Didn't Emblen play 4 4 2 in the Olympic qualifiers in Taupo? He seems to be more of an English traditionalist. Agree with what he says about rationale for his over-age player choices:
"I feel this is Michael's chance to really kick on...
He's coming off the back of another very good A-League season and Asian Champions League campaign and it gives us that spine of the team with Nelsen, McGlinchey and Smeltz at centre back, centre midfield and centre forward.
We have a senior player in every third of the pitch."
The full Olympic squad will be named at 3pm today and Emblen said Jake Gleeson remained his likely choice in goal.
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I hope Stefan Marinovic makes the cut in goal, as he impressed me in last year's U-20 World Cup in Colombia.
Marinovic gained a permanent place in SV Wiesbaden's first team squad the season just past, promoted from the second (u-23) team. He had previously played for the first team in the 3 Bundesliga twice in 2010 as an 18 year-old when all first team keepers were injured. Wiesbaden are one of the bigger clubs in the new German nationwide Third Div. which replaced the regional leagues a couple of years ago. They were a Second Div.club in 2009.
Oh well, roll on the squad announcement at 3pm...just hope NZ Football have improved their scouting of age-group players, as it's always been a weak point. As a South Island-based follower of NZ teams since about 1980, we're only too aware of this failing to adequately scout even NZ-based players, what to speak of overseas-based ones.
Interesting historical example: a player who would figure in any "best All White squad of all time," Mike McGarry, was never selected for any NZ age group side. He was scouted by Newcastle United in England's top flight and played in their youth team for a season in 1983 alongside Paul Gascoigne. (McGarry apparently was offered a full contract by Newcastle ahead of Gascoigne but famously walked out on them, disgusted by the shambles the club was at the time with its sadistic youth coach and drinking culture.) McGarry made his full senior debut aged 21 in 1986, yet never played at age group level despite only being unavailable for one year perhaps whilst at Newcastle Utd...
NZ have never seen fit to spend money on sending coaching staff overseas to watch prospective senior or age group players. They've usually relied on phoning coaches of NZ players based overseas for their opinion, on media reports etc. but that's not adequate. I chatted with then All Whites coach Irishman Joe McGrath whilst he was watching a game in Christchurch in 1997, scouting players for the up-coming Oceania World Cup qualifiers. It was astounding that he had never heard of many players such as Fred de Jong who had played 53 games in the Dutch First Div. for Fortuna Sittard in the early 90's and had returned to NZ to play for Central at the end of 1994 (still aged only 33 in 1997 and playing regularly for Central). This was, as Joe lamented to me, because there was no scouting system for NZ national teams as Joe was used to in Ireland and he had to rely solely on watching players himself playing in NZ. With no national association scouting apparatus, Joe was never provided with any reliable up-to-date info on prospective All White players and he had no ability to watch Kiwis playing overseas or have his staff do so. Little wonder the two foreign AW's coaches brought in by Soccer NZ in the mid-90's lasted only one year each before resigning.
Interesting even the Aussie women's Olympic football team budget is such they sent their coach to Auckland this week to watch the Football Ferns play China - they even scout teams (NZ) they are about to play in friendlies !!!