Postecoglou, Klinsmann, Prandelli...

So Ange Postecoglou joined the club of Jurgen Klinsmann and Cesare Prandelli. USMNT head coach shocked soccer World dropping Landon Donovan out from the final 23-man roster while Prandelli infuriated Italy’s fans after he left Giuseppe Rossi at home selecting the low-keyed Lorenzo Insigne in his final 23 for Brazil. Australia’s manager made similar, though decisions as he left out forward  Josh Kennedy, the man who certified Australia’s qualification for the World Cup, and promising attacking midfielder Tom Rogic, one of the most gifted players of this generation. Instead, Postecoglou has gone with an experimental Australian side, also cutting veteran midfielder Luke Wilkshire. As Prandelli, Postecoglou put physical shape as his No. 1 selection criteria. Kennedy has been troubled by a back injury while Rogic wasn't at 100 percent after he didn’t endure playing time during his spells at Celtic this season. He also struggled to regain his fitness despite a loan at Melbourne Victory. Since his appointment, Postecoglou never denied that he would have take a look to the domestic league in order to build his National team. And he did it as the Australia’s head coach selected a squad featuring 7 players performing for A-League clubs. Kennedy’s omission opened the doors for Newcastle Jets forward Adam Taggart. Wilkshire’s cut was also a surprising one as it left an inexperienced backline featuring only one defender, Matthew Spiranovic, with more than 10 caps under his belt. Postecoglou’s decision to don’t include Rogic in his final 23-man squad left a place for Swindon Town’s attacking midfielder Massimo Luongo. Luongo impressed playing in the middle of the field during Australia's warm-ups and his performances convinced Postecoglou to includ him in the final roster. Postecoglou has seen how hard both Kennedy and Rogic worked to get shaped in time for the World Cup but it wasn’t enough as both wasn’t able to recover their fit. So Postecoglou ended all the speculation cutting both players while veterans Mark Bresciano and Tim Cahill have been selected. One can argue if Postecoglou has made the right call but just the World Cup tournament can provide an answer to the question. The same will happen for Klinsmann and Prandelli. For sure, Postecoglou is in good company…

Australia's final 23-man World Cup squad

Goalkeepers Mat Ryan (Club Bruges), Mitchell Langerak (Borussia Dortmund), Eugene Galekovic (Adelaide United)
Defenders - Jason Davidson (Heracles Almelo), Matthew Spiranovic (Western Sydney Wanderers), Ivan Franjic (Brisbane Roar), Bailey Wright (Preston North End), Ryan McGowan (Shandong Luneng), Alex Wilkinson (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors)
Midfielders Oliver Bozanic (Luzern), Mark Bresciano (Al Gharafa, Qatar), James Holland (Austria Vienna), Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace), Mark Milligan (Melbourne Victory), Dario Vidosic (Sion), Matt McKay (Brisbane Roar), James Troisi (Atalanta), Massimo Luongo (Swindon)
Forwards Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls), Matthew Leckie (FSV Frankfurt 1899), Tommy Oar (Utrecht), Ben Halloran (Fortuna Duesseldorf), Adam Taggart (Newcastle Jets).