Why did Tony Popovic leave the Wanderers, and why would he join Karabukspor?

JUST last week Tony Popovic appeared full of optimism about his team’s prospects for the new season — today he quit the Wanderers.

Tony Popovic has quit his role as Western Sydney Wanderers head coach.

THE great irony is that last Tuesday, as the A-League’s head coaches and star players gathered for a media day ahead of the new season, Tony Popovic was in fine form.

Relaxed, chatty and engaging, Popovic appeared to be full of optimism about his team’s prospects for the new season. We can only presume he is similarly as optimistic about his prospects of turning round the fortunes of Karabukspor, and leading them out of the relegation zone and up the table of the Turkish Supa Lig.

It is, on the face of it, a choice that could best be described as curious. Popovic will replace Erkan Sozeri after the latter’s resignation, but Western Sydney’s fans will ask two questions: why that club? And why now?

EXCLUSIVE: Tony Popovic quits Wanderers

Will Tony Popovic (R) take his goalkeeping coach Zeljko Kalac (L) when he departs?

Until now the 44-year-old has felt able to spurn advances from a range of teams, including Shanghai Shenhua and Crystal Palace — in the case of the former, turning his back on up to $20m.

We always knew his ambition was to coach in Europe, but he has chosen a league that has been the graveyard of Australian ambition for any number of players.

It’s not a big club by any stretch of the imagination, with a stadium capacity of 14,000, and there’s no European football to whet the appetite. So it must be the challenge of establishing himself in Europe that has led him to accept this offer, right on the eve of the A-League season.

You could look at it another way, and note that Popovic becomes a trailblazer for Australian coaches.

Ange Postecoglou had hoped to be the first to land a European job after the Socceroos World Cup campaign wraps up, and it’s feasible that Popovic has smoothed the way a little.

Who would have thought? Took this photo of WSW coach Tony Popovic & CEO John Tsatsimas at season launch yesterday.Poppa now going to Turkey? pic.twitter.com/5sCFXWZieB

— Andy Paschalidis (@AndyPaschalidis) October 1, 2017

The manner of his departure will undoubtedly sour his legacy at the Wanderers. Though the deal is said to have been brewing for several days, its ratification leaves Western Sydney rudderless less than a week before their first game.

Popovic was at the club’s members day on Saturday, and less than 24 hours later he resigned.

It remains to be seen whether any members of his backroom staff go with Popovic, notably assistant coach Andrés Carrasco and goalkeeping coach Zeljko Kalac, both of whom are confidantes of their head coach, especially Kalac.

Carrasco though is likely to be asked to steer the first team in the short term while the hunt for a new coach begins.

Who that will be becomes a far more urgent question than any fleeting bitterness towards Popovic. Ante Milicic knows the club well having worked there, and has ambitions to be a head coach, but will be loathe to leave the Socceroos World Cup campaign (though that could of course end this month or next).

Josep Gombau would continue the current Spanish flavour at Western Sydney, and knows the A-League. He was second for the Melbourne City gig, and would certainly be interested. With the Wanderers’ financial resources, he won’t be the only one.