The bolter eyeing a midfield berth

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Right in contention ... James Holland is an Aussie doing well abroad. Source: Ahn Young-joon / AAP

For so long, Carl Valeri was the man dubbed 'Mini Vinnie', Australia's next anchor in midfield. Mile Jedinak's rise through Crystal Palace's ranks has seen the former Mariners midfielder also enjoy a concerted run anchoring Australia's midfield.

But perhaps the player to keep an eye out for over the next 12 months is James Holland - a Newcastle Jets championship winner who has returned as part of Australia's generation next that is starting to gradually assert themselves within the Socceroos set-up.

Holland, who started the recent friendly against Romania, has been a key player for Austria Wien, who are surging away with the title in Austria's top division. The 23-year-old midfielder has made 24 appearances this term as his side has surged 13 points ahead of Salzburg to all but have sealed the title.

Starring in a defensive midfield role, Holland is now well and truly on Holger Osieck's Socceroos radar – reaping dividends for his patience after a tough initiation to his time abroad at AZ Alkmaar and Sparta Rotterdam, which saw him go "AWOL" from the Socceroos set-up after his debut in 2008.

"I came from Australia, being a somebody (at the Jets), to being a nobody in Europe. It was a shock, I was young, and there was the culture shock as well – without your support network around you," Holland told foxsports.com.au.

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"When I first went over there I lost my confidence; to get that back, it was a really difficult process. That was the struggle for me."

Having come out the other side, Holland says he's better for it as he puts everything into trying to break consistetly into Osieck's first-choice side.

"It's difficult – a lot of the Socceroos have gone through it; it's good for you, part of your development," Holland reflected.

"You have to be mentally strong and at times you have to tough it out, but I think for me, I had my eye on the goal and I never thought about coming home or giving up on my dream.

"It's part of the development and I'm grateful I went through it; it made me stronger and now I enjoy the good times a little more."

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With game time sure to play a big part in Osieck's selection criteria, Holland is in as good a position as any squad member in that regard.

"It's priceless – obviously I had three years of collecting splinters, so to get that regular game time, it really is priceless.

"You react quicker to situations and you've got that match fitness which you can't really get through training.

"So for me it's been fantastic, given me that confidence and I feel as though I've developed as a footballer a lot and every week I feel as though I'm getting stronger."

Holland left the A-League as a classy midfielder with terrific engines, but his current boss, Peter Stoger, has him organising things in the middle of the park.

"In that team I play purely defensive midfield," he said. "He doesn't really allow me to get forward too much; he wants me to be there as a safety net. My job is to make sure the team is organised.

"Everything seems to be working out really well for us; we have a fantastic team, great atmosphere, really good coaching stuff and we play some really nice football, which is enjoyable as well.

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"I was lucky enough to win a championship with Newcastle; but maybe I was a bit young to appreciate it, it doesn't come around every year.

"Now that I've been involved all season, I feel as though I've played a big part.

"It's something special."

Holland admits he is an "ambitious" type, who sees the Bundesliga as an ideal next step in his career at some point. In fact, he suggests that outside of the top-three in Austria, teams are not too different from what we see in the A-League, a competition he acknowledges played a pivotal role in his development.

"I think it's a fantastic development league for young players; game time is so important, and we can get that here. Making that step to Europe, there are so many factors you have to deal with but this is definitely a good stepping stone.

"Personally, it was fantastic: it gave me a taste of professional football, I was able to win a championship, so I had that taste before Europe. It was priceless. Hopefully some boys here, like Tom Rogic, can kick on and more boys can follow in his footsteps."

The country's quest to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil re-starts on Tuesday night. Australia are locked in a dogfight with Oman, Iraq and Jordan for the second automatic spot in Group B, eight points behind Japan. You can watch this vital clash live and in stunning HD from 6.30pm (EDT) on Fox Sports 1 HD, with kick-off from 7pm.

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