Guus names Kewell, drops veterans
Newly appointed Socceroos coach Guus Hiddink has named injured Liverpool star Harry Kewell in his first ever Australian squad, while excluding veteran defenders Tony Vidmar and Kevin Muscat.
The Socceroos will continue their preparations for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers with an intense training camp in Hoenderloo, the Netherlands from 14-18 August.
Hiddink, who recently took over the reigns from Frank Farina, will get his first look at many of the 28-man squad which was announced today by Football Federation Australia.
The five-day camp has been designed to allow the Dutch taskmaster an opportunity to work with the players for the first time without having a match commitment.
FFA, in consultation with Hiddink, opted for the camp instead of a proposed match with Colombia in London.
"I've watched Australia's recent matches and in consultation with (assistant coach) Graham Arnold and (technical director) Ron Smith we have put together a squad which gives us an opportunity to do some intense training," said Hiddink.
"There will be significant work done on the field but also we will spend time talking with players about technical and tactical matters."
Notable exclusions from the squad were veteran defenders Tony Vidmar and Kevin Muscat, while English Premiership stars Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell (pictured) are among those selected, despite the latter being under an injury cloud.
Newcastle United Jets midfielder Ned Zelic has also been snubbed from Hiddink's maiden squad, which visibly seems to place a conscious emphasis on youth.
"I want to make it clear that players that were not included in this camp are in the running for a spot in future squads as we will have a busy schedule over the next few months," Hiddink added.
Graham Arnold, who will link up with the new head coach a week prior to the commencement of the camp in the Netherlands, said that Hiddink already had good knowledge of the players.
"Guus is very familiar with our squad and has been doing plenty of research," said Arnold.
"The squad recommendations from Ron Smith and myself to Guus were designed to give him plenty of options and variations as he wants us as a team to be more versatile and adaptable."
"Guus has made it clear that in conjunction with myself and Ron, he will monitor the Hyundai A-League players closely and potentially he may bring in some of those players that were not included in the training camp for the series with the Solomon Islands."
The A-League has three players included in the squad with Melbourne Victory's Archie Thompson, Newcastle United's Jade North and Sydney FC's Saso Petrovski earning a call-up.
Michael Thwaite, who received his first call-up to the squad ahead of June's friendly against New Zealand, has been included and is one of two uncapped players along with the Joel Griffiths, who received an unexpected call-up.
Australia will play the Solomon Islands as part of the Powerade Series at Aussie Stadium on Saturday 3 September.
SOCCEROOS TRAINING SQUAD:
John Aloisi (Alaves, Spain), Marco Bresciano (Parma, Italy), Tim Cahill (Everton, England), Scott Chipperfield (FC Basel, Switzerland), Jason Culina (Twente Enschede, The Netherlands), Ahmad Elrich (Fulham, England), Brett Emerton (Blackburn Rovers, England), Vince Grella (Parma, Italy), Joel Griffiths (Neuchatel Xamax, Switzerland), Zeljko Kalac (Perugia, Italy), Harry Kewell (Liverpool, England), Steve Laybutt (KAA Gent, Belgium), Stan Lazaridis (Birmingham City, England), Jon McKain (Politechnica AEK Timisoara, Romania), Ljubo Milicevic (FC Thun, Switzerland), Craig Moore (Newcastle United, England), Lucas Neill (Blackburn Rovers, England), Jade North (Newcastle United Jets, Australia), Saso Petrovski (Sydney FC, Australia), Tony Popovic (Crystal Palace, England), Mark Schwarzer (Middlesbrough, England), Josip Skoko (Genclerbirligi, Turkey), Archie Thompson (Melbourne Victory, Australia), Michael Thwaite (National Bucuresti, Romania), Tony Vidmar (NAC Breda, The Netherlands), Mark Viduka (Middlesbrough, England), Luke Wilkshire (Bristol City, England) *
* Another goal keeper to be added
Newly appointed Socceroos coach Guus Hiddink has named injured Liverpool star Harry Kewell in his first ever Australian squad, while excluding veteran defenders Tony Vidmar and Kevin Muscat.
The Socceroos will continue their preparations for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers with an intense training camp in Hoenderloo, the Netherlands from 14-18 August.
Hiddink, who recently took over the reigns from Frank Farina, will get his first look at many of the 28-man squad which was announced today by Football Federation Australia.
The five-day camp has been designed to allow the Dutch taskmaster an opportunity to work with the players for the first time without having a match commitment.
FFA, in consultation with Hiddink, opted for the camp instead of a proposed match with Colombia in London.
"I've watched Australia's recent matches and in consultation with (assistant coach) Graham Arnold and (technical director) Ron Smith we have put together a squad which gives us an opportunity to do some intense training," said Hiddink.
"There will be significant work done on the field but also we will spend time talking with players about technical and tactical matters."
Notable exclusions from the squad were veteran defenders Tony Vidmar and Kevin Muscat, while English Premiership stars Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell (pictured) are among those selected, despite the latter being under an injury cloud.
Newcastle United Jets midfielder Ned Zelic has also been snubbed from Hiddink's maiden squad, which visibly seems to place a conscious emphasis on youth.
"I want to make it clear that players that were not included in this camp are in the running for a spot in future squads as we will have a busy schedule over the next few months," Hiddink added.
Graham Arnold, who will link up with the new head coach a week prior to the commencement of the camp in the Netherlands, said that Hiddink already had good knowledge of the players.
"Guus is very familiar with our squad and has been doing plenty of research," said Arnold.
"The squad recommendations from Ron Smith and myself to Guus were designed to give him plenty of options and variations as he wants us as a team to be more versatile and adaptable."
"Guus has made it clear that in conjunction with myself and Ron, he will monitor the Hyundai A-League players closely and potentially he may bring in some of those players that were not included in the training camp for the series with the Solomon Islands."
The A-League has three players included in the squad with Melbourne Victory's Archie Thompson, Newcastle United's Jade North and Sydney FC's Saso Petrovski earning a call-up.
Michael Thwaite, who received his first call-up to the squad ahead of June's friendly against New Zealand, has been included and is one of two uncapped players along with the Joel Griffiths, who received an unexpected call-up.
Australia will play the Solomon Islands as part of the Powerade Series at Aussie Stadium on Saturday 3 September.
SOCCEROOS TRAINING SQUAD:
John Aloisi (Alaves, Spain), Marco Bresciano (Parma, Italy), Tim Cahill (Everton, England), Scott Chipperfield (FC Basel, Switzerland), Jason Culina (Twente Enschede, The Netherlands), Ahmad Elrich (Fulham, England), Brett Emerton (Blackburn Rovers, England), Vince Grella (Parma, Italy), Joel Griffiths (Neuchatel Xamax, Switzerland), Zeljko Kalac (Perugia, Italy), Harry Kewell (Liverpool, England), Steve Laybutt (KAA Gent, Belgium), Stan Lazaridis (Birmingham City, England), Jon McKain (Politechnica AEK Timisoara, Romania), Ljubo Milicevic (FC Thun, Switzerland), Craig Moore (Newcastle United, England), Lucas Neill (Blackburn Rovers, England), Jade North (Newcastle United Jets, Australia), Saso Petrovski (Sydney FC, Australia), Tony Popovic (Crystal Palace, England), Mark Schwarzer (Middlesbrough, England), Josip Skoko (Genclerbirligi, Turkey), Archie Thompson (Melbourne Victory, Australia), Michael Thwaite (National Bucuresti, Romania), Tony Vidmar (NAC Breda, The Netherlands), Mark Viduka (Middlesbrough, England), Luke Wilkshire (Bristol City, England) *
* Another goal keeper to be added
