Wanderers coach Marko Rudan’s future in question after bizarre A-League farce

Marko Rudan’s future as Wanderers coach is now in question after weeks of erratic and bizarre behaviour - and there’s speculation the club wants a prodigal son to return.

Terry Antonis celebrates his outstanding goal from near halfway as Melbourne City thrash Wanderers. Picture: Getty Images

Marko Rudan remains “safe for the moment” as Western Sydney coach despite more erratic behaviour and amid speculation that the wayward Wanderers want prodigal son Tony Popovic to return to the club next season.

Pressure has intensified on Rudan, who failed to show up to his post-match press conference in the wake of the Wanderers’ humiliating 7-0 loss to Melbourne City on Tuesday night at AAMI Park.

It was Western Sydney’s third successive loss, with Rudan’s men having conceded 14 goals in the hat-trick of defeats.

Among the A-League title contenders earlier this season, the Wanderers have now slid out of the top six ahead of Saturday night’s battle with the Glory in Perth.

Wanderers head coach Marko Rudan’s job is now in question after his run of bizarre behaviour. Picture: Getty Images

Western Sydney’s poor form has come during a tumultuous period for the club, including Rudan being suspended for bringing the game into disrepute by creating a “hostile or unsafe environment within the sport” with comments had made last month after his side’s 4-3 loss to Macarthur FC.

Rudan sent his assistant coach Jean-Paul de Marigny to front the media on Tuesday night, with a team official offering the limp excuse that he was unavailable because of a team meeting.

However, post match media conferences are often run late to accommodate coached.

Rudan, who signed a three-year contract extension only two months ago, is now seemingly fighting to save his job.

Sources close to the Wanderers have told News Corp Australia that club officials have reached out to Popovic – whose Melbourne Victory coaching deal expires at the end of season – about making what would be a romantic return to Western Sydney.

There is speculation that Melbourne Victory coach Tony Popovic has been sounded out about returning to the Wanderers. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Popovic, who was at AAMI Park on Tuesday to watch the Wanderers’ embarrassing loss, was the club’s foundation coach and guided them to AFC Champions League glory in 2014.

However, his shock resignation in October 2017 to accept an offer from Turkish club Karabukspor strained his relationship with Wanderers owner and chairman Paul Lederer.

It’s understood, though, that Lederer is keen to bury the hatchet with Popovic, and bring him back to Western Sydney.

Popovic isn’t the only high profile coach that the Wanderers are interested in, with former Melbourne City championship-winning mentor Patrick Kisnorbo, who was sacked by French club Troyes in November, also in their sights.

It’s also understood that former Macarthur FC and Matildas coach Ante Milicic has told the Wanderers he would be willing to return to Australia from Croatia if they were interested in his services.

Wanderers sporting director Eddy Bosnar denied the club was already looking for a new coach.

Wanderers goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas had a tough night at the office in Melbourne City’s 7-0 drubbing. Picture: Getty Images

When asked if Rudan’s job was safe, Bosnar said: “Everyone’s safe for the moment.”

He also rejected claims that Rudan had lost the dressing-room despite speculation of mounting tension between the coach and his players.

“As a club we need to stick together. You don’t throw the towel in,” Bosnar said.

“Everyone needs to go in the same direction. We can turn it around this weekend.”

However, it’s believed that assistant coach de Marigny has given notice that he won’t be at the club next season.

A-League officials have also spoken to the Wanderers about Rudan not meeting his requirement as a head coach to front Tuesday’s post-match media conference, but are yet to confirm whether he or the club will be sanctioned.

WSW IN DAMAGE CONTROL IN FARCICAL POST-MATCH SCENES

The Western Sydney Wanderers are in full-blown damage control after their record 7-0 loss to Melbourne City at AAMI Park on Tuesday night.

Journalists were caught by surprise after the demolition when, instead of senior coach Marko Rudan, his assistant Jean-Paul de Marigny was offered up as the sacrificial lamb in farcical scenes to face the music from the media.

A club spokesperson later confirmed Rudan, who recently re-signed until the end of 2026-27, had not lost his job, but gave the bizarre excuse that he couldn’t attend the press conference because he was in a team meeting at the time.

However, that alibi made little sense because there is never a set time for post-match press conferences to take place. Quite the opposite — they very much work around a coach’s availability after a game and can sometimes take up to an hour after the final whistle to commence.

And it flew in the face of de Marigny’s answer when he was asked if there was a reason for Rudan’s absence post-match.

“Nah. Not really,” de Marigny said.

“Let’s speak about the game.

“It’s pretty simple. I’m here now to ask questions so I don’t think that’s irrelevant at this stage,” he said when asked why Rudan didn’t attend the press conference.

Wanderers coach Marko Rudan didn’t attend the post-game media conference following his side’s 7-0 loss to Melbourne City. Picture: Getty Images

De Marigny also confirmed that Rudan’s snub was not health-related.

Rudan’s failure to front the media was an incredibly poor look, especially considering first-game Brisbane coach Luca Trani fielded questions following his team’s 8-1 walloping at the hands of City less than three months earlier.

The 48-year-old’s latest instance of petulance comes just 17 days after he completed a three-game suspension for an outburst which questioned the integrity of A-League referees.

Since his return to the dugout, Western Sydney have lost three games in a row for the first time under his reign, shipping 14 goals in the same period to drop out of the top six.

When it was put to de Marigny that Rudan avoiding the media was a “poor look”, he responded: “I’ve got no comment about that. I’m here to answer questions about the game.”

In Rudan’s stead, it was up to de Marigny to offer a message of hope to the club’s devastated fans after their record-equalling A-League loss.

“I think it’s important that we all stick together, that’s important throughout the whole football club,” he said.

“It’s important that we continue to work and to get out of a situation that we’re in.

“We need to find solutions with no excuses and we have to have the mentality to make sure that we create an opportunity for everyone to make sure that we get into that top six. So that’s the mentality that we need to have.”

Wanderers goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas removes his gloves after his side’s record loss to Melbourne City. Picture: Getty Images

The Wanderers assistant said there was “a lot of hurt in the dressing room” following their thumping defeat.

“There’s a lot of soul searching and we’ll do that in the next few days,” he said.

“It was a difficult night for everyone ... that’s from the top to bottom, and our responsibility is to make sure we’re ready for the next game.”

De Marigny said he didn’t pick up any signs of his team’s abysmal performance in the lead-up, but insisted they believed they could turn their season around and make a run for the finals with six matches remaining.

“Of course. Of course. They’re quality players, right. So that’s not foreign to football, right,” he said.

“That’s the beauty about football. There’s the next game with a quick turnaround, which is great, so it’s an opportunity for us to work on a few things and get better at it and hopefully get a better performance and get the outcome that we’re after.

“Every game from here we have to have a mentality where we’re fighting for relegation so we’re fighting to get into finals football.”

Marcus Antonsson and the Wanderers were on the end of the club’s heaviest defeat. Picture: Getty Images

The moment of the season, let alone the night, came in the 82nd minute when City’s Terry Antonis scored one of the greatest goals in A-League history from the centre circle. After not playing a single game for his former club Western Sydney last season, he made sure he let Rudan know about it by charging towards him and giving him a “call me” phone hand gesture.

“I think that’s football. If you’re telling me he had a hard time at the Wanderers, yeah, OK,” de Marigny said.

“He scored a great goal, celebrated the way he wanted to celebrate.”

And at half-time, Rudan made the unprecedented move of making five substitutes all at once after shipping four goals before the break.

“Firstly, it’s tactical and also looking that there’s short turnarounds and giving players every opportunity to make sure that they get selected for the next game,” he said.

ANTONIS SCORES PUSKAS CONTENDER IN 7-0 THUMPING

Melbourne City midfielder Terry Antonis has scored one of the greatest goals in A-League Men history on Tuesday night as his team destroyed Western Sydney by a record-equalling 7-0 at AAMI Park.

In the 82nd minute, Antonis spotted Wanderers goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas off his line, unloaded from the centre circle and fired it into the back of the net from 50 yards out, sparking wild celebrations and prompting Antonis to make a “call me” phone call gesture to Western Sydney boss Marko Rudan who used to coach him.

The result was Western Sydney’s biggest ever defeat and it was also the equal biggest margin in competition history. Naturally, it was also Melbourne’s equal biggest win, equalling their 8-1 demolition of Brisbane in December and their 7-0 romp over Victory in 2020-21.

ABSURD 🤯🚀TERRY ANTONIS SCORES ON THE VOLLEY FROM HALFWAY.

That may just be the Isuzu UTE A-League Goal of the Season!

Watch #MCYvWSW live on Paramount+. pic.twitter.com/qI642jJ9R7

— Isuzu UTE A-League (@aleaguemen) March 12, 2024

On a night when speculation surrounding City legend Jamie Maclaren’s future intensified, his team made it even harder for him to return to the starting line-up.

For the first time in more than seven years, the competition’s all-time leading goalscorer started on the bench in consecutive A-League matches. It was the strongest indication yet that he might be headed for the AAMI Park exit door at season’s end, and possibly to incoming club Auckland for 2024-25.

While he was sitting on the pine, City ran riot without him, banging home four goals in 12 minutes in the first half, including a two-minute Tolgay Arslan brace, to embarrass a hopelessly disorganised Wanderers defence and seal the result before the break.

Maclaren came on in the 65th minute, and it took him 12 minutes to break his 10-game scoring drought. He replaced his precocious understudy Max Caputo who starred again with a goal and an assist.

Terry Antonis is mobbed by Melbourne City teammates after his stunner. Picture: Getty Images

Arslan opened up the scoring in the 30th minute when he got on the end of a pinpoint Steven Ugarkovic cross from the byline on the right and tapped it home into an empty net.

Two minutes later, James Jeggo pounced on a Dylan Scicluna turnover in the middle of the park and passed it to Arslan who cut through the visitors’ defence like a hot knife through butter and, with Western Sydney’s defenders all dropping off him, the German banged it past Thomas from 17 yards out with a gorgeous strike.

The visitors’ pain continued in the 39th minute when Marin Jakolis deftly played through Caputo who crossed it past Thomas’ outstretched fingertips for Leo Natel to ram it home on the goal line.

Nuno Reis celebrates scoring a goal. Picture: Getty Images

Leo Natel scored a goal for Melbourne City in the 7-0 thrashing. Picture: Getty Images

And three minutes later, the chaos was complete when Ugarkovic and Jakolis combined to get it to Caputo who bisected Oscar Priestman and Alexander Bonetig and, from eight yards out, tucked it away into the far corner to make it 4-0.

In the 72nd minute, the hosts increased their lead when Antonis’ corner found an unmarked Nuno Reis who powerfully headed home his first A-League goal for Melbourne City.

The icing on the cake came five minutes later when Natel passed it to Maclaren who popped it home from six yards out after capitalising on a gorgeous first touch, and Antonis put the cherry on top with his worldy shortly after.

RUDAN MAKES A STATEMENT

So disgusted was Rudan with his team’s first-half performance that, in an A-League first, he made the extraordinary move of burning all five of his substitutes at half-time.

On came Milos Ninkovic, Dylan Pierias, Nathan Barrie, Gabriel Cleur and Jack Clisby in place of Nicolas Milanovic, Lachlan Brook, Thomas Beadling, Aidan Simmons and Scicluna.

CITY TAKE INITIATIVE

Just seven games out from the finals, the match was a crunch encounter for Western Sydney and Melbourne, who headed into the meeting in sixth and seventh spots respectively with just two points separating them.

But City appeared to be the only team who grasped the importance of the match, and after going winless in their previous five games (their worst run in five years), they have now won two games in the past four days to leapfrog the Wanderers into the top six.

Western Sydney now find themselves a point out of the top six after losing their last three matches - their longest barren streak under Rudan who must now find himself under some pressure.

Originally published as Wanderers coach Marko Rudan’s future in question after bizarre A-League farce