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Popovic edges ahead of Aloisi in race to be next Socceroos coach

Byron Parish new author
Roar Rookie
26th April, 2016
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Tony Popovic has his sights set firmly on Brisbane. (Photo By Fang Yingzhong/Color China Photo/AP Images)
Byron Parish new author
Roar Rookie
26th April, 2016
42

Tony Popovic and John Aloisi are two home-grown coaching talents who employ two different, but equally entertaining, brands of Spanish passing football.

Sunday night the A-League witnessed an unbelievable game where many questions arose.

Should Aloisi have ‘parked the bus’?

How did ‘Popa’s’ team concede three quick goals so easily?

The question that sprung to my mind however is, did we just see an audition for the next Socceroos head coach?

Let’s look at how the game panned out first.

The best attacking game of A-League season 11 was played out in dramatic fashion in front of 20,000 fans at Wanderland.

I say best attacking game, as any defensive coach worth their socks surely have nightmares of such high scoring affairs.

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Firstly, congratulations to the Western Sydney outfit, who out-comebacked the comeback kings of Brisbane.

To score after conceding three goals is commendable, but to reverse your fortunes and take the game away from the opposition as Romeo Castelen and teammates did is truly remarkable.

Secondly, commiserations to the often brilliant and undeniably frustrating Roar.

Ask any fan out of Brisbane and they will be able to describe the roller-coaster of emotions that Aloisi’s men offer.

Whether it be from the pits of despair and desolation to the euphoria and unthinkable joy, every fan will be able to tell you where they were for each come-back occasion.

Now we look forward to an enticing grand final between teams yet to strike a win against each other this season, the fixtures ending in a stalemate on all three occasions.

It will be a battle of undeniably the two best teams this year.

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Moving back to the question I posed at the top of this article.

Was this game an audition for our next national coach.

My answer: Yes.

Australian football is in terrific hands in Ange Postecoglou, and by no means does this ‘Roos fan want to see him leave the team for quite some time, after all, Ange did what no one else could and won some much needed silverware.

However, there will come a time where he feels he should step away, and it would be foolish to not think about who else could step up and perform as admirably as Ange.

We have a very strong local manager base in the A-League; the likes of Kevin Muscat, Scott Miller and Graham Arnold spring to mind as master tacticians.

Indifferent seasons leave their names out of my ballot however, and I look towards the two local coaches that performed most admirably.

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Looking at Sunday night’s stats alone, ‘Popa’ wins the first count.

Excluding the score, the Wanderers won all other key statistical areas: passing (693 v 567), passing accuracy (75.5% v 70%) and possession (55.2% v 44.8%).

Furthermore, Popovic’s credentials precede him.

Winner of the often tumultuous Asian Champions League, the A-League premiership and consolidating itself as one of the hardest teams to play against in their short lifespan.

Tony Popovic would be an ideal candidate to take the reins of the Socceroos when the time comes.

His opponent, John Aloisi, is also entrenched in Australian sporting folklore.

His successful penalty against Uruguay in 2005 to send Australia to the World Cup still sends shivers down every red-blooded footballing fan.

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Aloisi had an incredibly successful footballing career and has brought years of playing in Spain home to implement locally.

While his first coaching tenure at the now defunct Melbourne Heart ended in tatters, he has gone from strength to strength in his first season at the helm of the Roar.

With brother Ross, John Aloisi has moved the Brisbane team away from the financial drama that soured the pre-season, and brought in players that buy into his passing and high-tempo brand of football.

It is his ability to inherit, revitalise and strengthen a team every critic had written off before the start of the season that has put his name up there with ‘Popa’s’ when it comes to the national coaching gig.

But who wins the tactician battle? The man who built a Red and Black empire, or the man who righted the ship and set sail for more Orange Success.

For me, at least for now, it has to be Tony Popovic.

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