On this week’s episode of Total A-Leagues, Sydney Morning Herald reporter Vince Rugari and retired Socceroo Tommy Oar discussed the work of Auckland FC head coach Steve Corica and his impact on the Isuzu UTE A-League.
Is Steve Corica one of Australia’s most exciting coaching prospects?
Season 2024-25 has been, somewhat, one of redemption for the 51-year-old, who departed Sydney FC last term after 19 years at the club.
He left the Sky Blues as the longest-serving coach in their history, having taken charge of 182 matches while winning 13 trophies across an extraordinary stint as both a player and manager.
Now, Corica has not only helped build a new club from scratch, but created a genuine Championship threat. For that, the A-Leagues great “deserves a lot of credit,” according to Sydney Morning Herald reporter Vince Rugari and Oar on this week’s Total A-Leagues episode.
“I think I was one of the people who thought he stayed on at Sydney FC as coach for probably a season, a little bit too long,” Rugari said. “Needed to sort of leave the club he’d been at for almost 20 years just to get some different perspectives. The club needed that too, I think, as well.
“They’ve got a really strong defensive base and some flexibility in attack as well. They’re not relying on one player to score their goals. They’re being spread around as well.
“The only others who have won more than two, including all of domestic football in Australia as well, from what I could tell, were Eddie Thompson and Zoran Matic, who both had three. But with two, you’re talking Kevin Muscat, You’re talking Graham Arnold, which is pretty special for a guy like Steve Corica, probably no one has him in that category of coach.
“But if he wins this next one, or if he continues to develop Auckland FC into the club they seem like they’re becoming huge, huge credit.”
Ange Postecoglou has blazed a trail for Australian coaches abroad. After success in the NSL and A-Leagues, the legendary tactician has gone on to win titles with the Socceroos, Yokohama F.Marinos and Celtic, while is now trying to help end the trophy drought of Premier League outfit Tottenham.
Kevin Muscat (Shanghai Port) and ex-Socceroos boss Graham Arnold have also impressed since graduating from the A-Leagues, as have Peter Cklamovski, who was recently appointed head coach of Malaysia and Joe Montemurro (Lyon Women).
Oar feels Corica could be the next exciting Aussie export.
“I think he (Corica) probably doesn’t get the credit he deserves,” added the former Brisbane Roar, Central Coast Mariners and Macarthur Bulls midfielder.
“If you think back to his time at Sydney FC. He took over from Graham Arnold, who was hugely successful and I think a lot of people thought that he just kind of inherited that team, and he wasn’t really changing much.
“Now, as you just touched on, to go to a new club recruit and build a whole kind of football team and philosophy from the ground up in such a short space of time, they look like a team that’s been playing together for four or five years, and it looks like he’s been building this for a long time, but the fact he’s put it together so quickly, I think speaks volumes.
