South Melbourne sets its sights on Adelaide United’s Marco Kurz

Cashed up A-League expansion prospect South Melbourne has set its sights on Adelaide United’s Marco Kurz, who looks set to become to highest paid coach in the competition’s history.

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Adelaide United coach Marco Kurz is expansion A-League club South Melbourne’s No. 1 target.

The German is poised to be the highest paid coach in the competition in history — believed to be about $1 million a season — but the offer rests on whether cashed up South Melbourne gains entry to the A-League.

Football Federation Australia’s board will on Wednesday decide which clubs will become part of the competition.

South is the only existing case which is currently in operation out of the six hopeful clubs.

South Melbourne A-League bid chairman Bill Papastergiadis confirmed Kurz is a target.

The German’s Adelaide United two-year contract comes to an end in May.

Marco Kurz coach of Adelaide United. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

“We have the commercial capacity through our major investor Ross Pelligra to be able to fund and approach arguably the best coach in the league which is Marco Kurz and hopefully make him the highest paid coach in the A-League,’’ Papastergiadis said.

“We intend to get the best coach in the A-League and we intend to be ready for next year and we want to play and participate at the highest level in the game.

“For the purposes of playing in the league and if we’re given the tick our football department will approach Marco, we aim to get the best coach.

“We have been following him closely we’ve got the commercial capacity to do it, much more than most of the A-League clubs and we’re not going to take a backward step.”

South Melbourne was considered to be the most successful club in the national soccer league era, winning four championships before the competition was put to bed in 2004.

It became the first Australian club to participate at the FIFA Club World Cup in 2000 under former Socceroos boss Ange Postecoglou, eight years before Adelaide United made an appearance in Japan.

The club has the backing of billionaire Ross Pelligra.

The Victorian property mogul bought the Holden site at Elizabeth last year and partnered with one of SA’s largest builders in real estate projects.

He is also investing in Whyalla and Largs Bay.

South will be based at Albert Park — its current home — which has a 13,000 capacity.

Papastergiadis is confident South Melbourne will capture a loyal audience and attract other teams’ fans to its venue in true football rivalry fashion.

“We’re a ready-made team and most importantly we are a team that away supporters will come to watch us lose,’’ he said.

“Football is about rivalry, it’s not about niceties, our opponents will benefit from the intense rivalry.”

In an ironic twist South played its final NSL match against Adelaide United in the now defunct competition in front of 16,558 fans — a full house — at Hindmarsh.

Adelaide knocked South out of the finals race 2-1 after extra time.

South featured current Adelaide midfielder Vinni Lia, Reds general manager of football Ante Kovacevic and 2016 A-League championship and Premier’s Plate winner Eugene Galekovic who is now with Melbourne City.

Adelaide fielded current Reds technical director Aurelio Vidmar and Brisbane Roar’s assistant coach Ross Aloisi.