If the resident football gurus were asked by their circle of friends and family a few weeks ago what they thought of Australia’s chances of emerging from the group stages at the 2010 World Cup, they might have responded with sobering words of realism; the Socceroos are, after all, placed in one of the most difficult groups at the World Cup. Consider the lack of form shown by Pim Verbeek’s men recently, with concerns about the form and shape of a number of the national team’s staple stars highlighted in a poor outing against New Zealand and the opening group game against Germany looks a potentially disastrous one. If the likes of Harry Kewell, Marco Bresciano, Brett Emerton, Craig Moore and Vince Grella aren’t at their best for that June 13 date, it could be all over before the second group game against Ghana even kicks off. These players represent vital clogs in Verbeek’s Starting XI; the injury concerns plaguing the Socceroos are not to fringe players but to the team’s genuine superstars. More so than the perceived unimaginative style of play championed by their Dutch manager, it will be the state of the players that will have the biggest impact on the result when the analysis and predictions stop as that first whistle is blown. Now, back to the opinions of all of those resident analysts out there when pestered by more casual fans eager for good news about Australia’s chances ahead of the tournament. There can be no doubt that their answer has changed ever so slightly with two pieces of recent news: the injuries to Germany captain Michael Ballack and Ghana talisman Michael Essien. When recently quizzed about their absence, Tim Cahill on both occasions played a conservative media card by insisting they wouldn’t make their respective sides any easier to beat. Don’t believe a word of it. The reality of the situation is that at international level, particularly when it comes to a stage as big as the World Cup, football can be defined by the finest margins. These are psychological as much as they are tactical and in that regard the sheer absence of Essien and Ballack from their respective sides will leave a void that won’t be filled by any other player for the sheer fact that they don’t command the same reputation. A number of alternatives have been suggested; Clark Whitney in a piece on the issue for Goal.com spoke about the time being now for Bastian Schweinsteiger to make the step up from “star player” to “team leader”. Yet in the same breath even he admits that Ballack cannot be replaced. “Of course, when it comes to players of Ballack’s stature, there never is a like-for-like swap. Still, as the only true box-to-box midfielder available in Joachim Loew’s squad, Schweinsteiger most closely fits the mold of his injured compatriot. “The Bayern Munich star is a bit more apt to dribble than Ballack and will direct die Mannschaft’s build-up at a higher tempo, but will otherwise offer the same ball control and distribution that has characterized Germany under Ballack’s captaincy. “That much we know after watching Schweinsteiger reinvent himself as a holding midfielder this season, a position in which he has established himself among Europe’s finest.” In another piece discussing the issue, Peter Staunton provided a list of potential replacements for Ballack, with Stuttgart’s Sami Khedira at the top. Of those five players only three will be traveling to the tournament as part of Joachim Loew’s squad and their ages are 23 (Khedira), 20 (Tim Kroos) and 22 (Christian Traesch) respectively. By contrast, this was to be Ballack’s last World Cup and at 33 years old, was a veteran of two World Cups and three European Championships. Aside from his obvious abilities as a footballer it is his experience that would have proved invaluable in South Africa, especially when you consider the relative youth of their squad this time around. “I think, he is much more important, because: Joachim Loew nominated a lots of youth players,” says Goal.com Germany editor Nils Reschke. “And he didn’t nominate Torsten Frings. So, Ballack is the only player who has a huge presence inside and outside the place. “There is no-one who ‘fights’ against media attacks and helps the young players with these possible attacks and pressure.” Whilst Reschke says Ballack doesn’t command universal popularity in Germany for his slightly conservative style on the pitch, the captain has been at his best for the national team in recent times. Losing Ballack, Germany are without a defensive aerial shield in front of their back four – which could be crucial given the Socceroos might start with a front pairing of Josh Kennedy and Tim Cahill in-behind – while his role as a constructor in midfield was similarly important. Yet the absence of Ballack might turn Germany into a totally different and perhaps more threatening animal. “Maybe they will now play with younger, fresher and more attractive players,” Reschke continues. “Maybe Loew will also choose a more offensive tactic without a second defense midfielder, only with Schweinsteiger and then two offensive players like Mesut Ozil and Toni Kroos or Marko Marin.” As it stands it seems that Khedira will line up alongside Schweinsteiger in a dual defensive midfield role to compensate for Ballack’s absence, though Reschke says a defensive approach from Loew could even see Germany’s passage from the group stages come under serious threat. Meanwhile, Goal’s resident Ghana expert Kent Mensah has described a Ghana team without Michael Essien as “a dying patient running on a life support machine.” Despite the presence of European stars Sully Muntari and Stephen Appiah to compensate for a man whose allegiances have come into the question in the past by Ghana fans (who believe he prioritizes his club career with Chelsea at times) Mensah has labeled Essien as the ‘beating heart of the Black Stars’. Like Ballack before him, there are a number of alternatives to replace the dynamic midfielder but none can serve as a direct substitute. The Ghanaians will be buoyed by the fact that they reached the African Cup of Nations final without their talisman but his absence will have an undoubted psychological impact on the entire squad, particularly its younger members. None would be better placed to speak about the effect of the absence of such stars than Adrian Alston, a member of the 1974 Socceroo squad that took on a West Germany outfit lead by Franz Beckenbauer. Able to appreciate the impact of iconic national team captains, the former striker says that whilst the tactical approach against the Germans won’t differ, the psychological impact on both sets of players will be most telling. Can such an advantage translate into something more material on the pitch? Much will depend upon how the German and Ghanaian players adapt to the absence of their absent stars but ultimately the burden will rest with the Socceroos in exposing such a weakness. The problem, of course, is that Australia has its own well-document problems with playing personnel. Unlike its opponents, it does not have the quality in depth to be able to replace and compensate for the absence or even underperformance of the likes of Harry Kewell. Perhaps then the real question isn’t how Verbeek and his coaching staff take advantage of the absence of Ballack and Essien but how they prevent Australia’s own talismen from suffering a similar fate? By Chris Paraskevas www.goal.com