Coaching could be Broich’s finest goal

Thomas Broich’s influence on Australian football could me even more influential in the future.

Thomas Broich on the ball at training at Ballymore. Picture: Liam Kidston.

Thomas Broich is entering what might well be his last ­­A-League season as a player but his future impact on Australian football could become equally influential.

Arguably the competition’s greatest import, Broich is seriously considering taking up coaching when he hangs up his boots.

The 35-year-old German is in the final year of his marquee deal with Brisbane Roar and while still unsure whether he will seek a contract extension, he’s already started thinking about life after playing at the top level.

Nothing is certain just yet but Broich is serious about returning to the Roar one day and exploring the art of coaching.

“The teaching element of it is just beautiful,” Broich said. “When you see guys ... becoming better players, or us becoming a better team, that is a really rewarding and fulfilling feeling.

“I could certainly see myself in a role like that. It might be as an academy coach, assistant coach, it might even be as a head coach.

“I don’t know exactly if that is what I want from life — obviously it puts you under a lot of pressure. It’s more seeing what suits my style, what feels right.”

Not all great players make good coaches but Broich shapes as a gem of an addition to the national ranks if he can make a successful transition.

He is in the early stages of ­applying for Australian citizenship, having been in the country since joining the Roar in May 2010, which if successful could give coach John Aloisi an extra foreign slot later in the season. “Brisbane is and will always be such an important part of my life — it really turned life around for me and I’ll feel forever grateful for what I’ve experienced here,” Broich said.

“I’ve got the opportunity now to actually become a part of Australia and I think I’m going to seize this opportunity.

“I’m kind of thinking that after my career I want to spend a little bit of time in Australia just to ­really experience and travel the country for once.

“But then I want to go back to Europe, catch up with friends and family, look after my mum a little bit ... might even do my coaching badges over there. There’s a part of me that dreams of coming back to Brisbane in a different role one day.”

Brisbane, of course, is where the former German youth international rediscovered his passion for the game.

Then-Roar coach Ange Postecoglou famously drove nine hours across Europe to meet with a burnt-out Broich — frustrated with life in the Bundesliga — to convince him to have a shot at the A-League.

Broich has mesmerised domestic audiences ever since, winning three championships and becoming one of only four players to have won the Johnny Warren Medal twice, joining Socceroos greats Mark Viduka, Scott Chipperfield and Damien Mori.

But time is catching up and Broich struggled to make his usual imprint on the A-League last year.

With a rejuvenated Tommy Oar expected to take his starting position on the left wing, a bench spot beckons, but he’s confident he can still be a key contributor.

“Football isn’t that much about running, it’s more about your awareness, vision, touch and all that — and that certainly is not getting worse with age,” he said.

AAP