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He put together the best team the A-League has seen, playing a style that delighted most across the country. But perhaps Ange Postecoglou’s biggest test will be how Brisbane Roar copes with him moving on.
Time will tell whether he built a club with foundations strong enough to ensure continued success.
It was the worst-kept secret in the A-League that the competition’s leading coach was departing the league’s best team to head home to take charge of Melbourne Victory.
Having overseen such a dramatic transformation, taking two and a half years to carry an underperforming Brisbane Roar to two Premiers Plates and one Minor Premiership, the question following Postecoglou’s departure is can the club’s success continue without him?
The likely answer, yes.
There is little doubt that the ideas and philosophies that have made the Roar so successful will endure, and with the likely appointment (not confirmed at the time of writing) of his assistant Rado Vidosic, the club will have picked the best possible person for ensuring Postecoglou’s work is carried on.
The biggest challenge facing Vidosic is not ensuring continuity but rather ensuring progression on and off the pitch. This is the only way to ensure that Postecoglou’s legacy proves to be lasting. If Vidosic attempts to maintain the status quo, complacency and boredom are likely to set in and the club will move backwards.
Vidosic seems well aware of this and has already stated that the club will look to maintain its current playing method, but he is willing to alter things as he deems necessary.
The players will no doubt welcome this as they will want to keep evolving, and their success in the future will be the result of continued improvement.
The biggest factor that will give him the best chance of achieving it is how ingrained the club’s playing style has become. What other coach in the history of the competition has taken over a side with such a refined and successful philosophy?
The key components are all there, the fundamental aspects have all been well established and now extras can be built on top of them.
Despite all their success there is still room for Postecoglou’s foundations to be improved upon, as demonstrated by their struggles in the Asian Champions League. This will be a factor in Vidosic’s favour. The players have not been able to achieve everything they possibly can, meaning there is still a driving force for improvement. They no doubt will be eager to succeed in Asia as well as domestically.
The team that Vidosic is inheriting from Postecoglou is one equipped to succeed into the future. The average age of the squad is 25.4, one of the A-League’s youngest, meaning that there is plenty of time for the players to improve.
These players are the key to ensuring the club’s success is maintained, and there are plenty of incentives for them to make sure this is the case.
The biggest among these is the playing style itself. The chance to play in team that excites all with its football is a rare one, and every one of the players will be eager to ensure their former boss’ work is preserved and built on.
They played the best football the competition has seen and took the A-League to another level under his tenure, but now Brisbane Roar must move on without the coach who made it all possible.
As Postecoglou has said, the club’s success should not be interrupted by the loss of one person because of the strength of the system, and that if it was he would have not done his job.
He has passed every other test, so who would bet against him having built a club whose success will last?
NB: This will be my last column for The Roar until the next A-League season rolls around. I hope you have enjoyed my pieces, thanks for taking the time to read and comment on them. It is very much appreciated. Enjoy the off-season – Beau.
Follow Beau on Twitter: @beaubusch
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