Former Australia Keeper In Rogic Bundesliga Plea

Former Chelsea, Middlesbrough and Australia goalkeeper, Mark Schwarzer, has given some surprising career advice to Aussie duo Daniel Arzani and Tom Rogic today.

Speaking to Two Sharp Reds Podcast, Schwarzer claimed that Rogic isn’t tested enough at Celtic and that he would be suited to a move to the Bundesliga. The ex-professional footballer, turned pundit, also explained how he felt that Rogic being at Parkhead has hindered his form on the international stage.

In addition to such claims, Schwarzer spoke of Daniel Arzani and made it clear that he feels his compatriot should never have joined Celtic!

Schwarzer told the podcast: “The criticism that we all have is that for the national team Rogic doesn’t seem to be able to deliver 90 minutes of consistency like he can for Celtic. Some players for whatever reason aren’t able to transfer that club form into national form. We’ve seen glimpses. When he performs for say 45 minutes you just go wow, what a player. This is the thing I think, I look at Celtic and they have dominated the league for so long now, and yes they have some tough games, I just don’t think he is tested enough in other aspects of the game.

From a tactical point of view, from a technical point of view, I don’t think he is tested enough because of the opposition they play enough every week. If he goes to a more competitive league, I think he would also do well in the Bundesliga, again I think that is a perfect league for someone like Tom Rogic. He wouldn’t be at a Bayern Munich that would be winning the league, or a Dortmund or RB Leipzig necessarily, or at the top and expecting to win every game, he’ll be at a mid-table team so you are coming up against far better opposition.

The time when Rogic gets tested the most, as with other Celtic players, is when they play in Europe and that is then a do-or-die situation because you’ve got limited amount of games to perform and get up to speed. It’s like anything, if you go to another league step up, I’m not saying the teams he is going to go to are going to be better than Celtic, it is just going to be in a league that is more competitive.”

Rogic was just the first point of discussion, before the podcast switched focus to Daniel Arzani. Arzani signed for Celtic on a two year loan deal from Manchester City. He had impressed in Australian football, but unfortunately suffered a terrible injury at Dens Park on his first appearance for the Hoops. As such, his game time has been absolutely minimal. Despite this obvious fact, Schwarzer, who originally criticised the move, has taken the opportunity to reaffirm his belief that Arzani was never going to prosper in Scotland.

Schwarzer said: “It took Arzani a while to even get that opportunity to start in a Celtic side and when he signed for them, I said straight away, ‘I think it’s the wrong move for him’. I don’t think Celtic’s style of play suits him; I don’t think it’s the right environment for him to go into to develop as a player. And what do I mean by that? He needs game time. He needs to play in a first team. He needs to play in a team that play a style of football that suits him best. He’s a very gifted technical player, a player that loves to get the ball at his feet and run at opposition, but as a ball-playing player he needs other intelligent players around him. So, I would have thought his best move would have been a place either like Germany or Holland. They play a more technical based game of football and they also give a lot of young players opportunities. So, I always said, I think the Celtic move is the wrong move for him.

For Daniel Arzani, I think he was ill-advised. Yes, he has been out injured so forget that, but the beginning part I think he struggled. He got injured in his very first game. But before that, it took him ages to get in there because apparently, he wasn’t up to speed. And I kind of get that coming from Australia, not playing 90 minutes of football very often, he did need bringing up to speed and it was going to take him a bit of time. But Celtic are not the type of team that was going to suit Daniel Arzani in my opinion.”

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About Author

Hailing from an Irish background, I grew up on the English south coast with the good fortune to begin watching Celtic during the Martin O'Neill era. I have written four Celtic books since the age of 19: Our Stories & Our Songs: The Celtic Support, Take Me To Your Paradise: A History Of Celtic-Related Incidents & Events, Walfrid & The Bould Bhoys: Celtic's Founding Fathers, First Season & Early Stars, and The Holy Grounds of Glasgow Celtic: A Guide To Celtic Landmarks & Sites Of Interest. These were previously sold in Waterstones and official Celtic FC stores, and are now available on Amazon.

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