The FIFA World Cup dreams of Melbourne Heart FC’s Simon Colosimo and Dean Heffernan have been dashed after the duo missed out on selection to the Qantas Socceroos preliminary 31-man squad.
The FIFA World Cup dreams of Melbourne Heart FC-s Simon Colosimo and Dean Heffernan have been dashed after the duo missed out on selection to the Qantas Socceroos preliminary 31-man squad.
Colosimo and Heffernan both secured short term stays in Europe to further their ambitions of securing a seat on the plane to South Africa.
And after figuring prominently in recent Asian Cup qualifiers, impressing in games against Kuwait and Indonesia, it appeared the defensive pair were well in contention for a World Cup berth.
However, faced with the difficult task of sifting through the squad contenders, Qantas Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek looked beyond the Melbourne Heart FC pair.
General Manager, Football Operations John Didulica expressed his sympathy for Colosimo and Heffernan, saying the duo had fought hard to keep their FIFA World Cup dreams alive.
“It is very disappointing for Simon and Dean to miss out on winning selection to the extended Qantas Socceroos squad for South Africa,” he said.
“They should however be proud of, firstly, how close they came to making the final team and, secondly, the efforts they went to in order to be considered. The club was aware how much it meant to both of the guys to gain selection.
“Mr Verbeek has an unenviable role in deciding the fate of so many footballers, and ultimately, he needs to select the type of player he feels maximises Australia-s chances of doing well. Obviously, we wish him and the squad the absolute best in South Africa.”
Qantas Socceroos preliminary squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup:
Michael BEAUCHAMP, Marco BRESCIANO, Tim CAHILL, Nick CARLE, David CARNEY, Scott CHIPPERFIELD, Jason CULINA, Brett EMERTON, Adam FEDERICI, Eugene GALEKOVIC, Richard GARCIA, Vincenzo GRELLA, James HOLLAND, Brett HOLMAN, Mile JEDINAK, Brad JONES, Joshua KENNEDY, Harry KEWELL, Shane LOWRY, Scott MCDONALD, Mark MILLIGAN, Craig MOORE, Lucas NEILL, Jade NORTH, Thomas OAR, Nikita RUKAVYTSYA, Mark SCHWARZER, Carl VALERI, Dario VIDOSIC, Luke WILKSHIRE, Rhys WILLIAMS.
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