Who did the most to get Australia to the World Cup?

Guus Hiddink, Frank Lowy or John O'Neill?

What about Steve O'Connor from the Australian Institute of Sport.

Without the preparation of the players from a young age we may never have had the quality to turn Lowy and O Neill's administration skills into Hiddinks final product.

Football in the Capital caught up with Steve O'Connor recently at the AIS, some sixteen years after he first put a young Mark Viduka through his paces.

Who was the most instrumental person in getting Australia to last year’s World Cup in Germany?

Frank Lowy, John O’Neill or Guus Hiddink? Many would put forward one of these names.

Here’s another name. Steve O’Connor.

Who?

Steve O’Connor. Or Rocky as he is affectionately known.

Steve has been Coach at the Australian Institute Sport since 1991, apart from when he went to the NSWIS to coach the likes of Harry Kewell for a year.

Mark Viduka, Craig Moore, Brett Emerton, Vince Grella, Luke Wiltshire, Marco Bresciano, Mile Sterjovski, Josip Skoko and Mark Milligan are just some of squad of 2006 who O’Connor has guided along their football journey.

When O’Connor talks about the players, the young men he has taught, his eyes smile.

“None of last years World Cup squad surprised me. They were all very dedicated when they were here and they got their reward. I was just so pleased for them, seeing what they had achieved.”

Viduka and Moore were at the AIS in 1992. They both played in an AIS team which won the local ACT Premier League.

“It’s a long time ago. But even then we talked to the guys about the Holy Grail. We talked about them being the ones that might take us to the World Cup.”

And so it proved. Not only had O’Connor’s dreams and goals for his students come through. The squad went one better than the 1974 side which was the only previous Australian team to qualify. This side went to the next round, before losing to Italy by a disputed Francesco Totti penalty.

The standards have been set.

“Everyone asks when we will produce the next Kewell or Viduka. But they are once in a lifetime players. Even big European clubs with their strong development programmes can’t produce a player to play in the top league, never mind one of the standards of Kewell.”

“In Australia the AFL target every athlete. I had a guy in from the Western Bulldogs the other day looking at our zonal play strategies. He said the AFL would only have missed maybe one or two per cent of the best athletes in this country.”

“In Europe the best athletes all play football. So we’re up against it in Australia.”

“In France and England there are different systems. Clubs get their players and develop them early. In France, academies pick the guy up at 13 and younger. Here we take players at 15. They need to be developed, but we would like to get their skills improved before they come to us. Hopefully the new technical report will address this and the States and clubs will assist us with our aims.”

How are players chosen to come to the AIS?

“We usually invite maybe 40 players into a camp. We give them MRI scans, and test them thoroughly. It’s expensive, but we try and assist the players when they come to us full-time. We are a full-time professional program and we need players to work within that. But we know guys come with very different training histories and their bodies need to adjust. Some need more time than others.”

“Currently the AIS squad is playing in the Victorian Premier League. Normally a side will bring a couple of 17 year olds and nurse them through. We have a whole team of 16 yea r olds and they are meeting some quality ex-National Soccer League players in the VPL. It’s not ideal.”

“Plus the drought has made the pitches very bare, and uneven. It’s hard to play a passing game in such conditions.”

Australian’s football move to Asia has put more pressure on O’Connor and his young men.

“Normally we’d have two years to prepare for the Oceania qualifying tournament. This time we play in October in Malaysia and the Asian countries are putting a lot of money into football. We are well behind on that score.”

At the indoor centre a few of the next generation are hitting balls towards the goal, from thirty metres out. They are supposed to be aiming for a corner, left or right. Some are missing. Canberra’s Dom Giampaolo is among the group.

“Do you think professional footballers can make the ball hit the same spot in the goal time after time?”

Giampoalo nods.

“Sure they can.”

“Can we have another go Steve?”

And they do.

Another class. Maybe another Kewell or Viduka right there. After all these years, for O’Connor the challenge remains.

To produce young men to fulfil their potential, and match the best in the biggest game of all.