No surprises as Graham Arnold takes on impossible Socceroos job

Like London buses, you wait three months for an international coach and then two come along at once. Two days after Bert van Marwijk announced his first Australian squad Graham Arnold has been confirmed as his long-term successor, signing a four-year deal from August 2018 to the end of the 2022 World Cup cycle.

The 54-year old’s transition from Sydney FC to the Socceroos comes as little surprise, the appointment has been expected for weeks with public confirmation the final piece of the puzzle.

“It is a very great honour to coach your national team,” Arnold said. “It’s a job I have always been interested in doing and I believe the timing is perfect for me. I know what the job’s about. I know it’s not an easy job, it’s a tough job, but I know I’ll do a great job this time.”

Arnold might not be everyone’s cup of tea but the logic underpinning his recruitment is sound. He’s Australian, he’s successful, he’s earned his stripes over a long period of time, plus there’s no compelling alternative.

The outcome might not be perfect, but there was no perfect outcome. Cases could be made for Tony Popovic or Ante Milicic, but not over and above the mastermind behind Sydney’s recent dominance, who, for good measure, also happened to be the architect of the Mariners punching above their weight earlier this decade.

It’s something of a hobby horse of this writer, but national team coaches should be of the nationality of the players, so an overseas hire should never have been a factor in deliberations. Besides, while it’s fun working ourselves into a lather over Roberto Mancini or Marcelo Bielsa, blockbuster appointments come with blockbuster price-tags and FFA has plenty of other priorities in its already stretched budget.

Source: theguardian