The wait is over. There is a new captain at the helm. Everybody can forget about panning Mr (Pimms) Andlemonade and move forward withthe very under the radar Holgar Osieck.

Who? That’s right. Holgar Osiek beat out a formidable list of contenders with names being thrown around like Frank Rijkaard, Paul Le Guen, Martin O’Neill and Jose Pekerman. And pundits and public alike are scrambling for the google oracle to tell them just who this German man who has the growing expectations of nation now upon him actually is.

Frank Lowry – in an exquisite case of name dropping – is citing a direct line to footballing legend Franz Beckenbauer, saying that he consulted the great man about his one-time protege before giving him the nod. Osiek is being hailed as more than a coach and there is a little of the talismanic panacea about Lowry’s words that he was looking for an educator of both players and coaches and that Osiek fit the bill.

Of course the new boss didn’t have to wait long to cast his eye over the troops though it’s doubtful that he was too pleased. In a match billed kind of like Pepsi – the choice of the new generation – the Soccernews were soundly beaten by a dominant Slovenia: sloppy, mistake-prone, wayward with the few chances they did create and  in the end lucky to shake hands only two to the bad. Yazz and the Plastic Population sung it best, The Only Way is Up!!!

The Dutch experiment is now officially over. It delivered qualification for two World Cups, left us with a deep love of Guus (in whom we still trust) though not so much he-who-came-after, Pim. Now all hope lies in German precision (and other such cultural stereotypes).

The German has a big job too: remedy the disaster that was the last Asian Cup campaign, steer generational change, and set sail for the carnival in Brasil in 2014….

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