Mile called up for latest World Cup Qualifier

[fish]

Central Coast Mariners midfielder Mile Jedinak has again been called upon to assist with the Qantas Socceroos 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification quest, having been drafted into Pim Verbeeks 24-man squad that will face Bahrain in Manama next Thursday morning (AEDT).

Initially included in Australias shadow squad for their ninth qualifier on the road to South Africa, Jedinak received a call up to the official travelling party after Blackburn Rovers midfielder Vince Grella was ruled out of the trip to the Bahraini capital with a hamstring strain.

Jedinak is now in line to collect his fourth cap for the Qantas Socceroos, having added appearances against Ghana and China PR in Sydney mid-year to his debut display away to Singapore in March.

Aside from his three starts in green and gold, Jedinak has been involved as an unused substitute in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against China PR in Kunming, Iraq in Dubai and Qatar in both Doha and Brisbane.

One of the Mariners most consistent performers in recent years and arguably the standout player of the Hyundai A-League 2008/09 season to date, Jedinak is one three home based inclusions for next weeks clash, along with Newcastle Jets pair Mark Milligan and Jade North.

Jedinak will depart for Manama after Saturdays Hyundai A-League fixture against Adelaide United at Bluetongue Stadium and will fly direct to Melbourne after Thursday mornings match to rejoin his Mariners team-mates for Friday weeks clash against the Melbourne Victory at the Telstra Dome.

"We extend our congratulations to Mile for his deserved call up to the Qantas Socceroos and wish Pim Verbeek and his squad all the very best in Manama," said Mariners Executive Chairman Lyall Gorman.

"There is little doubt that Mile belongs to the highest echelon of players in the Hyundai A-League and is most deserving of this recognition and Im sure that with the likes of Mile in the squad, Australias 2010 FIFA World Cup destiny is in very good hands."

The Mariners will resume their Hyundai A-League 2008/09 campaign at their Bluetongue Stadium home on Saturday, 15 November, when they host AFC Champions League finalists Adelaide United. Kick off is at 7.30pm.

Prior to the main game, the Mariners National Youth League 2008/09 campaign will continue with a fixture against Adelaide United. Kick off is at 4.45pm, gates open at 4.30pm.

 

[ponno]

Thats great news - and we dont lose him for any a league games!! on ya Mile

 

[midfielder]

Jedi is going to be so hard to keep ....... IMO along with Matty Sperio will make up Australia's central defense post 2010...and I can see him in Europe within 18 months .

 

[-AL-]

sorry if it said in the large article but i only skimmed over it. so is jedi playing this saturday or not?

 

[bikinigirl]

sorry if it said in the large article but i only skimmed over it. so is jedi playing this saturday or not?

. sorry for not answering your question but you didn't even need to read the 'large' article ... perhaps the one line post directly under it  :

. apologies but it just shits me how people write a post ... which everybody else then has to read and perhaps reply to because they were too lazy to read something written directly above ... there was only 3 posts ffs 

 

[Ursus]

sorry if it said in the large article but i only skimmed over it. so is jedi playing this saturday or not?

: : : : : : : : : : :

 

[nikko]

Jedinak will depart for Manama after Saturdays Hyundai A-League

 

[Bex]

Jedi is going to be so hard to keep ....... IMO along with Matty Sperio will make up Australia's central defense post 2010...and I can see him in Europe within 18 months .

Jedi for Marquee? Its probably not in the spirit of what a marquee player is supposed to be, however, other teams are using questionable marquees to retain good players, so why not us.

 

[marinermick]

Jedi is going to be so hard to keep ....... IMO along with Matty Sperio will make up Australia's central defense post 2010...and I can see him in Europe within 18 months .

Jedi for Marquee? Its probably not in the spirit of what a marquee player is supposed to be, however, other teams are using questionable marquees to retain good players, so why not us.

mile has had more caps lately than sackwacker

 

[Deej]

Jedi is going to be so hard to keep ....... IMO along with Matty Sperio will make up Australia's central defense post 2010...and I can see him in Europe within 18 months .

Jedi for Marquee? Its probably not in the spirit of what a marquee player is supposed to be, however, other teams are using questionable marquees to retain good players, so why not us.

mile has had more caps lately than sackwacker

Interesting suggestion and I heard it on foxsports I think, but is it time that the HAL consider an Australian marquee and overseas marquee? Do we have the money yet for it? We have the youth marquee spot too.

 

[Alicia]

Jedi is going to be so hard to keep ....... IMO along with Matty Sperio will make up Australia's central defense post 2010...and I can see him in Europe within 18 months .

Jedi for Marquee? Its probably not in the spirit of what a marquee player is supposed to be, however, other teams are using questionable marquees to retain good players, so why not us.

mile has had more caps lately than sackwacker

Interesting suggestion and I heard it on foxsports I think, but is it time that the HAL consider an Australian marquee and overseas marquee? Do we have the money yet for it? We have the youth marquee spot too.

Sounds like a good idea, Australian marquee and O/S Marquee.. 

Only three clubs are utilising the junior marquee, Melb, Newcastle, Sydney... i think

 

[bikinigirl]

but is it time that the HAL consider an Australian marquee and overseas marquee?

. interesting concept

We have the youth marquee spot too.

. can someone clarify what the age criteria are for 'youth marquee'? i thought it was loosely based on olyroos reps - but where do we stand now, or for the next couple of years in this regard?

 

[Jesus]

Jedi is going to be so hard to keep ....... IMO along with Matty Sperio will make up Australia's central defense post 2010...and I can see him in Europe within 18 months .

Jedi for Marquee? Its probably not in the spirit of what a marquee player is supposed to be, however, other teams are using questionable marquees to retain good players, so why not us.

mile has had more caps lately than sackwacker

Interesting suggestion and I heard it on foxsports I think, but is it time that the HAL consider an Australian marquee and overseas marquee? Do we have the money yet for it? We have the youth marquee spot too.

Considering only melbourne and us are making a profit. As well as the increased cost of the youth league. I doubt that that will come in for a couple of years.

Since no one seems to be bothered with an OS marquee at this stage, it seems pretty mute.

 

[Jesus]

but is it time that the HAL consider an Australian marquee and overseas marquee?

. interesting concept

We have the youth marquee spot too.

. can someone clarify what the age criteria are for 'youth marquee'? i thought it was loosely based on olyroos reps - but where do we stand now, or for the next couple of years in this regard?

u'23

 

[bikinigirl]

but is it time that the HAL consider an Australian marquee and overseas marquee?

. interesting concept

We have the youth marquee spot too.

. can someone clarify what the age criteria are for 'youth marquee'? i thought it was loosely based on olyroos reps - but where do we stand now, or for the next couple of years in this regard?

u'23

. so for the season/seasons covered by the contract they have to be eligible to play u23s (what i suspected). which i suggest also means the majority of the recent class of olyroos would be ineligible for youth marquee status next season

 

[Alicia]

Mile high all the way to Melbourne via Manama

Sebastian Hassett
November 14, 2008

Ready to fly Mile Jedinak has a busy week ahead.

WHEN Mile Jedinak takes his place in the heart of the Central Coast Mariners' midfield for their clash against Adelaide United at Bluetongue Stadium tomorrow night, it will mark the start of a hellish week for the 24-year-old.

Once he's finished dealing with the visitors' raft of physical players, including Angelo Costanzo, Sasa Ognenovski, Jonas Salley, Cristiano, Michael Valkanis and Robbie Cornthwaite, he'll head to recovery on Sunday morning before driving to Sydney to catch a plane bound for Dubai that night.

He'll arrive there at 8.30am on Monday morning before transferring to a flight to Manama, where he'll link up with the 23 other members of Pim Verbeek's Socceroos squad for Wednesday night's World Cup qualifier against Bahrain.

In the scorching desert heat, he'll undergo at least two training sessions in an attempt to win a place in the starting XI - a realistic chance now that first-choice defensive midfielder Vince Grella has pulled out with a hamstring injury.

Regardless of whether he plays or not, Jedinak will barely have time to shower - let alone enjoy a proper recovery - before packing his bags again and heading back to the airport for a 3am flight to Dubai. There he'll wait for a flight back to Melbourne, where his teammates will be already preparing for Friday night's clash against Melbourne Victory. He'll land at Tullamarine at 6:30 on the morning of the game.

Jedinak's head might be split across several time zones and his body weakened after two matches on either side of the globe, but all being well, he'll take his usual place in front of the Mariners defenders as they seek to steal three points from the table-topping Victorians in front of their vociferous home crowd. Probably a good thing he's had the past fortnight off then.

"I'll definitely be taking it easy until the game, especially after the schedule I've copped now," Jedinak said yesterday. "But there's no way I'll be whingeing about it. It sure involves a fair bit of travel but when it comes to representing your country, it's the highest thing you can probably do in football and the greatest honour.

"On Saturday I'll play my normal game but I'll take a little bit extra notice of the recovery protocols than usual. If I can do all that after each game, I reckon that will be enough to get my body through it all."

Despite the jet lag that's bound to catch him somewhere, Jedinak is confident there's an age-old cure that could help him through the week.

"If we can defeat Adelaide it will be terrific, and then if we can win against Bahrain I'll be feeling so great that I'll probably settle in and fall asleep straight away on the plane," he said. "Playing on the weekend before is not ideal, but everyone's in the same situation to some degree and you've just got to deal with it. Having last week off for me was definitely a good thing and hopefully it will hold me in good stead."

Despite making several appearances for Australia's under-20 side in 2003, Jedinak was out of the spotlight for some time before the Mariners spotted him playing for NSW Premier League club Sydney United in 2006. After signing on a short-term deal he hasn't looked back, and these days seems to be involved in most Socceroos squads since making his international debut against Singapore in March.

"I've been involved a few times now but I wouldn't call myself a regular just yet," Jedinak said.

Even so, he just loves being around the national squad and absorbing Verbeek's wisdom.

"He likes to have a chat to you and I always look forward to what he'll say," Jedinak said. "I'm all ears for his advice and I'll hang on every word he says."

The hectic schedule would invariably draw howls of disapproval if Jedinak played for a European club, but his coach Lawrie McKinna is quite happy to stomach it.

"He will be fine, he's completely up for it," McKinna said. "Obviously we don't know if he's going to be starting in Bahrain, but we'll see how he is after the game to see how he pulls up.

"Hopefully he can go over there, get involved and then come back and play a part down in Melbourne because he's hugely important to our squad."

 

[ponno]

what a champ - i hope for everyones sake we win on sat night and also on wed night so he can get some shut eye on the way home...

 

[Jorome Alexander Bennett]

My Mile man love could not be stronger.
He is a great man.
I respect him so much.

 

[FFC Mariner]

Is it just me or does anyone else start singing the song every time they read/hear the word Manama?

Benny Hill or the Muppets depending on ur age.

No? Just me then

 

[T]

Always the Muppets version..... but then it doesn't tale much to put that song in my head