Steve Corica and Tony Popovic share relentless winning mentality
Steve Corica’s Sydney FC coaching report card reads “nothing short of phenomenal” at this early stage as he prepares to tackle a familiar face blessed with the same relentless approach to winning.
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Steve Corica’s Sydney FC coaching report card reads “nothing short of phenomenal” at this early stage of his reign as he prepares to tackle an old teammate blessed with the same relentless approach to winning.
That’s the view of former Sky Blues goalkeeper Clint Bolton, who knows Corica and Perth Glory coach Tony Popovic better than most.
On Wednesday night, the league leaders entertain a Sydney FC side just three points behind them and one that enjoyed a 2-1 away win in WA four days before Christmas.
Bolton tasted Sky Blues success with both Corica and Popovic and is well placed to offer a great insight into their respective blueprints for success.
“Something I love about both of them is this relentless approach to winning. “Doing what it takes, both on and off the field to get there,” Bolton said.
“It’s not feeling comfortable being in a winning position, to keep going, keeping the opposition under the whip and getting a psychological advantage over the opposition which will pay dividends down the track.
“That’s common among all my old teammates who are now coaching in the A-League.
“As for Popa and Bimbi (Corica), you would suggest Bimbi is a lot more laid-back. He has a higher threshold for that angry mode, if you like. It takes more to get him angry. Popa has a lower threshold but he’s very good at containing that anger and channelling it.”
While Popovic has been lauded for the job he has done in transforming perennial A-League underachievers Glory, Bolton says Corica’s achievements since taking charge of the Sky Blues deserve due merit.
“Going into this A-League season, for me, he (Corica) had the toughest job of any A-League coach, off the back of Graham Arnold’s success, setting such a high benchmark for Steve to come in at arguably the biggest club in the country,” Bolton said.
“I don’t think there was a tougher gig going round. He’d lost his goalscorer (Bobo) and also Adrian Mierzejewski.
“To come into that situation, after Arnie, with those odds against him it was going to be a massive job.
“In the A-League there’s not a lot of roles so if you get this one wrong it would seriously set you back a long way.
“To be positioned up there after 11 rounds is nothing short of phenomenal in my mind.
“His career will rely heavily on how he communicates to players and manages them and it looks like he’s doing a pretty good job of that at the moment.
“Importantly too, any time I seem him speak publicly he is very true to his character. It’s Bimbi that I hear talking. He’s staying true to himself. He’s not trying to be anything he’s not. He’ll do it his way.”
As for Glory, Bolton is full of praise for the job Popovic has done since heading west.
“You know exactly where you stand with Popa as a player,” Bolton said.
“Popa’s very good at a getting a squad together where everyone’s on the same page, just as he did at Western Sydney.
“You need to be able to communicate to your players, but you also have to be self-reflective as a coach. You have to understand your players. Which of them needs an arm round them, which one needs a word. But, it’s about understanding yourself first.”
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Originally published as Steve Corica and Tony Popovic share relentless winning mentality
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