The thought of Craig Moore donning an Adelaide United jersey might be frightful to some fans of the Brisbane Roar, but it’s one of many steps coach Frank Farina will look at to ensure his skipper is given the best chance possible of taking part in the 2010 World Cup.
Moore, who came out of international retirement in October last year, has been unable to make a claim for a spot in the Socceroos squad recently due to a lack of first-team football, a result of the extensive A-League off-season.
With another lengthy break scheduled between the end of the 2009/10 A-League season in March 2010 and the start of the World Cup in June, Farina has stated his intention of loaning the veteran at season’s end.
“I think there are options, he could possibly go on loan into Asia or who knows, maybe Melbourne Victory or Adelaide might want to use him for the Champions League,” Farina said.
“But there are options there for Craig and I’m sure we’ll find a solution before the end of the season.”
Farina stated he would have no second thoughts about bidding a temporary goodbye to the veteran, saying it would be the best move for the club, the individual and the national side.
“No issues, not if it’s going to assist Craig as well as the national team, it’s not as if we’ll be playing against them in the Champions League, so I wouldn’t have a problem with that,” he said.
“As long as Craig is fit, and playing obviously, I’m sure he’d be one of the first that Pim (Verbeek) would be looking at.”
As momentum and expectation starts to build ahead of Socceroos’ second consecutive World Cup appearance, Farina hinted the current outfit could outdo the 2006 squad that progressed to the Round of 16.
“It depends largely on injury and form, but if we have all of our top players fit and ready to go I think they’ll be going in most probably even better than what they went into 2006 with.”
The former national coach also weighed into the debate about Verbeek’s no-frills approach, rubbishing criticism of the Socceroos coach.
“Pim’s been strong, he doesn’t care what other people are saying, his brief was to get Australia to the World Cup and he’s done that, so in my eyes he has been a success.”
“You can’t argue with the substance and look, you’re never going to please everyone, everybody out there has an opinion and you’re not going to please them.”
“We’ve qualified for the World Cup, so that’s absolutely fantastic for not only the national team but football in general in this country.”
“I don-t think anyone really cares how we get to the world cup or how we got there, we should just be happy that we’re there again and we’ve got a good side.”
Moore has made a successful recovery from a hamstring injury sustained while leading the Socceroos in the Asian Cup qualifier against Kuwait on March 5.
The defender played in a local trial match and will take part in the Roar’s first real preseason encounter against North Queensland in Mackay on Saturday.
“Craig is doing fantastic.”
“He played only 45 (minutes) the other night, but he’s going really well, fit and he could even play for the national team I think,” Farina smirked.
