Socceroos appoint Osieck
German veteran Holger Osieck was Wednesday surprisingly named Australia's new football coach over a host of better-known candidates.
Osieck, 61, was Franz Beckenbauer's assistant when Germany won the 1990 World Cup and led Canada to the 2000 CONCACAF title.
He also coached Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds to victory in Asia's 2007 AFC Champions League, but was fired after a poor start to the following season.
"It's a great pleasure for me to be here and I feel very much honoured that I'm your choice," Osieck told journalists via videolink from Slovenia, where the Socceroos are playing a friendly.
Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy, who reportedly also considered former Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira and ex-Cameroon boss Paul Le Guen, said he had not sought a "big name".
"It wasn't how famous he was, it was what history he had, what kind of person he is, does he get on with the team, what kind of contribution will he make to the game," Lowy said.
"This was the criteria, rather than a big name."
Osieck replaces Dutchman Pim Verbeek, whose contract expired after the World Cup in South Africa, where Australia failed to reach the knock-out stages.
His first major assignment is January's Asian Cup in Qatar, where Australia will be among the favourites as the region's top-ranked team.
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