As national coach Frank Farina agonised overnight over the composition of his first World Cup squad, the name that will decide whether he has won his battle of wits with both his employers and world body FIFA is that of skipper Paul Okon.
Farina was due to announce a 20-man squad yesterday for the Oceania Group One tournament, set down for Coffs Harbour from April 7-16. But as has been the case with virtually every aspect of the preparation, the best-laid plans have become embroiled in a recurring bureaucratic nightmare.
The unprecedented decision of FIFA to demand that no European-based players be selected by Australia, and the unfathomable compliance of Soccer Australia, has forced Farina into a corner over his team selection. FIFA imposed the conditions under pressure from European clubs who did not want to release players during the European season.
Nonetheless, Farina has insisted during the past week that he would be picking the players he wanted, and neither FIFA nor Soccer Australia would be able to dictate the make-up of his squad to play American Samoa, Tonga, Samoa and Fiji. However, Farina failed to announce his squad yesterday. He was later unavailable for comment.
It is known the board of Soccer Australia also had a telephone hook-up in the afternoon to discuss the full implications of the issue, with new chairman Tony Labbozzetta set to be quizzed on why he agreed to the FIFA conditions without consulting the rest of the board.
Farina has maintained throughout the past week that his squad would be a 50/50 split between home-based and overseas-based players, and where possible he would avoid selecting players facing key commitments with their club sides.
Yet while the likes of Mark Viduka, Mark Schwarzer, Harry Kewell, Brett Emerton, Danny Tiatto, Mark Bosnich, Josip Skoko, Zeljko Kalac and Stan Lazaridis were always likely to be excused, Okon was always going to be a notable exception.
Like clubmate Schwarzer, Okon is in the midst of a desperate relegation battle with Middlesbrough, but the extra responsibilities of the captaincy mean he is a required player at the start of the World Cup campaign. If Okon's name is absent, the conclusion must be that Farina's hands have been tied.
There were also signs yesterday that Scottish champions Rangers, who last year bought a controlling stake in NSL side Northern Spirit, were set to play hardball over releasing Tony Vidmar and Craig Moore.
Meanwhile, it should be noted that if an overseas-based player decides the call is strong enough, there is nothing stopping him from returning. Ultimately, it is this sense of patriotism that Farina is relying upon to get him out of a tight spot.