Adelaide United coach Marco Kurz will leave a legacy which will be a hard act to follow for the new coach of the Reds
Adelaide United boss Marco Kurz may have sat on the Reds bench for the last time on Good Friday. Val Migliaccio takes a look back at his two-years in charge.
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Adelaide United is about to lose one of its greatest coaches in its 16-year existence at the end of the season.
Marco Kurz is the special one but, much like Adelaide United’s must successful coach, Barcelona legend Guillermo Amor, he would never proclaim being a superhuman.
Kurz and Amor are real professionals but still easy targets.
One of the most ridiculous theories emanated out of Amor’s 2016 double Reds title season.
Some belittled his role in the trophy wins, saying the Reds would have won without his leadership.
Kurz is also copping unjustified flak for working miracles on a shoestring budget.
During his second season, Kurz’s requests for players were turned down — he wanted a striker (of his choosing) pre-season and a centre back in January.
He didn’t get what he wanted yet look where the side is today.
Good Friday could have been the last time Kurz sat on the Hindmarsh Stadium bench for the Reds if they lost to Melbourne Victory, but a 1-0 win has put Adelaide United in the box seat for a home final and a fitting farewell for the coach.
A win over Brisbane Roar on Anzac Day will see Adelaide realise that goal.
Losing points in Brisbane, however, could steer fourth place towards Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne City who face off today in Wellington.
Kurz’s Reds also surpassed the Reds 2017-18 points tally — 39 — to reach 41 with a game to spare after Friday’s pressure cooker win.
As much as Adelaide officials are not focusing on Kurz’s past two years of success — and the potential to host a home final — they cannot hide behind impressive results.
Kurz has worked wonders with a club which is up to a reported $4 million short of the budgets of Melbourne Victory, Sydney FC and Melbourne City.
He propelled Adelaide to a second top-six appearance with two games remaining under his leadership.
His record speaks for itself.
Adelaide was last year knocked out of the finals race by a late goal to eventual champion Victory. Adelaide then won the FFA Cup final under Kurz last year.
Almost 12 months after losing the 2017 FFA Cup final in controversial extra-time circumstances, when Michael Marrone was expelled after the ball boy incident, Kurz’s side exacted revenge on Sydney at Hindmarsh.
And Kurz’s 351 games as a professional and 317 matches as a coach in Germany, a nation that has won the FIFA World Cup four times, suggests he is a wise man of football.
Kurz was part of a plan to find the best coach available for the then-Reds budget when Greg Griffin was Adelaide chairman before the club was sold in March last year.
Kurz is clever tactically, meticulous and does painstaking homework. He studies everything about his opposition. And it’s no surprise that not all players like him as a coach, but they do respect him. He knows how to keep the distance between players and carries his strong messages through experienced players, which hasn’t gone down well for some.
He was even criticised for over training his men, raising the bar to standards he had been used to in Germany where they are at the forefront of the industry.
The players’ union handled complaints from at least one player who said he was overworked.
“I cannot train at the same level (here),’’ Kurz said in 2017. “For example, in Germany I trained four times per day — before breakfast, before and after lunch and after dinner.
“If I did this now I would kill the players and kill the team. But I think we’re on the right path, we’re at a good level.”
Former Adelaide defender Taylor Regan also gave Kurz a backhanded compliment after we was transferred to Malaysia’s Selangor in January.
“As a fan I can definitely understand all the frustration as I agree, Marco can coach,’’ Regan posted on Twitter. “But I also had the chance to see things from the inside. Sometimes there is more to football then just what the fans see. I’m staying on the fence with this one.”
Kurz also doesn’t have a need to get along with everyone including coaches outside his A-League bubble. And his on- field behaviour was even seen by some Reds officials as inappropriate — his in your face style was said to be too harsh — but that’s not how his players or most fans see it.
He’s passionate, he’ll tell you the truth, not what want you want to hear.
He’s come a long way with the Reds since his disastrous first training on a paddock at Elizabeth in 2017.
Only eight players were at the first session on Main North Rd, where cars were smacking past at 80km/h and he had to carry all of his coaching tools and soccer goals across the road from the Playford Reds base.
As a fan I can definitely understand all the frustration as I agree, Marco can coach. But I also had the chance to see things from the inside. Sometimes there is more to football then just what the fans see. I’m staying on the fence with this one 🤠https://t.co/t0fu1Wawm4
— Taylor Regan (@taylorreegs) March 20, 2019
Almost eight weeks later Kurz unveiled his rigid style in an FFA Cup round-of-32 clash at Marden.
He had turned the Reds into an outfit that was so much fitter, harder working and tactically much different and efficient to Amor’s Barca philosophy.
Kurz also has handed seven players Reds debuts and had the youngest aged team in the league last season.
He sits sixth in the A-League’s best coaching records, earning 1.68 points per game and is No. 1 for positive results among former Adelaide coaches.
Kurz’s imprint started taking shape and the Reds soon became a side which was hard to beat, despite the gulf in quality from the top tier clubs.
Smart enough to realise that his stock would not be able to play open attacking football, Kurz’s style warranted praise from Kevin Muscat and Warren Joyce — bosses that have tried to dissect his tactical jewels.
There have been bad times too, embarrassing beltings — a 5-0 loss to City last year and a listless 3-1 loss to Western Sydney in February at home — but they’ve recovered.
Now Kurz and his men are capable of making this season’s grand final.
The finals series has all the hallmarks of turning his exit into one of the most bizarre decisions made in the history of Adelaide United and the A-League.
THE FOURTH PLACE HOME FINAL SCENARIO
The current top six table
1st: Perth Glory — 57 points
2nd: Sydney FC — 52 points
3rd: Melbourne Victory — 47 points
4th: Adelaide United — 41 points
5th: Wellington Phoenix — 37 points
6th: Melbourne City — 37 points
What does Adelaide need to do to secure fourth spot?
Beat Brisbane Roar on Anzac Day
What will see Adelaide lose fourth spot?
If either Wellington or City earn four points or more in their last two matches and Adelaide loses to Roar.
Wellington hosts City on Easter Sunday.
City hosts Central Coast at home on Friday
Phoenix faces Perth Glory in its final home match away on April 28.
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