there is a couple of guys who look like they`ll squander their opportunity. maybe they`ll have 10 year professional careers, maybe even play overseas. but they won`t live up to their initial potential/hype. looking at you milligan. sarkies. maybe patafta.

on the bright side, thanks to the depth (relatively speaking) of aussie talent, we haven`t been left with a talent hole because these guys aren`t working out. these guys have been passed.

mr milligan, don`t bother looking over your shoulder for the other young centrehalves who want your spot. they are already ahead of you in the pecking order.

and kristian sarkies, do you have incriminating photos of graham arnold? how did you get into the olympic squad? am i exaggerating? yeah, probably, but sarkies has not lived up to his talent.

other honorable lost boy mentions – kilkenny, wesolowski …

a handful of players were getting minimal playing time in the a-league. most were just sitting on a-league benches or were at the AIS or state institutions …

but now? a lot of these young guys are major contributors to their a-league teams. they are playing, learning and maturing.

and there is a second group of players who didn`t make the olympic squad – not just djite and burns, but also guys like williams, vidosic, kruse, zullo, minniecon, downey. i am sure i am left somebody out. patafta, holland, ward, wesolowski … i still left out some decent players, didn`t i?

whilst there are no messis in this group, it is a larger group of talented, contributing players than many would have expected based on what they saw of this age group at the start of the olympic qualifying campaign.

don`t know who exactly, or how many, but SOMEONE will kick on and become a useful member of the socceroos 2010 campaign. you`d expect them to be core members of the 2014 campaign. i am hoping that it will be someone who can run at defenders or make the killer pass. a little bit of magic would make me smile.