The Squad - Who will make the plane to South Africa 2010?

With the naming of the Socceroos squad to travel to South Africa looming, debate now rages as to whom the final 23 players will be. Differing media correspondents have thrown their ideas on the table, the lads down the pub have wagered a carton on it, but in essence it really comes down to the weight of one man....Pim Verbeek. The man who holds the key to Australia's potential successes in South Africa.

I certainly must say I don't envy him. I read this week that Pim had clocked up nearly 1,000,000 kms in travel over a 2 and a half year span in charge of the national team. In the public eye, Pim has been criticised from pillar to post with regards to the style of football he instructs his team to play. Not to mention the never ending critics of the amount of players selected over the past two years to play for the national team. The reality is however, that Pim Verbeek has achieved at this point what we as a nation wanted him to achieve, and that is to ensure that Australia once again qualified for the greatest stage.

The single largest headache now for Pim Verbeek, is selecting the final 23 man squad. Whilst I am almost sure that he has nearly every place pencilled in, Pim has to deal with many influencing factors that many others are not faced with on the international stage. Whilst the majority of the squad will be based overseas, there are a few key players that may come from the Hyundai A-League, and have had to move on short term deals to achieve "game time" leading in to the World Cup itself.

It is now seen that these instances may potentially hurt the group as a whole going in to South Africa, and it is certainly not the ideal preperation.

1. Jason Culina is training, however will not play for 2 months prior to camp
2. Craig Moore has left Europe early to give his body a break. That in itself sparks concern, however I am sure that Craig will be fine and I would have no hesitation in his inclusion.
3. Simon Colosimo it appears, is "backpacking" through Asia to attain himself a short term deal after his previous agreement has fallen through.

Aside from these, one would assume there are those that have already "purchased" tickets. The household names of Schwarzer, Kewell, Emerton , Wilkshere and Grella to name a few, are for mine most certain and key. The interesting topic will be those that bolt from the blue. As fore mentioned, there have been numerous additons under Pim Verbeek and the contention behind their conclusion still reigns.

The mere fact they have been included will install within them, the slightest glimmer of hope that they may make the plane. Nick Carle, Dario Vidosic, Brett Holman have been persistant inclusions over time, and I am sure they all eagerly await that final call. The Tommy Oars of the world however are a little more realistic about their chances at such an early stage of their careers, however one could think of much worse options for the boss. (Congratulations must also go to Tommy as only this morning Tommy has been signed by Utrecht in Holland.)

All in all there are a palethra of players at Pim Verbeek's disposal, however which of those have a realistic chance of going to the World Cup, and which of those will realise their dream? Only time will now tell, and it is with great anticipation that we now wait as the story unfolds in the lead up to South Africa 2010.