Adelaide United’s general manager of football Ante Kovacevic has been made redundant by the Reds
Adelaide United’s general manager of football Ante Kovacevic has been let go by the club just three years after helping Barcelona legend Guillermo Amor win the A-League double in 2016 with the Reds.
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The man that was largely credited with helping Barcelona legend Guillermo Amor assemble an Adelaide United team that claimed the A-League double in 2016 has been made redundant.
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Ante Kovacevic – Adelaide United’s general manager of football since he was appointed in September 2015 – will end his Reds duties on New Year’s Eve before his current contract ends next year.
Kovacevic’s role at the club looked to be under increasing pressure first when original club captain and later coach Aurelio Vidmar was confirmed as football director on the club’s 15th birthday in September 2018 after it was revealed in The Advertiser he would be returning after an eight year absence.
Vidmar quit that gig in February before Bruce Djite was named as the club’s new football director in June.
The 45-year-old Kovacevic will long be remembered for a masterstroke of transfer business in January 2016.
He helped Adelaide turn its season around when after eight rounds Amor’s side was languishing at the foot of the table in the 2015/16 season winless and with just three points.
By round 14 when the FIFA January 2015 transfer window was open and just months into the job Kovacevic engineered a deal which turned Adelaide into a Premier’s Plate winner and champion.
He managed to snare SA’s Stefan Mauk from Melbourne City in a swap deal for Osama Malik.
Mauk made his debut for Adelaide on January 31, 2015 when United was in sixth spot and by the time the minor round ended the Reds were on top before claiming the grand final in front of more than 50,000 fans at Adelaide Oval in a 3-1 win over Western Sydney.
Kovacevic, a national soccer league champion with Melbourne Knights which featured the legendary Mark Viduka also played NSL for Adelaide City, captaining the club and making 80 appearances.
He featured for SA’s Raiders between 2000 and 2003 and signed for Perth Glory in 2005, the inaugural year of the A-League becoming the WA club’s football operations manager before winning the Reds gig.
Adelaide United chairman, Piet van der Pol said “Ante has been a very important person in the history of Adelaide United.
“He has worked tirelessly for the club and we thank him for his services, wishing him the best for his future in football and beyond.”