Patrick Aussems deserves credit. Here’s why!
I understand that after such a cruel late goal and a battering from our fiercest of rivals, we are left asking questions. It’s very easy to search for negatives in such circumstances (as football tends to be a very emotional game). But please bear with me when I say Patrick Aussems and his coaching team is doing a fantastic job, and we should take this opportunity to lend our support to our team and his philosophy. Here’s why…
1. He’s giving youth a chance
When Patrick joined the national team, he quickly asserted to the media that he would be selecting players purely based on merit and league performance and not by reputation alone. With this, we quickly had the competition for places that fans had long demanded for. There was no longer a ‘safe seat’ for the players. Selection was gruelling, and some players such as the fan-favourite Karna Limbu, failed to impress. Despite all this, we managed to end up with a fairly young squad. I say ‘fairly’. It’s incredibly young! The average age of the Nepal national team right now is 23. Though with youth comes inexperience, but I think there is a method to this.
Along with the decorated youth-development duos Bal Gopal Maharjan (BGM) and Upendra Man Singh (UMS), both of which have created promising youth squads, Patrick has an extensive project to catapult young players into the full national side. But also, as Aussems stated upon arrival, he has agents in Europe asking about talents in Nepal all the time. This is exactly the person and exactly the right philosophy we need for the national team.
2. He ended the goal-drought
It has taken two years for Nepal to finally end the cursed deadlock which had plagued the national team into firing blanks. And it was none other than the 17 year old SAFF U19 winner, Bimal Magar who dealt the blow against India in the 3rd minute. Sure, one could argue that this was somewhat expected for any manager in a new tournament. But when Nepal isn’t scoring for 2 years, confidence hits rock bottom. It takes something special to reinvigorate the team into scoring (and winning) again. I believe that person is Patrick Aussems.
3. Added attacking flair
Nepal has never really been a defensively minded team, despite being constant underdogs. Nevertheless, over the years the squad has proven to be quite toothless when going forward (as evidenced in the 2 year goal drought). However despite lacking the finishing quality, Nepal has shown some real attacking intent, which I haven’t seen for a long time. This is a very resurgent and fearless young team, and tournaments such as this can only improve them further through added experience. Patrick’s task is now to make sure he finds/develops the players to work to his system, which hopefully would create a more rounded and dynamic team for the future.
4. Rebuilding the team for the future
With the exodus of 5 critical national team players (including the talisman skipper, Sagar Thapa), a huge hole had been left in the national squad since the last SAFF Championship in 2013. Therefore whoever took over the job from Stefanowski would always be facing a tall order in rebuilding the Nepal national team to be competitive and respected by its rivals. Over the years, the national team has tumbled down the FIFA rankings, been fraught with scandal, and shown little or no improvement. It was clear that something new had to be done. With the appointment of a Belgian coach, along with the only player in the national team to break into Europe (via Belgium), it appeared that Patrick Aussems is a perfect fit for developing a European style of play for the team through (arguably) the future skipper, Bimal Magar. So far, we’ve seen remnants of a more attacking style with some intent. We’ve also seen good chemistry between the front line and full-backs, however the defence is still incredibly shaky. Although I’m sure with time and patience, this will be solved.
5. Nepal are now strong contenders for SAF Games
Unlike previous Nepal squads which was full of deadwood, this youthful squad is a team for future tournaments such as the upcoming 2016 SAF Games in India, which will primarily accept youth players (U23). As this team already have tournament-level experience, Nepal now have a strong footing in achieving a medal in this tournament. Whereas for the SAFF Suzuki Cup, it was always going to be a shot in the dark. Aussems has been incredibly strategic in that he has effectively used the SAFF Suzuki Cup as an implicit training camp to develop youth players to win future titles.
I can see great things happening for this team. What do you think? Is Patrick Aussems the saviour of Nepal or part of a long-line of problems left behind by the Ganesh Thapa era? Leave a comment below if you agree or disagree.
