Sydney FC coach Steve Corica a quiet contrast to Graham Arnold

New Sydney FC coach Steve Corica offers quite a contrast to previous Sky Blues boss Graham Arnold.

Sydney FC coach Steve Corica: ‘Winning trophies is our business.’ Picture: AAP

Steve Corica sits back in his chair at the Sydney FC training headquarters looking cool, calm and at ease.

The boyish smile that rarely leaves his face, the politeness and a genuine, gentle nature are still ever present.

Aside from the grey hairs, nothing has changed from the day I first met the man they call “Bimbi” on a cold, wet, miserable day in Aberdeen as he prepared for a training session with the Australian under-17s (Joeys) ahead of the World Youth Championships.

Watching the then slightly built 16-year-old rip past his teammates with his pace and swerve before guiding the ball into the net, you just knew the quietly-spoken, almost shy kid from Innisfail was made for football.

Corica would go on to make a successful career in England and Japan as well as with the Socceroos, and then Sydney FC in the A-League.

Some 29 years on from that day in Aberdeen, here is Corica sitting in one of the hottest seats in Australian soccer as the new head coach of Sydney FC.

It was a seat filled by Graham Arnold, who took the Sky Blues to some incredible heights in his four seasons before deciding to take up the job with the Socceroos at the end of last season.

Arnold’s departure would sent Sydney off on a worldwide search for a replacement — a number of overseas candidates were in the frame and interviewed. The feeling was that a big club needed a big name.

Corica, having been part of the club as a player and then as a youth team coach and assistant to the first team under the likes of Vitezslav Lavicka and then Arnold, remained largely in the background. With no senior coaching experience, many felt he wasn’t ready and that it was too big a gamble.

But just as he overcame suggestions he was not strong enough to make it as a player, Corica has beaten the odds. Just as he did when playing, he never doubted his ability.

“It was always in the back of my mind, always my goal to be a coach. I love the game, it is part of my life, so coaching was always the next progression,” Corica tells The Weekend Australian.

“When I came back from overseas to play for Sydney in 2005 my plan was to end up in this position. I did all my coaching badges, got my pro licence.

“I did my apprenticeship as a youth team coach then first team assistant.

“When Arnie decided to leave, it was time for me to go for it.

Yes, I heard and read about the overseas options. I knew my name had been mentioned and in the same breath they said I was too inexperienced for such a big job.

“I wasn’t going to let that stand in my way. I believe I interviewed well. I had things on my side, like knowing the A-League, knowing the players and importantly, having been here since 2005, knowing the culture and the expectations of the club and the fans.

“I have played and worked under some great coaches, so I have learned a great deal. I’ve learned heaps from the likes of Arnie and I am thankful he has told me he is there if I ever need advice.”

It is why Corica is ready for the pressure and the almost intolerable expectations that come with it.

“They always talk about the pressure but you have to remember I played here for five years and have coached here for almost eight years,” he says, smiling as usual.

“I also played in England and for the Socceroos. I’ve lived with that weight.”

Corica is unconcerned that his so-called “good guy” persona could go against him in the hurly burly of A-League coaching.

“Yeah maybe I don’t have a loud voice like Arnie or some of the other coaches and maybe I am all those things you say about my personality, but ask my family and what they think when I get cranky,” he fires back.

“I am a winner. I like winning and when it comes down to that then I can be as strong and forceful as anyone else.

“Look, the players know I am not loud but I think I have their respect. They know what I want to do and how I want to go about it. I have that hard edge.”

As for what he wants to achieve with the club, Corica understands Sydney FC accept nothing less than winning trophies.

He will be coming off the back of some of the most successful times in the club’s 13-year history, with Arnold guiding them to back-to-back Premiers Plates, a championship and a maiden FFA Cup.

“You don’t take on a job like this without knowing the stakes,” he adds. “Winning trophies is our business.

“Everyone here is hungry to continue that success … none more so than me.”