Former Australian international Zeljko Kalac branded Nestory Irankunda’s shock Socceroos ultimatum as “sickening” and felt the Bayern-bound teen was not ready for international football.
Irankunda was called up to the Socceroos squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Bangladesh and Palestine just days after he declared he’d keep his international options open.
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The 18-year-old, who is eligible to represent Australia, Burundi and Tanzania, stated he would “of course” consider representing either of the latter two countries if he continued to be overlooked by Socceroos boss Graham Arnold.
“I haven’t been called up for a few of the squads now,” Irankunda added in the post-match press conference after the A-League All Stars’ 8-0 thrashing of Newcastle.
“I’m still thinking on what I’m going to do in the future at national level so we’ll see.”
However, Irankunda’s comments left Kalac, who made 54 appearances for Australia, with a foul taste in his mouth and insisted the Socceroos shouldn’t be held ransom by a teenager.
“Sickening, sickening that a player actually thinks he’s got the rights to blackmail where he’s going to play,” Kalac told foxsports.com.au.
“These young players don’t realise that there’s a lot of good players that play for their national teams. To come out with comments like that and say if you don’t pick me I’m going to go somewhere else, I’d be saying, ‘On your bike’.
Irankunda coy on Socceroos question | 00:43
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“Because we’re not going to be blackmailed on giving away national team jerseys.”
Kalac acknowledged Irankunda “is a good player”, but insisted the electric 18-year-old has “still got a lot of common sense to go through his head”.
“Because as we know now, football’s not just about your ability on the field,” Kalac said.
“It’s about what you do off the field with your comments. You’re in the public eye and need to lead by example and get these younger players to follow you.”
Kalac was also sceptical of whether Irankunda is at the level required to play for the Socceroos, but trusted Arnold and his Socceroos staff to know if he’ll be up to the task.
“Look, do I think he’s an international player just yet? No,” Kalac said.
“Is he worth having a look at? Yeah. I think all national team staff would be looking at all these players.
“If they don’t feel that he’s ready for international football yet, you don’t bring players into an international scenario if they’re not ready for it. There’s our U20s, there’s our U23s, there’s plenty of stepping stones before you get into the international team.”
Kalac spoke to foxsports.com.au ahead of the bumper clash between Italian giants AC Milan and AS Roma at Optus Stadium in Perth on Friday.
Milan will be managed by one of Kalac’s former teammates, Daniele Bonera, after the club parted ways with Stefano Pioli at the end of the Serie A season as Lille’s Paulo Fonseca will reportedly be the Rossoneri’s next boss.
Fonseca will no doubt be casting his eye over the clash as several Milan players look to prove themselves to the incoming boss.
But Kalac believes it shouldn’t matter if there’s a new manager arriving or not, any chance to pull on the Milan jersey is “an opportunity” they must take with both hands.
“Last night I had two ex-teammates here, Serginho and Daniele Bonera, they were just saying these are all opportunities,” Kalac said.
“At big clubs, opportunities come few and far between. When you get that opportunity, you’ve got to take it.
“Every player who pulls on a Milan jersey, let me tell you, it’s not a friendly, it’s an opportunity.”
For football fans in Australia hoping to catch the action in Perth, tickets are available at Ticketmaster.