Behich: Socceroos refreshed and refocused after family visit

Aziz Behich says a visit from the players’ families in Dubai has given the Caltex Socceroos a major boost ahead of Friday night’s (AEDT) crunch AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019™ clash against Palestine.

After switching camp from Al Ain to Dubai ahead of the second Group B encounter at the Rashid Stadium, the players were given some time off to spend with family members who had traveled to the UAE for the tournament.

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And after the disappointment of the opening game defeat against Jordan, Behich said it was just what was needed for the squad to reboot and reenergise for the key clash.

“It was great, all the boys and the staff had their partners or family down,” the all-action left-back told www.socceroos.com.au.

“I was lucky enough to have my parents down from Melbourne and it’s great to see them, I don’t see them often obviously plying the trade overseas, so it was great for them to come in and it just breaks up the camp a little bit.

“We’re a very family-orientated team. Obviously family always comes first and when they are not here, us as a group here, all involved from staff to players, we’re another big family,” Behich added.

“Arnie is very big on that and with our family and their support is what drives us every day.”

Having analysed the Jordan game as a squad, Behich believes there was plenty of positives to take from the match, especially the second-half display.

“At the backend of the game when our quality started to show, we started running over them and that’s when our chances started coming,” the PSV defender said.

“We started the game slow, our build-up was not the tempo that we’re usually at and that played into their hands.

“But as the game went on we started moving the ball quicker and making sure they were chasing around and that’s when we started getting on top of them.

The 28-year-old added: “It’s full focus on Palestine now, Jordan is behind us it’s not what we expected not what we wanted but just really looking forward to the next one.”

(Images courtesy of the Asian Football Confederation, www.the-afc.com)