Holger Osieck, an assistant to Franz Beckenbauer when Germany won the 1990 World Cup, has been appointed as Australia's head coach.
Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy announced the signing Wednesday via video conference from Europe, hours before Australia was to play Slovenia in an international friendly as part of its preparations for the 2011 Asian Cup.
Osieck was assistant coach for the German national team from 1987 to 1990 and has had stints as coach of the German national youth team, as Canada's head coach, as director of FIFA's technical department and guided Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds to the Asian Champions League title in 2007.
The 61-year-old German replaces Pim Verbeek, who quit after taking Australia to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where the Socceroos were eliminated in the group stage following a win, a draw and a loss.
''I feel very much honored to be your choice,'' Osieck said in a telephone conference. ''It's a very big challenge for me, it's a great challenge.''
His appointment was a departure from the Socceroos' last two foreign coaches - Guus Hiddink and Verbeek - who were both Dutch and both not able to stay long term in Australia.
Lowy said Osieck would relocate to Australia and be responsible for rebuilding the national team and for mentoring homegrown coaches. Many of the stars of Australia's last two World Cup campaigns will be too old to contend for places at the next World Cup in 2014, and depth is a key issue regarding the talent coming through.
''We're not starting from scratch. Australia has done very well in recent years and made the past two World Cups and our first target should be to establish our team on that level on a permanent basis,'' Osieck said.
Lowy said Osieck's extensive knowledge of Asian football was attractive to the FFA, which joined the Asian confederation after the 2006 World Cup and now competes in continental club and international qualifiers.
''He has experienced what it takes to traverse Asia and win tournaments and this will be invaluable experience as he leads our team into the AFC Asian Cup in January and as we prepare for another challenging campaign to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil,'' Lowy said.
Lowy said Osieck's experience in Canada, where he led the national team to the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2000 when it was held in the United States, was another part of his appeal. Football is the fourth-ranked among Australia's football codes in terms of sponsorship and TV audiences, behind Australian Rules, rugby league and rugby union, but interest has increased as the Socceroos have qualified for the last two World Cups.
''Holger has also worked in a nation where football is not the No. 1 sport and proved that he can win a major Championship against nations who have football in their veins,'' Lowy said.
Osieck is expected to take over from interim manager Han Berger, the FFA's technical director, before Australia's next friendly in Switzerland on Sept. 3.
''Taking over at a stage of natural transition as we start our preparations for 2014 is an ideal opportunity to influence the future direction of the young players and coaches from Australia,'' he said.
