Tony Pignata sets sights on Sydney revolution with Perth Glory

As chief executive of Sydney FC for five years, Tony Pignata had a job most Australian soccer administrators would have envied.

Chief executive of Perth Glory Tony Pignata says the club are primed for success.

As chief executive of Sydney FC for five years, Tony Pignata had a job that was the envy of most Australian soccer administrators.

A massive club with the backing of a wealthy Russian owner, a quality squad led by the best coach in the country, an excellent fan base and corporate partnerships from the big end of town.

What more you could you ask for?

But despite not having another job to go to, Pignata surprisingly opted to walk away from it all at the end of the Sky Blues’ record-breaking 2016-17 season and with an A-League Premier’s Plate-Championship double safely tucked away.

Even allowing for his credentials as one of the best football ­administrators in the country, it was a brave gamble from the ­Victorian given that no matter how talented you are, jobs can be hard to come by in Australian ­soccer.

Still, Pignata, who also served for a number of years as CEO at Wellington Phoenix, was prepared to back himself, even if it meant he would have to spend a season out of the game.

Now back into the groove as the boss at Perth Glory, Pignata has no regrets about his initial ­decision to leave Sydney FC. Certainly he never had any thoughts that something might not come his way again.

“I spent five fantastic years at Sydney FC and loved every minute of it,” he told The Weekend Australian. “I’ve been involved in the A-League since Wellington Phoenix started back in 2007.

“I just felt the timing was right to leave Sydney. I was very proud of what we achieved at the club, but it was time for a break and maybe see what options were around.

“There were some outside of football, but nothing eventuated. But the important thing was to have a bit of a break.”

It allowed Pignata to do “some study”, to get involved in some media work, which he “enjoyed immensely” and to spend more time with his family because while he worked in Sydney, his wife and two sons remained in Melbourne so he was restricted to trips back home every couple of weeks.

However, the thought of ­getting back into football administration was never far away.

When Perth CEO Peter ­Filopoulos announced he was ­resigning to take up a job at Football Federation Victoria at the end of last season, Perth owner Tony Sage set the wheels in motion.

A meeting with Pignata over lunch eventually sealed the deal.

“I was getting bored so I knew it was time to try and get involved again. It was good, the call from Tony,” he says. “I remember my wife saying to me ‘Now go there, have a chat and don’t do anything until we have a chat’.

“I rang up on the way home and told her I was going to Perth!

“I know it is even further away from Melbourne, but she has ­always stood by me and supported me. She understands how much the game means to me.”

Having gone from one of the most successful clubs in the A-League to one that has promised so much yet delivered so little, ­Pignata understands why some would question his decision to leave Sydney.

“I believe in Perth Glory,” ­Pignata said. “The base is there for them to be a massive club. There is a huge following, with 2.5 million people.

“They have made a grand final (2012) and two FFA Cups so they are not far off going to the next step. We have a wonderful coach in Tony Popovic and a very good squad.”

Pignata says he hasn’t had to change too much around the club as his predecessor had done “a very good job”.

“Along with Tony Popovic and Tony Sage, we have just tweaked a few little things. We want that winning mentality. We don’t want to just make the six, we want to win the A-League and play in the Asian Champions League.

“Popa has won a Premier’s Plate and ACL and I was at Sydney when we won the double, so we know what it takes.”

Off the field, Pignata says he is looking to drum up more corporate support and says he is not afraid of the possibility of another club from Western Australia coming into the A-League. In fact, he would welcome a new club as well as the introduction of an A-League second division with promotion and relegation.

“Expansion and the second division have to come for the good of the game. A Perth derby would be fantastic and I am sure we would sell out,” he adds.