Caretaker to King: Australia’s rising coaching star

From a forgettable two-game caretaker stint, few would’ve predicted Australia’s next great coaching prospect would be Steve Corica.

Sydney FC coach Steve Corica first spell in charge lasted two games

As auditions go it wasn’t far off forgetting your lines and tripping over the stage props.

Steve Corica’s first spell in charge of Sydney FC, as caretaker lasted two games. And he lost them both.

Returning to his role as youth team coach, however, was not a demotion. By his own admission, Corica simply hadn’t been ready for the top job during that doomed 2012 season.

He was still learning his craft – but quickly – while the first team were in chaos at that time. Corica’s side, by contrast, won their own title at a canter.

Eight years on much has changed (though he’s still winning things) and he’s the brightest coaching prospect in Australian football, having enjoyed a dream debut two seasons holding the clipboard – and Sydney FC faces a fight on their hands to keep his services long-term, with the riches of Asia and Europe sure to tempt the 47-year-old.

This week, he’s added a maiden Premier’s Plate to go with last year’s championship – and has an eye on more grand final glory later this month to continue the dream run, starting with tonight’s fixture against Melbourne City.

THE PHILOSOPHY

A coach’s philosophy is born out of their experiences, their mentors, and an inner-built desire to play a certain style.

In his 30 years in the professional game, Corica has worked under and alongside some of the best minds in Australia around the world.

“You learn as you go along and the older you get, you have more experience in your philosophy and how you want to play,” Corica tells News Corp.

He regularly picks the brains of Socceroos coach Graham Arnold, who he took over from at Sydney, and former Sky Blues boss Vítězslav Lavička, two men he says shaped him as much as anybody.

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In a remarkable Wolverhampton Wolves team, Corica played alongside half a dozen future managers – among them A-League legend Kevin Muscat and current Newcastle Jets boss Carl Robinson.

Not long after, Corica found himself at Walsall FC – where he would strike up a friendship with the team’s veteran Spanish midfielder Roberto Martinez.

Martinez, entering the twilight years of his career by that point, played just six games but the signs were there that a move to the coaching ranks beckoned.

“You could see that he was always thinking about the game tactically,” Corica says.

Martinez is now in charge of one of the biggest teams on the planet, having taken Belgium to the top of the FIFA rankings this year.

THE FUTURE

He’s in no rush to hurry out the door at Sydney – and insists he has more trophies to win before that happens – but Corica doesn’t shy away from the prospect of taking his talents overseas, walking the same path paved by former Roar manager Ange Postecoglou who last year won the J-League with Yokohama.

“At some stage I’d want to try and go elsewhere, whether it’s overseas in Asia or Europe,” Corica said.

“I’m very happy here at the moment in Sydney and in Australia. But definitely one day I think.

“I’m pretty sure I’m not going to be here forever. I’ve got ambitions to coach overseas.

“As a player you want to put yourself against the best players and it’s the same thing with coaches, whether it’s in Asia, Europe or even in Australia. You want to be the best. That’s the way that I look at life.”