Who’d be a football coach?
While Australia happily lost its head after the Socceroos had squeaked to landmark victory over Tunisia, Graham Arnold gave his team only a small window to indulge themselves and asked an even smaller one for himself.
Graham Arnold and Riley McGree after the final whistle.Credit:AP
“What I said to the boys when I got them in the circle after the game was, I’m very proud, but we’ve achieved nothing,” Arnold said. “We’re here to go as far as we can go.
“That one game is done, and I don’t want any emotion from the players, I don’t want them sitting up all night watching social media and all that stuff. It’s about sleeping well, recovering well and getting the mindset ready for Denmark.”
Arnold’s natural state looks to be permanently embattled, but when asked about a phalanx of critics at home, he replied: “Give me five minutes to enjoy this!“
His elaboration was curt. He said he hadn’t seen who had come for him, but clearly he had heard. “I think some of them have never been in the World Cup,” he said. “They have no effect on my life.“
Harry Souttar in action.Credit:Getty Images
Arnold spoke of the need to suppress emotion, but it is more accurate to say that a coach’s job is to channel it. This is doubly true for a national football coach at a World Cup, because emotions run so high and sometimes spike even further.
It’s all about the vibe. Enter injured Socceroo Martin Boyle. “We’ve moved onto the staff now, as OVM – official vibe manager,” Arnold said. “He’s one of the most fantastic blokes you’ll ever meet in your life. There was no way he wanted to go home, no way i wanted to send him home. He wants to stay, and be part of it, and he deserves it more than anyone for what he did during qualifying.“
Pre-match, Arnold was conscious of a nation watching over his shoulder. “I said to the boys, let’s put a smile on the nation’s face,” he said. “There’s two teams that bring the nation together, and that’s the Socceroos and the Matildas. When the Socceroos play at World Cups, AFL fans, rugby league fans, cricket fans, they all become football fans.“
When Australia scored, Arnold again played on-the-spot psyche with a pitch side pep talk. In the perverse way of these things, arguably the goal had come too soon. It had against France.
“The next five minutes after a goal is scored is so important, mentally,” he said. “You’ve got to continue playing. It’s about being switched on and there’s no celebration at all. You’re after the second goal straight away.”
There was no second, but nor was there even one for Tunisia.
The defence was heroic. Goalkeeper and captain Mat Ryan was commanding. Harry Souttar made metres even he might have thought he did not have in him to lay a tackle that might have saved a goal. When Aaron Mooy snuffed out another Tunisian attack with a deathlessly timed tackle, the normally silent midfielder roared maniacally.
Arnold cherished it all, but at the final whistle, and after allowing the Socceroos a statutory basking period, he snapped the briefcase shut.
Graham Arnold gathers the Socceroos in a circle around Martin Boyle.Credit:AP
“I just said to them that no doubt the nation is extremely proud, but we’ve done nothing,” he said. “You’ve achieved something you can talk about after the tournament, but we’re here to go as far as we can go. I don’t want any celebrations. Enjoy this couple of minutes with the fans, get yourself in the dressing room, ice baths, recover, and get ready for the next one.“
Who’d be a coach. Graham Arnold would.
