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A funny thing has happened to the A-League. Club owners and decision-makers have finally realised that locally-born and/or produced coaches have just as much chance of winning you a title as an expensive foreign import.
Currently, of the 10 A-League clubs, eight employ local coaches. The only two that don’t are Perth Glory and Brisbane Roar.
However, given that the two incumbents, Glory’s Ian Ferguson and Roar’s Mike Mulvey, have only ever held coaching appointments in Australia, the argument could be made that they two have earned their clipboard and magnetised pitch diagrams through developing in this country.
There are possibly two men who have sparked this revolution – Ange Postecoglou and Graham Arnold.
That both have done so through the baptism of fire of managing national teams (and in some quarters being highly criticised for their performances) is a testament to their dedication and willingness to evolve as coaches.
This is not to say that foreign coaches bring nothing to the A-League and it would be foolish to close up the shop and presume the Australian game can learn nothing from coaches beyond these shores.
Johnny Warren was a fierce advocate of importing South American techniques to the local game back in the late 1980s when the National Soccer League was about to move to a summer competition, with temperatures and match conditions unsuited to a fast-paced British style.
There was a fair representation of Baltic nations in the early ’90s with coaches such as Zoran Matic and Frank Arok enjoying great success – the latter as a Socceroos coach who developed the concept of “Team Australia” as players began heading overseas to pursue full-time professional careers.
In more recent times, the FFA have turned to The Netherlands for coaching experience. The Dutch influence has not met with universal approval withing the coaching ranks, but a clear and consistent technical coaching pathway has now been developed and is producing more locally qualified and licensed coaches than ever before.
Interestingly, only two foreign coaches have guided a team to the A-League title. And both Pierre Littbarski and Vitezslav Lavicka did it with Sydney FC.
Perhaps that’s why the Sky Blues seem hell-bent on bringing in an overseas boss. And before all the Melbourne Victory fans start yelling Ernie Merrick’s name, I realise he was born in Scotland but his first coaching appointment was in 1979 at Doveton.
If 33 years of local coaching doesn’t give Ernie an Australian coaching passport, I don’t know what does…
Tony Popovic is the latest local boy to make good and his development of the Western Sydney Wanderers has been a work of art.
Not many A-League observers would have predicted that Popovic would have the Wanderers challenging for the title in their first season.
Along with the aforementioned Arnold and Ange, John Kosmina, Frank Farina, Gary Van Egmond, John Aloisi and Wellington’s Ricky Herbert are enhancing the A-League’s local flavour.
In many ways, the A-League provides a unique coaching challenge and perhaps this is a reason for the emergence of local talent.
The league is played in the hottest part of the year which dictates playing style, fitness preparation and recovery probably a lot different to cold climate leagues. There is a lot of travel involved – consider that Australia and New Zealand distance-wise covers almost as much area as Western Europe.
There are restrictions on playing personnel imposed by a salary cap, marquee spots and visa places, which means players have to be developed rather than signed. And the season itself is relatively short so there is less margin for error.
The A-League may be waking up to the fact that a little local knowledge can go a long way.
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