{"id":4145,"date":"2024-02-02T16:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-02T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/?p=4145"},"modified":"2026-09-25T14:15:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T04:45:35","slug":"style-or-substance-australia-confronts-its-identity-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/style-or-substance-australia-confronts-its-identity-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Style or substance? Australia confronts its identity crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Not for the first time Australia finds itself battling a crisis of identity; caught between who it is and who it wants to be.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On face value Australia has been close to the best performing team at this AFC Asian Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four games, three wins, one draw and just one goal conceded; the foundations for a serious tilt at a second Asian crown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But back home, in loungerooms and coffee shops across the country, there are mixed feelings about how the team is performing in Doha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are some who are of the view that, in tournament football, the only thing that matters is the end result. How that is achieved is largely irrelevant so long as it is achieved; the ends justify the means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then there is a second camp who believe how<\/em> you win is most important. That means dominating games against so-called weaker opposition, it means creating countless chances and playing with an attacking verve that matches the defensive steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caught in the middle is the national team, who stand a good chance of making their third Asian Cup final in their last four attempts, but seemingly affronted that anyone should question them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So who is right and who is wrong?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Deja vu<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The important thing to remember is that Australia has been here before, and will probably be here again in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The battle of national identity, especially in a nation as young as Australia, is never truly \u2018won\u2019 as identities change and evolve over time. What Australia was in the 1980s and not what Australia is in the 2020s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nations evolve and football evolves with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But you don\u2019t have to go back far to find the last time this debate reared its head, during the tenure of current Tottenham boss, Ange Postecoglou.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After bemoaning the more pragmatic approach of the late Pim Verbeek, and his successor, Holger Osieck, Australia craved more from its national team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enter Ange Postecoglou.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the world now knows, Postecoglou is a disciple of attacking football; of playing on the front foot and never backing down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And for a while the nation agreed, falling in love with a new generation of Socceroos who opened eyes at Brazil 2014 before clinching the Asian Cup on home soil six months later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\ud83d\udde3\ufe0f "\ud835\udc4a\ud835\udc52'\ud835\udc5f\ud835\udc52 \ud835\udc54\ud835\udc5c\ud835\udc56\ud835\udc5b\ud835\udc54 \ud835\udc61\ud835\udc5c \u210e\ud835\udc4e\ud835\udc63\ud835\udc52 \ud835\udc61\ud835\udc5c \ud835\udc4f\ud835\udc52\ud835\udc4e\ud835\udc61 \ud835\udc61\ud835\udc52\ud835\udc4e\ud835\udc5a\ud835\udc60 \ud835\udc4f\ud835\udc66 \ud835\udc5a\ud835\udc62\ud835\udc59\ud835\udc61\ud835\udc56\ud835\udc5d\ud835\udc59\ud835\udc52 \ud835\udc54\ud835\udc5c\ud835\udc4e\ud835\udc59\ud835\udc60…"

\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa @ErikPaartalu<\/a> wants to see a different style of play from @Socceroos<\/a> at #AsianCup2023<\/a>

Do you agree?

\ud83c\udfa7 \ud835\udddf\ud835\udddc\ud835\udde6\ud835\udde7\ud835\uddd8\ud835\udde1 \ud835\udde1\ud835\udde2\ud835\uddea: https:\/\/t.co\/0tZWGbbtLK<\/a>#TAGpodcast<\/a> | #Socceroos<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/cxMGUfSI3w<\/a><\/p>— The Asian Game (@TheAsianGame) January 10, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote>