Popovic, Talay on Victory radar as search for new coach begins
Tony Popovic and Ufuk Talay head the list of coaches on Melbourne Victory’s radar after the A-League club parted ways with Grant Brebner on Saturday night follow a 7-0 humiliation at the hands of cross-town rivals Melbourne City.
As reported by The Age and the Herald earlier this year, Victory approached Popovic, the former Western Sydney Wanderers coach, last year before Brebner’s appointment. He had left Perth Glory but was intent on pursuing a coaching career in Europe.
Melbourne Victory coach and former player Grant Brebner parted ways with the club after a 7-0 trouncing at the hands of their rivals.Credit:Getty Images
The former Asian Champions League-winning boss is still overseas after his tenure at Xanthi, a Greek club, ended in a surprise sacking in February. Sources familiar with the process suggest that Popovic will be top of their list again but, having done almost everything in the domestic and Asian game, he may still wish to pursue his European dream.
Talay, currently the boss of the Wellington Phoenix, is another who has been in Victory’s sights for some time and is currently the subject of renewed interest.
He, too, was approached when Carlos Salvachua, Brebner’s predecessor, departed last winter, but his contractual ties to Wellington meant he was a non-contender.
That will not be the case now, however, as his deal expires at season’s end.
There has been a push from some fans have called for the club to urge championship-winning legend Kevin Muscat to return, but he is in Europe following his sacking from Belgian club Sint-Truiden and has said he wants to stay overseas to try to rebuild his career.
Victory target: Tony Popovic.Credit:Getty Images
Others who have been linked with the Victory job at various recent times include former Melbourne Heart and Brisbane boss John Aloisi, former Ange Postecoglou assistant Arthur Papas, and even ex-England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson.
Joe Montemurro, who is due to leave his post as coach of Arsenal’s women’s team at the end of the WSL season, will return to Australia and does not yet have a job lined up.
For the declining number of Victory fans who booed the team off the pitch and took to social media to demand Di Pietro’s resignation as well, the end to the inexperienced coach’s reign has not come soon enough. Dissident director Richard Wilson also called for Di Pietro to step down earlier this year when he announced he was quitting and selling his shares in the club.
Di Pietro is a major shareholder of the club but there is no doubt that his position is under more pressure than it has ever been – along with chief executive Trent Jacobs and technical director Drew Sherman.
This trio have been held responsible by fans for the slew of poor signings, particularly of international players.
Di Pietro has been contacted for comment.
Of this year’s intake only Callum McManaman and Jacob Butterfield have played regularly, but aside from a few flashes of brilliance the former has hardly been a gamebreaker while the latter, despite a long career in England’s Championship, has made little impact.
Striker Rudy Gestede and tall defender Ryan Shotton, both with English Premier League experience, have barely played through injury. It was the same last season when Kristjan Dobras, Migjen Basha, Jakob Poulsen and Tim Hoogland made little or no impression.
Brebner had brought through a number of youngsters, but very few of them have shown sustained excellence.
Current assistants Steve Kean, the ex-Blackburn Rovers EPL boss, and Jean Paul De Marigny, the ex-Western Sydney coach, will take interim charge for Friday’s game against Wanderers, and it is likely that combination will stay in charge until the end of this campaign.
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