Holger Osieck in Frame as the New Socceroos Coach

HOLGER Osieck, the former assistant coach to legendary German player-coach Franz Beckenbauer, is a left-field candidate as the Socceroos’ new head coach, with an announcement expected today at 4pm (AEST).

Another German candidate Volker Finke, who quit as Urawa Reds coach on the weekend, has also been mentioned as a possible appointment.

Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy is holding a press conference this afternoon via video conference from Ljubljana, where the Socceroos are playing a friendly against Slovenia later tonight, and it is believed Osieck is in a frontrunner as Pim Verbeek’s successor.

Following a brief playing career in Germany, Osieck, 61, coached Fenerbahce in Turkey and Urawa Red Diamonds in Japan. He spent four years from 1999 as coach of the Canadian national side, leading them to victory in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2000.

Osieck was Beckenbauer’s assistant when Germany won the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

Osieck would be an unexpected choice to take over as Australian coach. He was not mentioned among the many other candidates, which included former South Africa coach Carlos Parreira and Cameroon coach Paul Le Guen.