World Cup: No Third World Cup For Socceroos Legend Kewell
April 1st, 2014 by G WaldorfYou have probably heard the news by now. Harry Kewell, veteran Socceroos forward, and arguably one of Australia’s greatest, has decided to hang up his boots at the end of the A-League season. Perhaps he’s been looking at Australia’s World Cup odds, and doesn’t feel like he’s up for the challenge at 35 – or perhaps he feels it’s the ideal time for a new crop of young Socceroos to get their first taste of the World Cup spotlight. Either way, the timing of this most recent announcement by an ageing generation of Socceroos will prompt conversations about the other senior players who remain, and inevitably about the young talents who are emerging to replace them.
Harry Kewell’s announcement was met by plenty of glowing endorsements from coaches and team-mates. He was the youngest-ever wearer of the Australia jersey when he first pulled it on in 1996 – Tim Cahill described him as ‘possibly the most naturally gifted player we have produced’, and former Leeds teammate Rio Ferdinand was amongst many who speculated where his career might have gone but for the injuries that dogged its later stages. Current Socceroos boss Ange Postecoglu was generous in his praise of Kewell, but neatly dodged questions about his World Cup 2014 prospects – Postecoglu will perhaps be relieved that he doesn’t have to have a difficult conversation with the former Australia star. Because that’s the reality of Australia’s 2014 World Cup – an older generation of players is giving way to an untried new generation, and they face a tough challenge in a World Cup group that includes Spain, the Netherlands and Chile. It’s worth noting, for those of you who are interesting in such coincidences, that Harry Kewell’s 1996 Socceroos debut was against Chile – could it be that another star is about to emerge in the first game of Group B, when Australia again face Chile?
Get all your World Cup 2014 odds by following the link, plus a breakdown of Chile vs Australia…
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