Socceroos coach Tony Popovic plans tactical advantage using controversial hydration breaks

“Four quarters is very different,” he said.

“We’ll have to come up with a few ideas and strategies around practicing certain parts of our game, whether it’s just prior to the break and after the break, how will that look? How quickly can we get back into the rhythm of the game and just accept that it’s happening, not dwell on it … how can we best utilise it, is there a way that we can get an advantage over our opponent before and after those breaks?

“The rules and regulations are constantly changing, and there are things that we’ll all agree with and things that we will question. [I] just accept that this is a decision that’s been made, and my mind goes straight away … how do we make the most of this? As opposed to dwelling on whether we like it or dislike it, and how it’s a negative for the game. Is there an advantage that we can gain?”

The search for answers to these questions and others has taken Popovic beyond his own code.

Last week, he had breakfast in Tokyo with former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones for advice on how to manage a group of players over the five- or six-week timeframe of a World Cup campaign, something he has never had to do. Popovic seems mindful that his intense style works in short bursts during international windows, but that it might grate over a longer period.

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“When you’ve coached at least four different nations, you’ve won a World Cup, you’ve done many five-to-six week preparations,” Popovic said of Jones.

“He was very open and showed me a lot of information and how he learned from things that they did wrong, in terms of whether it’s family and friends, or whether it’s not giving enough days off to the staff or the players.

“We want to hit the first game at the highest level and hit the ground running, but we also don’t want to fall off a cliff straight off the first game. So how do you keep going that way? I’m trying to learn as much as I can.”

What about a coffee with Sydney Swans coach Dean Cox about how he handles quarter-time and three-quarter-time huddles?

“Nothing like that is out of the question,” Popovic said.

“They have strategies of after a quarter, what do they do in the first three or four minutes, how do they get on top … how do they get back into the rhythm of the game? It’s not a silly question. It’s a great question. We are looking at all of that to see where we can get an advantage over the opponent.”