Socceroos legend Mark Schwarzer praises Alessandro Circati and Nestory Irankunda, full of hope for young guns

Socceroos great Mark Schwarzer has spoken of his excitement over the next generation of Australian stars, including Perth-product and recent captain Alessandro Circati. And Australia’s most-capped male footballer has hailed his former defensive lieutenant Tony Popovic for his instant impact as national team coach ahead of the looming FIFA World Cup in North America. Schwarzer was in Perth last week as part of English giants Chelsea’s The Famous CFC tour, presented by Coors, which saw the legendary goalkeeper regale WA-based Blues fans with stories about his former club. The only non-Briton to have made more than 500 English Premier League appearances, Schwarzer played behind some of the best defenders in the world during a sparkling 26-year career. And the former Middlesbrough, Fulham, Chelsea and Leicester shot-stopper likes what he sees in Circati, the 22 year-old West Australian centre-back who became the youngest Socceroos skipper in 44 years in Setptember. “Popa (Popovic) obviously rates him very highly, I’ve heard him talk about how highly he rates him, that he’s already shown incredible leadership qualities,” Schwarzer told The West Australian. “Having a player of that quality is really important and valuable. If you’re playing week-in, week out in Serie A as a defender, you’ve got something about you. He looks the real deal. “It’s trying not to get too carried away with it, keeping your feet on the ground; even as supporters, trying to manage the expectation because he’s a kid, but a kid that’s doing really well. “He’s obviously got a good head on his shoulder. He seems really calm, very cool.” Circati will not play Socceroos’ November games against Colombia and Venezuela in the USA after he hurt his ankle playing for club side Parma. He joins an Australian injury list which includes rising left-back Jordan Bos and Circati’s fellow former high school alumni Jacob Italiano, while defender Harry Souttar is on the comeback trail from a torn Achilles. But despite present injury concerns, Schwarzer — a recent inductee into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame — was excited for the future of the squad ahead of next year’s World Cup, particularly Bos and teenage prodigy Nestory Irankunda. “Irankunda, what a player — someone that can do something from nothing. We haven’t had that kind of player in the past,” Schwarzer said. “We’ve got some exciting young players coming through, some really talented young players coming through that have been able to been given an opportunity to play — not just in friendlies, but also in World Cup qualifiers. “That’s really important, that you give these guys an opportunity to play in a really high-pressure situation, it’s all part of the learning curve. “What we’re seeing now, we’re seeing a good mixture of talented young players who are not just playing at lower league or not playing at their clubs; they’re playing week-in, week-out, and also playing well for the national team.” Schwarzer said he was not surprised Popovic had made such a quick impact at national team level after taking over the Socceroos role a little over a year ago, having steered them out of a sticky situation and into automatic qualification for the World Cup. “His detail, discipline, professionalism was always incredible. Popa would say himself, he was not — like myself — the most gifted player, but we worked incredibly hard to become pretty decent players, and Popa has continued that in his management skills,” Schwarzer said. “He gets the best out of people, he demands a lot and players deliver. We’ve seen with the Socceroos, the players have really bought into his coaching methods and the change from the minute he arrived to getting points on the board was what it was all about. “It wasn’t necessarily about how well they were going to play, it was about how they were going to get the points that they needed to qualify for the World Cup. “From day one, the minute he arrived in the job as the national team manager, he’s done an absolute brilliant job.”