Five Brisbane Roar players have been selected in a joint Olyroos and Young Socceroos camp in Canberra next week.
The two coaches today announced a 31-player squad that will go into a training camp at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) from April 11-16.
Andrew Redmayne, Mitch Nichols, Rocky Visconte, Matt Acton and Daniel Bowles will all be out to impress ahead of busy calendars for both squads in the upcoming months.
Brisbane Roar Head Coach Ange Postecoglou said the selections were great reward for four players who had worked extremely hard in a successful season for the club.
“Five players in the camp is a good reflection of the strength of young talent we have within our squad,” Postecoglou said.
“I-m confident the work they-ve done this season, with the work they-ve done in the off-season with Football Conditioning Coach Ken Stead, will put them in a great position to impress.”
While Redmayne, Nichols and Visconte were important members of the Premiership and Championship winning Brisbane Roar outfit from the start of the season, local products Acton and Bowles also played their part.
Acton sat on the bench for Brisbane while Redmayne was away on international duty during the season, while the departure of Luke DeVere to Korea paved the way for Bowles to sign to the senior squad at the tail-end of the season.
Brisbane Roar General Manager Eugenie Buckley said the pathway from local competition to international football, through the National Youth League and Hyundai A-League, was now clearly defined.
“We would hope that some of the kids who formed part of the 50,000 fans at the Grand Final would want to one day play for Brisbane Roar and their country,” Buckley said.
“The selection of these players, Nichols, Acton and Bowles in particular, shows young players in Queensland that the pathway from local football to international football can be achieved via Hyundai A-League clubs.
“Club captain Matt McKay is a prime example of a Hyundai A-League player selected in the Socceroos on merit and then making the most of his opportunity on the international scene, something as a club we-re very proud of.”
This is the first of a series of training camps for Australian based players to prepare for the upcoming 2012 London Olympic Games Asian Qualifiers and FIFA U-20 World Cup Colombia 2011.
The Qantas Olyroos will face Yemen in the second round of the 2012 London Olympic Games Asian Qualifiers on the 19th and 23rd June 2011 with the venues to be confirmed at a later date.
The Qantas Young Socceroos will compete at the FIFA U-20 World Cup Colombia 2011 which commences on the 29th July with the final to be played on the 20th August.
Vidmar is eager to work with this group of players now that the Qantas Olyroos opponent for their first stage in qualifiers is known.
“We now know that we have a very challenging tie against Yemen in June and based on the information that we have gathered about our opposition we need to work on our own game plan accordingly,” Vidmar said.
Jan Versleijen is equally keen to get as much quality training time with his players with the start of the FIFA U-20 World Cup less than four months away.
“It-s important that we use all the possible time we have together positively to prepare for the upcoming tournament,” Versleijen said.
Qantas Olyroos and Qantas Young Socceroos – Combined Squad List
AIS Camp: Matthew Acton (gk) (Brisbane Roar), Mustafa Amini (Central Coast Mariners),Terry Antonis (Sydney FC), Eli Babalj (Melbourne Heart), Jake Barker-Daish (Gold Coast United), Aziz Behich (Melbourne Heart), Mark Birighitti (gk) (Adelaide United), Brian Bran (Oakleigh Cannons – VPL), Oliver Bozanic (Central Coast Mariners), Daniel Bowles (Brisbane Roar), Ante Drazina (Hertha Berlin, Germany), Mate Dugandzic (Melbourne Heart), Sam Gallagher (Central Coast Mariners), Jason Geria (AIS), Curtis Good (Melbourne Heart), Ben Halloran (Gold Coast United), Brendan Hamill (Melbourne Heart), Jack Hingert (Dandenong Thunder – VPL), Jason Hoffman (Melbourne Heart), Bernie Ibini-Isei (Central Coast Mariners), Marko Jesic (Newcastle Jets), Gol Gol Mebrahtu (Gold Coast United), Tahj Minniecon (Gold Coast United), Mitch Nichols (Brisbane Roar), Mirjan Pavlovic (Wellington Phoenix), Andrew Redmayne (gk) (Brisbane Roar), Mathew Ryan (gk) (Central Coast Mariners), Trent Sainsbury (Central Coast Mariners), Kliment Taseski (Melbourne Heart), James Virgili (Newcastle Jets), Rocky Visconte (Brisbane Roar).
