Holger Osieck, an assistant to Franz Beckenbauer when West Germany won the 1990 World Cup, has been appointed as Australia’s head coach.
Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy announced the signing yesterday via video conference from Europe, hours before Australia was to play Slovenia in an international friendly as part of its preparations for next year’s Asian Cup.
Osieck was assistant coach for the West German national team from 1987 to 1990 and has had stints as coach of the German national youth team, as Canada’s head coach, as director of FIFA’s technical department and guided Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds to the Asian Champions League title in 2007.
The 61-year-old German replaces Pim Verbeek, who quit after taking Australia to this year’s World Cup in South Africa, where the Socceroos were eliminated in the group stage.
“I feel very much honored to be your choice,” Osieck said in a telephone conference. “It’s a very big challenge for me, it’s a great challenge.”
His appointment was a departure from the Socceroos’ last two foreign coaches — Guus Hiddink and Verbeek — who were both Dutch and both not able to stay long term in Australia.
Lowy said Osieck would relocate to Australia and be responsible for rebuilding the national team and for mentoring homegrown coaches. Many of the stars of Australia’s last two World Cup campaigns will be too old to contend for places at the next World Cup and depth is a key issue regarding talent coming through.
“We’re not starting from scratch. Australia has done very well in recent years and made the past two World Cups and our first target should be to establish our team on that level on a permanent basis,” Osieck said.
Lowy said Osieck’s extensive knowledge of Asian soccer was attractive to the federation, which joined the Asian confederation after the 2006 World Cup and now competes in continental club and international qualifiers.
“He has experienced what it takes to traverse Asia and win tournaments and this will be invaluable experience as he leads our team into the [Asian Football Confederation] Asian Cup in January and as we prepare for another challenging campaign to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil,” Lowy said.
Lowy said Osieck’s experience in Canada, where he led the national team to the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football Gold Cup in 2000 when it was held in the US, was another part of his appeal. Soccer is the fourth-ranked among Australian sports in terms of sponsorship and TV audiences, behind Australian Rules, rugby league and rugby union, but interest in soccer has increased.
“Holger has also worked in a nation where [soccer] is not the No. 1 sport and proved that he can win a major championship against nations who have [soccer] in their veins,” Lowy said.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely