Tony Popovic might have been named coach of the season, but Graham Arnold will be the happier man after winning his first A-League grand final.
While there were notable mentions for Alistair Edwards and Mike Mulvey, few other coaches in the competition have been able to keep up with the standard set by Tony Popovic, Graham Arnold and Ange Postecoglou.
It is fitting those three finished at the top of the A-League ladder.
Together, they’ve helped bring about a change in attitudes towards Australian coaches. Indeed, the high turnover of managers this season comes as no surprise.
Club directors are increasingly looking to uncover the next locally-based manager who can take their side to the next level.
It’s been said many times before, but this turn inwards has been a welcome change in the culture of the A-League. It’s been a long time coming, and the beneficiaries of the sea change will understand its significance.
Back in 1993, on the eve of Australia’s World Cup qualifier against Argentina, Graham Arnold spoke to Michael Cockerill about the lack of respect given to Australian players in their own country.
He lamented the lack of career path for retired Socceroos:
“I look at John Kosmina… The guy’s a legend for me… he’s flat out getting a job in the State League. He deserves so much more than what he’s got. One year out of the game, and it’s John who? I think that’s tragic, and he’s not alone.”
Two decades years on, the environment in which Arnold and his peers find themselves in is very different.
Respect for Australian coaches just keeps on growing. No longer are ex-players thrown on the scrap heap.
Instead, ex-players are now being fast tracked into coaching positions.
So much so that many of Arnold’s teammates from his playing days in the Socceroos – including the Vidmar brothers, Gary van Egmond, Alex Tobin, Frank Farina and Mehmet Durakovic – are being joined by a younger wave headed by the likes of Tony Popovic, John Aloisi and Paul Okon.
This is what should have happened from the inception of the A-League, but it’s better late than never.
The domestic competition should be about developing and exporting the next generation of both Australian players and coaches.
Now the trend has taken hold, it looks unlikely to change any time soon. There are even calls for an Australian to take charge of the Socceroos when Osieck finishes his brief.
And with World Cup qualification far from assured, that could be sooner than we expected.
It’s taken a long time for us to be comfortable with an Australian at the helm of the national team. The calls of “Arnold out!” don’t seem too distant in the memory.
But the Guus Hiddink factor has completely faded, while Pim Verbeek’s arrogance and Holger Osieck’s reign of boredom has removed the aura around European coaches.
The question, then, will be which Australian coach should take charge when Osiek moves on. It’s a difficult one to answer, but Popovic, Postecoglou and Arnold are the only clear contenders.
A-League coach of the season Tony Popovic has already received support in many quarters after his remarkable breakthrough season at the Western Sydney Wanderers.
Like Ange Postecoglou before him, there has been a groundswell of affection towards the local boy done good.
Postecoglou’s teams are the most entertaining in the league, but while he’s widely seen as an innovator, he’s far less pragmatic than Popovic and Arnold.
He needs large amounts of time to bring his players up to speed to his very specific style of play, making him far more suited to club football.
But surely it is too soon for Popovic to take the reins of the national team. He has many years of development ahead, and no doubt grand personal ambitions to coach abroad.
Rather than rushing him into the top job, like Soccer Australia did with a young Frank Farina back in 1999, the FFA should give Popovic the space to develop his craft without such enormous pressure.
Like Popovic, Farina was named coach of the season in 1997, after guiding the Brisbane Strikers to the title in his first season as a coach.
A couple of years later Farina became the Socceroos manager, less than five years after his playing retirement from the green and gold.
We now know Farina was a good prospect thrown into the deep end far too early. It may have even been detrimental to his coaching career, as he quickly became a scapegoat for a broader malaise in Australian football.
Indeed, he was hardly operating in the most supportive financial environment.
But while the governing body may have picked up its game, let’s not make the same mistake with Popovic.
Instead, it might be time to reinstate Graham Arnold to guide the Socceroos. He knows the national team set-up as well as anybody, and now has won everything there is to win at domestic level.
More importantly, he’s clearly grown as a coach. Tactically, his team’s set up as well as any in the A-League, but he’s managed it on a smaller budget.
He’s taken the team to Asia, and made the A-League’s smallest club into an on-field powerhouse.
He has helped identify and develop young prospects like Mustafa Amini, Rostyn Griffiths, Mat Ryan, Tom Rogić and Trent Sainsbury. And his man management skills have been a highlight after difficult periods at both Northern Spirit and the Socceroos.
The trouble will be holding onto him. As he said over the weekend, he’s given as much to the local game as he can.
He also admitted he’d take offers if a bigger opportunity came calling.
The question then, is what more do we want? Everybody deserves a second chance, and Graham Arnold has earned his shot at redemption.
Squizz
Guest
Arnie will be the next NT manager. He will be appointed possibly as early as July after we fail to qualify for the World Cup He will be given a challenge to rejuvenate the squad with a view to winning the Asian cup at home. Many forget that Arnie did not the job the first time - believing he was not ready. However, he stepped up when the FFA didn't come to the party. Since then he improved immensely. Ange would be great in qualifying against lesser teams - as his teams know how to attack. Against higher quality opponents his defensive structure would quickly be found out. Vidmar quickly became out of his depth as the HAL improved so a NT job would be a disaster - though he seems to be a favoured son. Poppa would probably relish the challenge, but I could him understudying Arnie and forming a formidable team going forward. Are any ot these guys at a level that we want. Probably not in the eyes of many. However, it is unlikely that the FFA will spring for someone of the calibre of Guus for an extended period. If that is the case, an Australian manager, that bleeds for the Socceroos like Arnie or Poppa (or both), that will focus on both the short term and long term goals for the NT would be much preferable to the current incumbent.
dinoweb
Roar Guru
Arnie had his shot at the National Team, and I don't think enough time has passed to warrant his return just yet. Poppa, obviously too inexperienced at the moment. One season doesn't make a career. Lets see if he can sustain the current success of WSW, or how he handles adversity before promotting him aboove his current level. It's been proven a couple of times just this season that an assistant doesn't necessarilly make a good replacement for a coach. By the same logic, it doesn't necessarily follow that an assistant will necessarilly make a poor replacement for an underperforming coach either. I always thought Vidmar did a good job with Adelaide, and had success in Asia. As for Ange, I think he has proved his ability. The suggestion that he takes time to mould a side has a certain element of truth, but you must remember that he is going into clubs, where the playing roster is fairly well established. As coach of the national side, he would be able to pick and chose players that fitted whatever system he wanted to play. To my mind, his greatest tregth has been his ability to get the most out of whatever players he has at his disposal. Also havng watched his limited Asian expoits with the Roar, I'm fairly confident in saying that it was more that the players not up to the task, rather than the coach. I think he has unfinished business with Victory at the moment though, and might not want the move. I'd be happy to see either Vidmar or Postecoglou, given a chance, at least through to the next Asian cup, should the opportunity arise. I don't think the national team would perform any worse than they are at the moment.
Davo
Guest
No thanks. Arnold and the Mariners a perfect match. Simple players, small club, simple football. A passionate but technically simple coach. We have already seen Arnold with the socceroos and he was neck and neck with verbeek for worst socceroos coach of all time.
The Bear
Guest
Over my rotting carcass.
dasilva
Guest
Also add with Ange Remember the Foster spat and the reason behind that He failed as the young socceroos and joeys manager. Failed to qualify young socceroos to the world cup through Asia. Failed to qualify the joeys to the Asian Cup. the asian cup was the qualification tournament to the world cup so they were essentially knocked out in the first stage of qualification. Although there was mitigating factors that the Laos team that we drew against and hence knocked out in goal difference were cheating and fielding over age players. Considering that Ange also failed with Brisbane Roar in the Asian Champions League There's question mark about his ability to lead an Australian side through the difficulties of Asian qualification He has to prove himself in the ACL or overseas before he gets the job in my opinion
Griffo
Roar Guru
I don't think as many of the golden generation will leave post 2014 with a swan song in an Asian Cup on home soil looming January 2015, especially if we miss the plane to Brazil...
Melange
Guest
Harsh call Brian. You don't believe in the value of learning from experience?
Franko
Guest
Agreed. There is no Aussie coach capable to take over from July 2014, or even for the Asian Championships. After that who knows. Arnie - Tried once, failed. Only worked well with ego-less CCM Poppa - Not experienced enough.. Ange - Needs to win an ACL or get experience overseas. Vidmar - Too sh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!te
dasilva
Roar Guru
I don't think handling "big egos" is a factor against local managers When Arnold was coaching the socceroos A ot of those players looked at Arnie and thought, what has he achieved in the coaching career however with the golden generation gone after 2014. We 'll have a team where majority of the players had played in Australia before and they know the likes of Ange, Arnie to be respected managers of the A-league
Ian
Guest
Good article. I don't think Poppa would accept the appointment. Say Holger is out July 2014 Poppa would have been a head coach for 14 months or so. not enough experience.
Dillan
Guest
The real question is would Arnie or any of the Australian coaches want to coach the socceroos or head overseas for club teams..?
Brian
Guest
No The 2007 Asian Cup was enough. There are enough candidates without going back to someone who failed. Same goes for Farina. Absolutely an Aussie could coach the Socceroos but not Arnold.
apaway
Roar Guru
There is no doubt that Graeme Arnold has grown immensely as a coach since he took the Socceroos to the Asian Cup in 2007. It's also worth remembering that as acrimonious as that tournament was, the Socceroos were eliminated on penalties in the quarter finals by the eventual runners-up after playing much of the game with 10 players. That said, the 2007 Asian Cup represents Arnie's darkest times as a coach. To say on live TV that he had players who did not want to be there was an appalling mistake. While his coaching acumen is wonderful, I'm still concerned about his media presentation, and whether we like it or not, that's a big part of being a NT coach. I also think that Arnie revels in the role of building a club, scouting hitherto unknown or discarded players and moulding them into a cohesive unit. He has done brilliantly at the Mariners but is that skillset what is required to coach a National team? I am puzzled by Holger Osieck's fall from grace. The Socceroos were fantastic at the 2011 Asian Cup and should have won it. That they are in the position they are now in heading into 3 crucial WCQs just doesn't gel with the team they were in Qatar. I would respectfully disagree with earlier assessments of Ange Postecoglou. If there is to be a locally born NT coach in the near future, it should be Ange, without a doubt. He has all the attributes to bed in a gameplan that is flexible and adaptable to different situations, and would have the time to do it as Socceroos boss.
dasilva
Roar Guru
Ideally at the bare minimum I would like the Australian managers to be able to prove themselves in the A-League AND the Asian Champions League IF you can't make an A-league side competitive against other Asian clubs what makes you think you can make the national team competitive against other Asian nations. The fact is neither Ange, Arnie or Popa has proved themselves against Asian teams. Vidmar may have proved but he has flopped in the A-league by finising bottom of hte ladder
West
Roar Pro
If Holger fails to qualify for Brazil (that's still a possibility) the FFA will definitely pump for a local coach to replace him - between Ange, Poppa and Arnie. But who would want it 5 years out from the next WC in Russia. If Holger gets sacked, probably van Egmont, Culina Snr and Ernie Merrick will put their hand up for it. If Holger gets us to Brazil it will be 2016 before we see Arnold in the picture. He seems very keen to try his luck in Europe and has good connections with his former clubs in Holland.and Belgium as a starting point and also Japan/Asian clubs are interested in him.
fadida
Guest
The big issues are; will GA have to deal with players with massive egos? Is the game in general more aware of the realities of Asian football than it was in 2007? Is the time nearly right for GA to take back the NT coaching reins again? Why is no one asking this? :) In all seriousness, Arnie has reinvented himself, and regained the credibility he lost as NT coach. Is he good enough for international level? He's certainly got more than Osieck.
wisey_9
Roar Guru
You could create a dual role? To steal a term from the AFL - a "leadership group"?
nordster
Guest
Vidmar would be ok for post 2014 given we will be relying on up and coming players still, and he is an up and coming coach. Better to have a trainer on a similar level to players perhaps. We wont be back up to the heights of '06 for a little while yet imo. A developing coach for a developing nation...
nordster
Guest
+1 Japan definitely ...then europe, then roos...by then maybe we're ready to challenge to push further into the latter stages of a WC...save Arnie for somewhere a little further up the growth curve.
Paul
Guest
At least now GA won't have to deal with players with massive egos and the game in general is more aware of the realities of Asian football than it was in 2007. The time is nearly right for GA to take back the NT coaching reins again.