Guus Hiddink is paid big bucks to make tough decisions.

Few can be tougher than telling Tony Vidmar not to mingle with his former Socceroo teammates too much at the World Cup.

There is no room for sentiment at elite level - especially not the depth of sentiment that left Vidmar in tears at the MCG where, in normal circumstances, he would be playing against Greece on Thursday night.

An irregular heart beat that might prove fatal on the field at any time is not a normal circumstance.

It was that cruel discovery that forced Vidmar, 35, to pull out on the brink of the World Cup finals - the dream that had fuelled an 18-year career spanning four World Cup campaigns.

But when so much is at stake there can be no distractions, not even when you are a former Socceroo captain.

"Guus and Arnie (assistant coach Graham Arnold) made a decision," Vidmar said.

"They felt it was in the best interests of the team and myself that I wasn't too much around the team (in Germany).

"I can understand that.

"Of course I'm disappointed, but the focus from (Thursday) night is on the team and the World Cup."

Vidmar, broken-hearted but not broken-spirited, has had a painfully difficult week in Melbourne, catching up with teammates he fully expected to be travelling to Germany with.

"Like everyone else they were in total shock (at the news of his heart problems)," Vidmar said.

"They treat me as one of them, which is nice.

"They tell me I'm still part of the team, which is nice to hear.

"But I've got to deal with it.

"Six months ago I was on top of the world; now it's been totally turned upside down.

"I have been with the national team for 15 years.

"The national team has been my life.

"But I have a girlfriend and two kids.

"You want to be part of them growing up.

"In the short term this is disappointing, but there's a bigger picture out there for me."

Vidmar believes his problem may have been caused by a freak training accident at his Dutch club Breda last month, when a teammate's head crashed into his chest and left him winded for half a minute.

At a routine FIFA examination the next day he felt short of breath, and tests showed there was a blood clot in his left coronary artery.

"I was kind of playing with my life," he said.

"I was told that if I continued to play football it could be fatal."

Further tests in London and Melbourne confirmed the Dutch diagnosis.

Vidmar will undergo an angioplasty operation in London during the next fortnight.

Doctors plan to insert a stint in the clogged artery to open it up and restore normal blood flow.

Asked if he could play again, Vidmar replied: "They say it's possible, but I turn 36 in July.

"At times you are in denial, but maybe it (appearing at the World Cup finals) wasn't to be."

Vidmar was outstanding in both of last November's qualifiers against Uruguay, and nervelessly slotted home one of the penalties that secured Australia's passage to Germany.

He described it as "payback time" for the devastation of four years earlier, when he trooped off the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo after the Socceroos were dumped 3-0 at the final qualifying hurdle.

"I've got a lot of good memories, and I played a part in us qualifying (this time)," said the Adelaide-born defender, who participated in earlier World Cup campaigns with his brother Aurelio.

"Maybe that's what it was all about - qualifying."

He believes he will put himself through the pain and pleasure of watching the Socceroos in Germany.

"I think I will be there in some capacity," he said, "but I don't know what."

Vidmar managed one laugh when he said he would need to wear a heart monitor while watching Australia's opening match against Japan on June 12.

Otherwise it was a press conference of unbroken sadness.

It ended with the rare sight of journalists giving him a standing ovation.

And he left in tears, just as he did in Montevideo five years ago.

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