Following Josep Gombau's recent appointment as the new U-23 national coach, Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou said he lobbied for Gombau to be brought into the national team fold.
Postecoglou said he admires the former Adelaide United manager's footballing philosophy, and knows that the Spaniard can bring an added level of expertise to the national squad.
“I was the one who sort of instigated it,” Postecoglou said.
“While Josep was here [in the A-League] he showed that he was committed to a certain style of football and he's also in terms of his own beliefs he's very strong, and that's really impressive.
“And the fact that he's had exposure to Australian football was also important.
“He's still a young coach in many respects, so I thought here's an opportunity to bring him back to the country. With the work he did, I thought it'd be a shame he'd be lost."
Gombau will begin work with the Young Socceroos later this month, and will also join Postecoglou on the bench for Australia's World Cup Qualifier against Iraq on September 1.
“He'll be working closely with everyone [in the national teams]," Postecoglou said.
"Everyone works together, we've had Paulo (Paul Okon), Tony [Vidmar] Ufuk Talay, Peter De Roo, come in with us.
“Everyone's involved in the national team unit.
"One of my goals and hopefully one of my legacies after I'm gone is that all our teams play a certain way.
