By Vince Rugari
Kevin Muscat has continued Ange Postecoglou’s legacy of success at Yokohama F. Marinos, steering them to the J.League crown on a dramatic final day of his first full season in the job.
Muscat took over when Postecoglou left for Celtic in the middle of last year – the second time he has succeeded the former Socceroos boss in a senior role, having done the same at Melbourne Victory in 2013 after serving as his assistant.
Kevin Muscat during last week’s clash with Urawa Red Diamonds.Credit: Getty
They were always going to be big shoes to fill, but Muscat, 49, has built on the sturdy platform left by his old boss, carrying on the blueprint of ultra-attacking possession football while adding his own tweaks. He now has a piece of silverware and a landmark achievement that could open doors for his coaching career.
But it didn’t come easy. Saturday’s 3-1 win over Andres Iniesta’s Vissel Kobe ended a nervy few weeks for Yokohama, who have been streets ahead of the rest of the J.League this season but faltered in the final stages of the championship race.
“It’s a little bit surreal. I’m just really proud. I think if there’s an overriding emotion, it’s pride; not only [in] the result but the way we played. The way we won was tremendous,” Muscat said.
“For us personally, we’ve been focusing on creating moments – through challenges, creating moments – and today, the moment that we created also created history. These guys will go down in history as one group that won the trophy for Marinos.”
Kevin Muscat and Ange Postecoglou at Melbourne Victory in 2013.Credit: Justin McManus
Marinos had a seemingly insurmountable eight-point lead over second-placed Kawasaki Frontale a month ago, but back-to-back losses to relegation candidates Gamba Osaka and Jubilo Iwata saw them surrender two prior opportunities to clinch the title and raised fears of an almighty choke.
But last weekend’s 4-1 home thumping of Urawa Red Diamonds got them back on track, and set up a simple equation: a draw or better against Vissel Kobe at Noevir Stadium, in the last game of their campaign, would secure the trophy.
Muscat’s men rose to the occasion, with goals from Jose Elber, Takuma Nishimura and Teruhito Nakagawa securing the club’s seventh title – and first since Postecoglou’s triumph in 2019, which put him on the radar of European clubs and led to his opportunity in Scotland.
The Melbourne Victory legend joins an exclusive club of Australian managers to have won major domestic titles abroad – alongside Postecoglou, who also won the Scottish Premiership with Celtic last season, and Joe Montemurro, who guided the Arsenal and Juventus women’s teams to championships in the last four years.
For Muscat, who could emerge as a Socceroos coaching contender if Graham Arnold’s contract is not extended beyond the World Cup, it is his first major honour since winning the A-League grand final in 2018 with Victory from fourth on the ladder.
With Yokohama part-owned by the City Football Group, whose connections in European football solidified Celtic’s interest in Postecoglou, Muscat may soon find himself in demand, despite announcing a contract extension with the Japanese club last week.
There is little doubt Muscat would embrace another crack at coaching in Europe after a sour ending to his previous job with Belgian outfit Sint-Truiden, where he won just two of his 15 games before getting the sack after seven months. In 2017, two years before Postecoglou joined Celtic, Muscat was linked to a managerial vacancy at Rangers, one of his former clubs.
While he is still regarded in Britain as one of football’s most controversial figures, due to his hardman reputation on the field, he overcame similar perceptions in Japan, and will hope his progress as a coach and preference for attacking football will change people’s views.
There could be another Aussie coach basking in Japanese glory this weekend: on Sunday, Peter Cklamovski’s Montedio Yamagata face Roasso Kumamoto in a J2.League promotion play-off.
If they win that, Cklamovski – Postecoglou’s long-time former lieutenant – will then need his side to beat the third-bottom team from J1, Kyoto Sanga, in a showdown next weekend to earn a spot alongside Muscat in Japan’s top flight, where he previously coached Shimizu S-Pulse.
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