FFA Cup win a legacy of departing Melbourne City coach John van’t Schip

MELBOURNE City/Heart’s one constant John van’t Schip is gone, but he will be remembered for delivering the club its first major trophy and blooding the kids, writes David Davutovic.

THE John van’t Schip era at Melbourne City is officially closed.

The Dutchman has been the one constant since the club’s inception, now he’s gone but not forgotten.

Appointed as the Melbourne Heart coach in October 2009, he has coached all bar 39 of the club’s 144 games while he remained as a technical adviser when John Aloisi was in charge.

I would like to thank everyone at the club and our fans for the fantastic period I had working at @MelbourneCity pic.twitter.com/gRyapdQq5e

— john van't schip (@johnvantschip7) January 2, 2017

His Heart stint was noted for blooding kids Curtis Good, Eli Babalj, Brendan Hamill, Craig Goodwin and Aziz Behich, who netted the club in excess of $2 million in transfer fees.

At City he will be remembered for delivering their first trophy, the convincing FFA Cup win over Sydney FC five weeks ago.

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Van’t Schip never quite convinced the Australian public of his coaching pedigree and the cynics will say that this season he had the biggest budget in A-League history.

While he’s never been the outlandish media performer or the ruthless man-manager we sometimes crave in Australian sports, his strengths were his tactical savvy and ability to develop players.

Aaron Mooy is probably his greatest success story. Granted he arrived as a mature-age player, but under van’t Schip he flourished and took his game to levels rarely seen locally.

But for every Mooy there was a Stefan Mauk, a talented youngster who he inexplicably released last January and who helped Adelaide United win the title before he was sold abroad.

Van’t Schip did it his way to the death. In his final season he went with a 3-4-3 that he was taught at Ajax, who won the 1995 Champions League title with that system, as did City in their 2016 FFA Cup final win.

John van 't Schip. Picture: AAP

He refused to guarantee City Football Group’s big signings game-time, axing Robbie Koren and preferring Dean Bouzanis to Thomas Sorensen this season.

Almost as a parting gift, he’s blooded teens Ruon Tongyik, Denis Genreau and Daniel Arzani in recent weeks.

Throughout his tenure, van’t Schip remained a gentleman and his conduct on the sidelines and at press conferences should be commended.

This was always likely to be van’t Schip’s last season at City as his dad has been ill for some time.

He was hoping to finish with a title. But with pressure here mounting, his prioritised he’s dad’s health over his pursuit of an elusive A-League crown.