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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
Yes. And by the way, Aloisi hasn't done anything yet. Popo streets ahead of JA ATM.
Punter
Guest
No, I like you have great respect for Frank Arok, he was ahead of his time & had very little resource. Ange has far more resources then Frank ever did. I am talking about all the Socceroos teams prior to Ange taking over, apart from maybe the short time Hiddink had them in 2006. However, despite maybe not having the quality of the 2006 team, they are playing a better brand of football. Now can we beat the better credential sides, well Spain. Brazil, Germany etc, maybe not, but we are on the way up & are trying to play a brand of football not reliance on the physical side of things.
Fadida
Guest
Was thinking the same Qantas
aladdin sane
Guest
That is one example, I doubt you will find many others. We are talking about the biggest coaching role in the country. Managing a fully professional, ego-driven group of men is very different from coaching a group of semi-professional women. Men's game is faster, more physical, more tactically diverse. Psychologically they are different too, are motivated differently, take criticism differently. This is a completely separate communication set we're talking about.
j binnie
Guest
Lionheart. I must correct you there I have never at any time said Aloisi "should go" I have questioned his apparent inability to spot weaknesses in his team and to try something different to cover those weaknesses ,I have questioned his picking of certain players in positions they are obviously not suited to play in and subsequent occurrences and newspaper interviews i feel have vndicated those opinions,but removal - no. I think he has a lot to learn in tactical innovation and player use but his time and experience in coaching simply shows this up as a learning curve that appears to be a bit slow in reaching fruition.Next season will tell but I for one am not looking for miracles, for learning to coach at that level,when one has no or little previous experience, can be a difficult path to tread. Cheers jb
BtoPower3
Roar Rookie
Right before the last 2 qualifying matches a month ago, Jedinak made an astonishing saying that socceroos will surprise the world in the 2018 Russian Cup (http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2016/03/22/socceroos-skipper-jedinak-targets-leicester-surprises). I thought why he would make such claim? The reason being that socceroos had not even qualified in the first round. There is a second round to come. His saying was a big surprise actually. Then in those two matches, socceroos performed superbly. So, if socceroos can really surprise the world in two years (2018), Ange may attract big clubs' attention. That is not too far away, two years.
j binnie
Guest
Punter - I take it from your descrption of our fitness,speed,strength,mental strength, and discipline you are referring to the Arok period where,,faced with world cup qualification Arok had to make do with local part time players in the main and used that methodolgy to get results. It was not until very late in the Arok regime that a few of our Aussie born players began to venture overseas to gain valuable full-time ecperience. Farina,and Arnold following the pacesetters Mitchell and Krncevic. That was as late as 1990 Cheers jb
j binnie
Guest
Punter - You and I could spend long hours discussing this subject but lets be realistic. Take Ange - No doubt based on what he had seen and absorbed he had framed a picture in his mind of how he would like to see the game played in this country..He was given a chance to do that at Roar where after years of mis-management he was no doubt given a "carte -blanche" to do whatever he wanted to do. History tlls us he succeeded admirably Then for some reason or other he up and left the successful team he had built. Was there a reason" Well never know but suffice to say a year or so later alo.ng came the opportunity to be national coach and no one can blame him for accepting that. Now, faced with a team that had been playing ultrs defensive football, no doubt spurred on by the wish----or demand---- to get to WC finals, Ange was given another "carte -blanche" to buiid a team and it is here the differential between club coaching and national coaching becomes apparent. Instead of having a limited number of players under his immediate control he is given a huge "pallete' of players with which to paint his masterpiece,he has every Australian born footballer both here and overseas.So his task begins and there is little doubt so far he has been as successful as he can be, (you can only compete with who comes up) You say he couldn;t get a Broich or Berisha so what you are saying is that we don't yet have players of that calibre in the whole of the Australian spectrum of players.Now that is another subject all together but suffice to say what he has done is "played the game" well ,keeping younger local players in squads and camps but still apparently sticking to the overseas stars when it comes to starting elevens. Can you blame him,I certainly don't ,he has tried and tested many players and I think he has crossed th line between natiinal and club coach very very well. Wish hm luck in the future. Cheers jb
BtoPower3
Roar Rookie
The good thing about internet-discussion is that bloggers and fans can speak something that journalists may not dare doing so. There is no comparison between these two coaches. Aloisi is good but not good enough to be the head coach of Australia. He has not won any yet while Popovic has won a plate and AFC championship. Secondly, Popovic can adopt different formation with different opponents. His rotation strategy is admirable, despite he refuses the existence of such philosophy. On the other hand Aloisi plays the same lining up most of the time. If Aloisi takes the role of socceroos, he probably make selection like Osciek. Thirdly, his ability of youth training is in doubt.
Fussball IUL
Roar Rookie
Totally disagree. A good coach must be (amongst other things): * leader * communicator/motivator * tactician * manager or people Managing adults - men & women - should offer no major issues. Managing kids may require different skills to managing adults. However, a guy like Mike Mulvey proved successfully managing: Youth teams: GCU NYL Champions (twice?) Senior Women's team: MVFC (W-League champions .. he took them to the top but had to leave for the Brisbane HAL job before the season ended) Senior Men's team: Brisbane Roar (HAL premiers & champions)
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Only reason this conversation may come up in the next 2 years is if a European club decides to poach him, otherwise Ange is going nowhere. Not only is he a brilliant coach, he's the best ambassador in Australian sport....period!
Midfielder
Guest
C Think you are right but I see Europe or Asia offering him mega deals Australia will not be able to match.
aladdin sane
Guest
Alen Stajcic? I assume you're talking about the men's NT here? If so, it's worth pointing out he has never coached men in his professional career and from both a tactical and player management respect, the two are very, very different. Incredibly naive statement.
Lionheart
Guest
A bit unfair Fuss. For sure JB and Waz have called for Aloisi to go at times, but mainstream criticism has been fairly mute. Indeed, he is highly respected for his leadership in holding Roar together in the pre-season and attracting some fine recruits. Next season will be the time to judge his on field quality.
Batou
Guest
Aloisi isn't even in that race.
Byron Parish
Roar Rookie
JB, I completely agree. While I remain an AP fan, I do not believe his position is secured until he produces more success and a strong world Cup in Russia. I would love to see a Postecoglou dynasty, so time will tell. Would either of my candidates be capable of taking the head coach role for the 'Roos tomorrow? No. But I think its interesting to project five to 10 years into the future and predict. Certainly, both coaches have a lot to learn (not squandering a 3-0 lead would be nice...), but I hold hope they can become great coaches in their own right. Thanks for your comment!
Theo
Guest
Ange not going to be replaced any time soon. He has all the tools to manage big clubs in Europe. I think he deserves a chance in the EPL
Kaks
Roar Guru
We did show loyalty to him. A lot of people said "give him an extra year to see what he does" and now we are in the grand final playing some very good football. Fuss obviously uses a couple of twitter posts and thinks it's the majorities opinion, even though twitter is genuinely used by a bunch of emotional 12 year olds.
SVB
Guest
"12 months ago, there was nothing but ridicule & negativity directed at Tony Popovic’s coaching ability. He was mercilessly attacked by his own fans." Really? A few nutters on Facebook and Twitter over reacting means he was mercilessly attacked? You will get that in every club. But I think our supporters and management in the main have shown great loyalty to him, and vice versa. Won't be long now before he is the longest serving coach for one club in the A-league.
jamesb
Guest
What I love about Ange is that his side's (South Melbourne, Brisbane Roar and Australia) all play bright attacking positive football. He has an eye for talent and is great spokesman for the game in the media. Even selecting someone like App Giannou. Would other coaches contemplate that selection move. My point is, to become an Australian coach, there's more to it then just coaching on game day. Popa is way off, while Aloisi is way way way way off.