Sydney FC coach Vitezslav Lavicka is adamant Socceroos Alex Brosque and Simon Colosimo will not walk out on the club next month to secure loan deals overseas in the hope of boosting their World Cup chances.
A day after national team boss Pim Verbeek named the pair in his squad to meet Kuwait in an Asian Cup qualifier next month – and strongly hinted players would need to be playing beyond the A-League season to make his World Cup line-up – Lavicka declared there would be no departures in the January transfer window.
With Sydney moving to joint top of the A-League table after beating Central Coast 1-0 on Wednesday night, Lavicka said the players want to see out the Sky Blues’ championship push.
“We know Alex and Simon are playing for the Socceroos but we are going to keep them and keep going this season,” said Lavicka, who caught up with Verbeek after full-time.
“We have a serious (chance) to have good success this season and the players want to play for Sydney FC.”
“It’s no problem for us. I think they won’t ask us (for a release).”
“We (will) help them after this season (to have a) good preparation before the World Cup.”
Sydney FC skipper and former Socceroo Steve Corica believes Brosque, who scored the winner against the Mariners, should be part of the World Cup squad regardless of where he plays in the next six months.
He doesn’t believe staying at Sydney will count against him.
“He doesn’t want to go. Obviously he wants to go to the World Cup but he wants to stay until the end and see the season out,” Corica said of his in-form team-mate.
“It’s a tough one but he’s said himself he wants to stay until the end and it’s important for us to keep him.”
“If he does well and he wins the championship with Sydney that’s going to help him as well.”
“They (Brosque and Colosimo) want to do the best for the club. They want to win something.”
“The World Cup is important as well – everyone wants to play in a World Cup – and both of them would love to be in the squad.”
“But who’s to say if they go in January that they’ll be in the squad?”
Central Coast coach Lawrie McKinna’s thoughts were thousands of miles away from a World Cup after a fourth-straight defeat.
The Mariners felt they deserved a point against Sydney but the ball just wouldn’t fall for them.
“We started off alright but we didn’t support our front men,” he said.
“We played better in the second half and a draw probably would have been a fair result.”
“It’s getting pretty drastic for us now. We need to find a win anyway it comes against Wellington (on New Year’s Eve).”
