Gold Coast United coach Kristian Rees discusses his A-League career and the future in the Big Q&A
HIS professional playing career came to a premature end with Gold Coast United’s A-League demise in 2012. But the club’s NPL rebirth has given new coach Kristian Rees a chance to continue his lifelong passion, as he discusses in this week’s Big Q&A.
Local sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
HIS professional playing career came to a premature end with Gold Coast United’s A-League demise in 2012. But the club’s NPL rebirth has given new coach Kristian Rees a chance to continue his lifelong passion, as he discusses in this week’s Big Q&A.
Q. Most local football fans would know you spent time playing at Palm Beach after United. But what about life away from the field?
A. I’m employed by Minerology, which is a mining company owned by Clive Palmer. When Gold Coast United finished in 2012, he’s taken me on there and I’ve spent the last seven years with him learning different things. My title is Gold Coast project manager. That can be anything from managing properties to moving 70ft, 100ft boats and picking Clive up and doing work with him regarding politics and meetings. It varies from day to day, it’s a bit different.
Q. The role even included your own stint in politics. How did you find that?
A. It was different. There was a lot to learn. I’d have to say being involved in politics isn’t something that I really ever aspired to. My passion is obviously football. I’ve been with Clive now almost 10 years and he’s very upfront and honest about how he feels about the country. He’s passionate so I was more than happy to support him in going about that.
Q. Most people only know the Clive Palmer they see in the media. What’s he really like?
A. He’s larger than life. He probably works harder than anyone I’ve ever met, he only sleeps a few hours a night. He’s probably the most positive person I’ve ever met. The person that gets shown up in the media is different to the person I get to spend a bit of time with during the week. He’ll fight for a cause that he really strongly believes in, so the principles and the characteristics that he shows is something I respect.
Q. And he offered jobs to everyone in the United squad when the club collapsed, didn’t he?
A. The FFA revoked Gold Coast United’s license with about four games left and offered the whole squad a four-week contract to finish the season. Clive brought in the whole squad and said ‘anyone that doesn’t want to take the four-week contract, I’ll employ every single one of you within the company’. I’d just had a baby, was about to get married and I’d just bought a house (so) I was the only player that took him up on that.
Q. So despite the bitter end, how do you look back on your time with United?
A. I had a fantastic time, I really enjoyed it. As soon as I moved to the Gold Coast and started pre-season at TSS, it was probably some of the best facilities I’ve ever trained on pitch-wise. We were looking over Surfers Paradise every morning and the weather was just unbelievable. The squad in the first year was probably one of the best squads I’ve played with so I was disappointed we didn’t go on and win the league because we were a couple of points off finishing first and unfortunately I was one of the players that missed a penalty against Newcastle in the semi final. The team that ended up going on to win the league, Sydney, we beat them comfortably three times throughout the year. That year was just unbelievable. We had a lot of media following us because we were travelling around on Clive’s private jet and we did tours of Hong Kong and New Caledonia and things like that, so there was a great feeling amongst the squad.
Q. No surprises then that you’re still living on the Coast rather than going back to Adelaide?
A. It didn’t take me and my now-wife long to decide we wanted to stay on the Coast after coming up from Adelaide. We’re happy here now and my wife is a schoolteacher in Clear Island Waters and we’ve got three kids. We had a great time (at United) and I’ll always look back on it fondly, and now I’m into another chapter with Gold Coast United after they’ve been reformed.
Q. Do you regret that your A-League career finished the way it did, or as early?
A. Unfortunately I could’ve played probably a couple more years than I did but that’s life. I went on and played with Palm Beach, won an NPL there and met some good friends there that I’m still really close with now. My focus now is obviously on Gold Coast United and trying to bring through some of those players on the Gold Coast, similar to the way Mike Mulvey did with Gold Coast United in the Youth League at the start of 2009-10.
Q. Could you ever see the day a Gold Coast team returns to the A-League?
A. I don’t know if the right way to go about it is for Gold Coast United to go straight into the A-League. I really like the idea of having a second division with promotion-relegation. I think the club really needs to have a solid foundation and an income stream that doesn’t just come from sponsors. I’d like to see Gold Coast United try and build something from the ground up with a good business model where they can make money and have a solid foundation there. It’s shown with sports that the region is quite hard to get a solid following, even if you look at the rugby league with the Titans and the basketball falling over. So I think you’ve got to build a club with solid foundations and see how it goes.
Q. While we’re talking about the A-League, how do you think it’s travelling at the moment?
A. I think it’s really good. I watch it religiously and people have a few gripes about the standard of the A-League but I think for me when you watch it and when you’re playing, it’s a lot harder when you get out there with the conditions and the heat. The speed of the game is so much faster when you actually get out on the pitch. There’s still a lot of boys that come through every year and do well and then every year in the transfer window they’re off the Korea and China and Japan. It’s a great competition and now with the Western Melbourne team coming in next season and west Sydney the season after that it’s going to add a new dimension with a few more derbies. I really enjoy it and I think the standard is excellent.
Q. What parts of your playing career do you look back on most fondly?
A. A highlight for me would be the first year of the A-League where I played with Adelaide United. I was lucky enough to play in the first ever A-League game and then after that I played in the first ever Asian Champions League game. We won the premiership that year with Adelaide so we hit the ground running and ended up winning the premiership by six or seven points. That was fantastic. (It’s also) just some of the friends you make along the way. There’s probably not a day goes by I don’t look back on the days I used to play, remember certain things and good times. I was lucky enough in Adelaide that I played with Romario when he was on a guest stint. I also got to play against David Beckham when he was at LA Galaxy so that was enjoyable.
Q. What about things you look back on and wish you could have done differently?
A. Not a hell of a lot. A lot of young players probably doubt themselves a little bit. As a young player, I wish I’d had more self-belief to push that little bit harder. Also as you get older, you change things like your diet and don’t go out as much and things like that, and probably in my 20s I wish I’d been a little bit better. It’s such a small, one per cent thing but they’re the little things that can affect you.
Q. And so to life as a coach. How have you found the experience so far?
A. There’s a lot to learn, that’s for sure. Sometimes I wish I could just put the boots back on and run out with the boys when they’re struggling a little bit and try and give them that bit of guidance. But part of coaching is that boys have to learn from their experience so you just hope you can give them that experience as quick as possible. Every single session I go to I’m learning but it’s really enjoyable. I’m constantly thinking about football and tactics. I think I’m quite a positive person in general so with football you’ve got to be positive, really work hard, be focused and support the players you’re looking after. I’m quite confident we’ve got a good group there (at United). The board have done a great job and given me that space to find the players I want to find.
Q. Do you have aspirations to coach in the A-League, or anywhere professionally, one day?
A. It’s one of those things where I always wanted to coach and I’ve only been doing it a few months really. I just want to learn as much as I can, study it, work hard and do the best I can and that was the way I used to think about football when I played. You only do three nights a week (at training) and the game but it’s something I think about constantly during the day with sessions and planning and tactics and the opposition. I want to try and develop as a coach and if it’s going well and there’s opportunities to progress down the track it’s definitely something I would look at.
KRISTIAN REES FACT FILE
AGE: 39
HOMETOWN: Adelaide
PLAYING CAREER: 1998-2015
A-LEAGUE APPEARANCES: 117
MAJOR TEAMS: Adelaide United, Wellington Phoenix, Gold Coast United (A-League), Palm Beach (NPL)
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
■ Won A-League premiership with Adelaide United in 2005-06
■ Played for Adelaide United in first Asian Champions League game in 2007
■ Won 2014 NPL Queensland double
‘F*** I miss it’: How the Cutters managed to sign former Sun
After stepping away from the AFL due to mental fatigue, former Richmond Tigers premiership star and Gold Coast Sun Brandon Ellis has rediscovered his love for the game, signing with the South Cairns Cutters for the 2025 season. This is why.
South Cairns Cutters sign former Richmond premiership star
A former Richmond Tigers premiership star and Gold Coast Suns player is the latest recruitment coup for AFL Cairns as he joins the reigning premiers in 2025. FIND out how it came about here