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FFA boss Frank Lowy prepared to pay $6 million to replace Pim Verbeek
By David Lewis
June 14, 2010.
Football Federation Australia boss Frank Lowy is prepared to sanction a wallet-busting $6 million a year to land the right man to replace departing coach Pim Verbeek.
Dismayed by the poor calibre of applicants for the role of taking Australia to the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar, and beyond it the bid to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil in the post-Verbeek era, Lowy and the FFA board have been forced to up the financial ante in the quest for a quality successor to the Dutchman.
Which means the $2.5m a year enjoyed by Verbeek - which ranks him eighth in terms of salary for managers at the World Cup - will have to be doubled, at the very least, if Australia is to get the best.
This new amount will see the Socceroos mentor earn a wage equal to that of the world's top-paid managers such as England's Fabio Capello and Italy's Marcello Lippi.
Privately, the panel appointed by Lowy and his chief executive Ben Buckley to oversee the search for a new coach has not been able to make inroads with any of world soccer's top tier, mainly because Australia's budget was too low.
The fact that Australia is also viewed as a second-tier nation has also played a part. One source close to the selection process said: "The reality is nobody of genuine calibre has stepped forward and that will only happen if the FFA stump up more cash.
"You need to remember that while Pim Verbeek got Australia to the World Cup and Asian Cup finals in his tenure, he was very much a second choice at short notice option after **** Advocaat decided at the last minute he didn't want the job.
"So far the people who have stepped forward are those who have struggled to get a job."
Verbeek, whose only senior coaching appointment before the Socceroos job came up was with South Korea at the 2007 Asian Cup finals, previously assisted Advocaat at UAE and Borussia Moenchengladbach and then Guus Hiddink at the 2002 World Cup as South Korea stormed to the semi-finals.
His exit to take on the mantle of technical director with Morocco next month has left the FFA scrambling for a replacement. Names like fellow Dutchman Leo Beenhakker, the former Polish national coach and current technical director at Feyenoord, have been mentioned without setting any pulses racing.
The names which do invoke genuine intrigue, those of Galatasaray duo Frank Rijkaard and Johan Neeskens were never genuinely interested in the option, nor was former Netherlands coach Marco Basten. All three were sounded out.
But with the FFA's loosening of the purse strings they will be better placed to approach top-line coaches after the World Cup.
Both Lowy and Buckley are in South Africa, mainly to lobby for votes to get Australia's 2022 World Cup hosting bid over the line, but sealing the deal with a successor for Verbeek is also high on the agenda.
Buckley said: "We know with the Asian Cup ahead we need to act with some haste but we won't be acting without diligence either. We've been talking to various parties and that process continues."
The silver-haired Beenhakker, 67, resembles the man from Havana in his ubiquitous white suits, and is considered a bland option by some on the FFA panel who are keen for a coach with more drive and dynamism.
He twice coached The Netherlands (1985-86 and 1990) and also had stints with Saudi Arabia (1993-94), then Trinidad and Tobago (2005-06) before three years in charge of Poland, parting company in 2009.
His resume at club level also reads well with stints at Real Madrid twice (1986-89 and 1992) and Dutch heavyweight Ajax (1979-81 and 1989-91).
Italy coach Nevio Scala, former Tottenham Hotspur boss Martin Jol and Frenchman Philippe Troussier have also been linked to the job.
One man already in place is former Adelaide United coach Aurleio Vidmar, who will be one of the assistants for the new boss.
Vidmar is dreaming of a time when an Australian will coach the national team, but admits that could still be 10 years away.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ________
FFA boss Frank Lowy prepared to pay $6 million to replace Pim Verbeek
By David Lewis
June 14, 2010.
Football Federation Australia boss Frank Lowy is prepared to sanction a wallet-busting $6 million a year to land the right man to replace departing coach Pim Verbeek.
Dismayed by the poor calibre of applicants for the role of taking Australia to the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar, and beyond it the bid to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil in the post-Verbeek era, Lowy and the FFA board have been forced to up the financial ante in the quest for a quality successor to the Dutchman.
Which means the $2.5m a year enjoyed by Verbeek - which ranks him eighth in terms of salary for managers at the World Cup - will have to be doubled, at the very least, if Australia is to get the best.
This new amount will see the Socceroos mentor earn a wage equal to that of the world's top-paid managers such as England's Fabio Capello and Italy's Marcello Lippi.
Privately, the panel appointed by Lowy and his chief executive Ben Buckley to oversee the search for a new coach has not been able to make inroads with any of world soccer's top tier, mainly because Australia's budget was too low.
The fact that Australia is also viewed as a second-tier nation has also played a part. One source close to the selection process said: "The reality is nobody of genuine calibre has stepped forward and that will only happen if the FFA stump up more cash.
"You need to remember that while Pim Verbeek got Australia to the World Cup and Asian Cup finals in his tenure, he was very much a second choice at short notice option after **** Advocaat decided at the last minute he didn't want the job.
"So far the people who have stepped forward are those who have struggled to get a job."
Verbeek, whose only senior coaching appointment before the Socceroos job came up was with South Korea at the 2007 Asian Cup finals, previously assisted Advocaat at UAE and Borussia Moenchengladbach and then Guus Hiddink at the 2002 World Cup as South Korea stormed to the semi-finals.
His exit to take on the mantle of technical director with Morocco next month has left the FFA scrambling for a replacement. Names like fellow Dutchman Leo Beenhakker, the former Polish national coach and current technical director at Feyenoord, have been mentioned without setting any pulses racing.
The names which do invoke genuine intrigue, those of Galatasaray duo Frank Rijkaard and Johan Neeskens were never genuinely interested in the option, nor was former Netherlands coach Marco Basten. All three were sounded out.
But with the FFA's loosening of the purse strings they will be better placed to approach top-line coaches after the World Cup.
Both Lowy and Buckley are in South Africa, mainly to lobby for votes to get Australia's 2022 World Cup hosting bid over the line, but sealing the deal with a successor for Verbeek is also high on the agenda.
Buckley said: "We know with the Asian Cup ahead we need to act with some haste but we won't be acting without diligence either. We've been talking to various parties and that process continues."
The silver-haired Beenhakker, 67, resembles the man from Havana in his ubiquitous white suits, and is considered a bland option by some on the FFA panel who are keen for a coach with more drive and dynamism.
He twice coached The Netherlands (1985-86 and 1990) and also had stints with Saudi Arabia (1993-94), then Trinidad and Tobago (2005-06) before three years in charge of Poland, parting company in 2009.
His resume at club level also reads well with stints at Real Madrid twice (1986-89 and 1992) and Dutch heavyweight Ajax (1979-81 and 1989-91).
Italy coach Nevio Scala, former Tottenham Hotspur boss Martin Jol and Frenchman Philippe Troussier have also been linked to the job.
One man already in place is former Adelaide United coach Aurleio Vidmar, who will be one of the assistants for the new boss.
Vidmar is dreaming of a time when an Australian will coach the national team, but admits that could still be 10 years away.
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