogba, who replaced Torres at the break, immediately caused problems for United and scored an equaliser which gave the visitors hopes of a dramatic comeback.

As Chelsea's dejected fans were left pondering what might have been had Drogba been picked to start ahead of Torres, Ancelotti was unrepentant.

"I thought a lot of time to take this decision," Ancelotti said.

"I preferred to start with Fernando for this kind of game. But Didier played very well in the second half."

Ancelotti rejected suggestions from Sir Alex Ferguson that it would have been impossible for the Chelsea coach not to pick Torres given the club's record outlay on the player.

"A lot of people thought Drogba would play, but I thought that having signed Torres for the money they did, they had to play him," Ferguson said.

"I wasn't 100 per cent sure. But I couldn't see how they could leave Torres out."

Ancelotti insisted however that Ferguson's comments were wide of the mark.

"This is not true," he said.

"I picked Fernando because I felt his skills and ability could be good for us."

Drogba had been brought on at half-time because Chelsea was chasing the game at 1-0 down, Ancelotti said.

"I wanted to put more pressure on the front," Ancelotti said.

"We needed to score. I felt Didier was fresh and we could use his power in front. This was the reason I took out Fernando."

Ferguson meanwhile said he was convinced Torres would eventually come good for Chelsea, despite his disappointing start at Stamford Bridge, and described the club's signing of the Spaniard as good transfer business.

"I don't think anyone who had the opportunity to sign Torres would have turned it down," Ferguson said.

"Everyone said at the time it was a fantastic bit of business so you can't criticise him for that. It was a good signing.

"It's not working at the moment but he's a young man and there's other seasons ahead."

The game had been billed as make-or-break for Ancelotti, whose position is expected to come under severe pressure after a season that in all probability is now likely to conclude without a trophy.

Ancelotti would not be drawn either on his own future or that of his first team squad, which could be the subject of a summer transfer clear-out.

Asked if a major overhaul of the playing staff was required following Chelsea's failure to reach the Champions League semi-finals for a second year running, Ancelotti replied: "To speak about this now is not the moment.

"We still have eight games in the Premier League, we have to play these games and after that we have the time to speak about this."

Ancelotti also shrugged off questions about his position.

"I'm not concerned. I have to work, I have to try to do my best. It's not my decision whether I stay or don't stay here," he said, revealing that he had not spoken to Russian owner Roman Abramovich after the match.

-AFP

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