Socceroos boss Graham Arnold reveals why 'the boys didn't respect me as a coach' as he blows up over Albo's $600million support for PNG NRL team
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Graham Arnold is about to break new ground as Socceroos coach but he admits the most challenging part of his career was what set him up for success.
Arnold will become the Socceroos' outright coaching games record holder when he takes the reins for a 59th 'A' international in Thursday's World Cup qualifier against Bangladesh at AAMI Park in Melbourne.
His tenure included the brilliant run to the round of 16 at last year's World Cup in Qatar and Arnold enters the new cycle more respected than ever.
But before assuming control in 2018, Arnold's stint as interim coach in 2006-2007 left him questioning his future.
'I openly admit I wasn't ready,' Arnold said.
'It was an interim role that I just did to try and help the organisation while I was doing the Olympic team.
![Graham Arnold is about to break new ground as Socceroos coach - but conceded he 'wasn't ready' when he took on an interim role with the national team in 2006 and 2007](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/15/23/77851955-12754771-Graham_Arnold_is_about_to_break_new_ground_as_Socceroos_coach_bu-a-23_1700090969411.jpg)
Graham Arnold is about to break new ground as Socceroos coach - but conceded he 'wasn't ready' when he took on an interim role with the national team in 2006 and 2007
'But what I can say is what I learned in that period just that 10-12 months is probably the best lesson I could've ever learned.
'I tried to be someone who I wasn't as a human being. I tried to be Guus Hiddink. To be hard and all that stuff.
'I'm not saying on the man management side but I'd honestly say the boys didn't respect me as a coach those days and they were right because I hadn't done anything as a coach.'
Arnold reflected on the disastrous 2007 Asian Cup, when the Socceroos lost 3-1 to Iraq in the group stages then were knocked out by Japan on penalties in the quarter-finals.
![Arnold became Socceroos boss in 2018, with the highlight of his stint so far being reaching the round of 16 at the World Cup in Qatar last year (pictured)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/15/22/77851923-12754771-image-a-16_1700088723987.jpg)
Arnold became Socceroos boss in 2018, with the highlight of his stint so far being reaching the round of 16 at the World Cup in Qatar last year (pictured)
![Arnold has again expressed his frustration at the lack of a national base for the Socceroos after news that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured) is set to invest $600million so Papua New Guinea gets its own NRL side](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/15/22/77851875-12754771-image-a-17_1700088805220.jpg)
Arnold has again expressed his frustration at the lack of a national base for the Socceroos after news that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured) is set to invest $600million so Papua New Guinea gets its own NRL side
'It was a really telling moment,' he said.
'In [those] 12 months, after I finished that Asian Cup it was like: "Do I really want to be a coach?"
'With all the criticism and all that you get, I started feeling if I really wanted to and then I decided to myself I wanted to do it and I had to improve because otherwise you don't last long in this industry.
'If I reflect back today ... I still remember clearly the results.
'You still have those memories, but a lot you reflect back to those times and what I did those days that today you just don't do at all, especially with the new generation of people in the game.'
Arnold then had a trophy-laden time in the A-League with the Central Coast Mariners and Sydney FC, before becoming Socceroos boss in 2018.
He endured a difficult 2019 Asian Cup and a tough World Cup qualification period, before leading Australia's golden run in Qatar.
![Arnold is on the verge of breaking a record for the Socceroos - but wind the clock back to 2007 and he was left full of doubt about his coaching career after a disastrous Asian Cup](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/15/23/77855867-12754771-image-a-24_1700092333444.jpg)
Arnold is on the verge of breaking a record for the Socceroos - but wind the clock back to 2007 and he was left full of doubt about his coaching career after a disastrous Asian Cup
Skipper Maty Ryan - a favourite of Arnold's - stated: 'The evolution is within the results.
'The fact that obviously we've gone on and we've done things as a national team that no other team has done is an example of that. 'And we are by no means satisfied.'
Meanwhile, Arnold has again expressed his frustration at the lack of a national base for the Socceroos ahead of their World Cup qualifier against Bangladesh on Thursday night.
It comes as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to invest $600million into Papua New Guinea, as the NRL looks to expand with an 18th franchise.
'The boys just come straight to the hotel [from the airport] and they will be in baths upstairs, recovering in their own room, instead of having a home [base],' Arnold told News Corp.
'We don't have a home of football. It's crazy. 'I read the newspaper and I see the Prime Minister is talking about giving Papua New Guinea $600million to start an NRL team.
'I love AFL, I love NRL, it's great to see what they've got, but why can't we have the same? This is the national team.'