By Peter Kogoy - The Australian

David Carney grew up in Campbelltown on the fringe of Sydney's urban sprawl, just around the corner from established Socceroo Brett Emerton.

And like so many starry-eyed kids with talent, Carney, five years Emerton's junior, ventured overseas, first to England and then to Scotland to try his luck as a professional footballer.

While Emerton's journey took him first to Holland to complete "an apprenticeship", Carney headed straight to Liverpool where he found himself part of the Everton club's youth set-up, regularly playing alongside other teenage hopefuls including Wayne Rooney, before he made the short journey up the motorway to Manchester.

In 2002, the gifted left-footer played alongside Rooney in Everton's FA Cup youth team's run to the final only to lose to Aston Villa over two legs.

But Carney was on the move soon after, enjoying spells in the lower rungs of the game with Oldham Athletic and Halifax Town, before moving to Scotland and a season with Hamilton Academical. He returned home to play a pivotal role in Sydney FC's championship winning run in the inaugural A-League season.

While his mate 'Emmo' has played on some of the biggest stages in Europe, Carney bided his time, never once losing his belief that he was good enough to warrant a spot in Graham Arnold's Socceroos outfit and its foray into the Asian championship. On Thursday night, Carney got the call that he was one of four A-League stars in the 23-man squad.

Joining Carney from the local national competition are Sydney team-mate Mark Milligan, Nick Carle (Newcastle Jets), and Melbourne's Archie Thompson.

"I was told by Gary Moretti, the team manager, and Arnie on Thursday night. Obviously I was over the moon when I was given the news. I was ordering a Thai meal at the time and I felt like kissing everyone in the shop," Carney said.

Carle, who came on late in the 2-1 loss to Uruguay last weekend, was also stoked. "I'm just grateful for the opportunity and I want to repay the faith that has been shown in me," Carle said.

Arnold revealed that his plans for Carney include converting him into a specialist left-sided defender, a role previously filled by Swiss-based Scott Chipperfield.

If there was a mild surprise in the squad announced yesterday, it was the omission of Celtic-bound striker Scott McDonald.

"I was very open in my talks with Scott. I felt it was in his best interest that in having made a massive move to Celtic that he stays and has a good pre-season with his new club and tries to break into the first team from the opening game of the new season," Arnold said.

"I think you can see by the strength of the squad on paper that it's an outstanding squad and the task now is to transfer that on to the field and make sure that there's no complacency.

"The word legacy has been mentioned and it's a word that I want to use often. I want to leave a massive legacy straight away."

The squad, with 19 overseas-based players, shows how determined Australia is to make an impact in its first Asian Cup campaign since switching over to the Asian confederation from Oceania last year.

"I have worked closely with the players and their clubs to manage the difficult balance between full-time jobs in the clubs, for whom July is an exceptionally important time," Arnold said.

"The players have an absolute desire and commitment to play for Australia in a tournament where, although there is no financial reward as there was at the World Cup, there is the real possibility of some silverware."