The Tackle: Aurelio Vidmar’s man-management skills are what Melbourne City needed to claim A-League title

A grand final win is Aurelio Vidmar’s crowning achievement as a coach. But in true ‘Viddy’ style, the title isn’t about him, it’s about his players. Plus, ROBBIE SLATER and MARCO MONTEVERDE’s A-League men’s team of the year.

Don’t be fooled by the narrow scoreline – Melbourne City was clearly the better team in the A-League grand final and was a deserving winner.

Losing only 1-0 flattered Melbourne Victory, who had nothing left to give after two heroic away wins earlier in the finals series.

As was to be expected, the Victory attacked early, but it amounted to nothing.

In contrast, City scored with its first attacking foray after absorbing and dealing with the Victory’s initial huffing and puffing.

It was a statement from City that broke the will of not only Victory players, but also Victory fans.

If Victory was going to have any chance of winning the final, the club’s supporters, who by far outweighed the number of City fans at AAMI Park, had to play their part by creating an intimidating atmosphere.

However, Yonatan Cohen’s 10th minute goal silenced them, and also took the emotion out of the contest, which is exactly what City coach Aurelio Vidmar.

The grand final win was Vidmar’s crowning achievement as a coach.

Having come close to guiding Adelaide United to the title in 2009, only to use the grand final to, you guessed it, Melbourne Victory, this was Vidmar’s ultimate revenge.

Not that he would have used that as a form of motivation. That’s not his style.

This wasn’t about him. This was about his players and the club.

Hired early in City’s 2023-24 campaign, five months after an embarrassing 6-1 grand final loss to Central Coast Mariners that was a catalyst in the demise of previous City coach Rado Vidosic, Vidmar took his task with patience and determination.

Aziz Behich lifts the trophy. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

It was going to take time. Playing finals football last season would have been the minimum requirement placed on Vidmar by City officials, and he achieved that by finishing in sixth place.

Again it was to be Victory that proved to be Vidmar’s nemesis in an elimination final that required a penalty shootout to find a winner.

But having built a new foundation, Vidmar went to work on this season delivering City a second A-League championship that the club’s consistency and regular season success over the past six seasons deserved.

He needed all his man-management skills to help City overcome what could have been a confidence-sapping injury crisis.

Rather than see it as a negative, Vidmar turned it into a positive by putting his faith and belief in a host of younger players.

The likes of Alessandro Lopane, Medin Memeti, Harry Politidis, Lawrence Wong, Ben Mazzeo and Kavian Rahmani all flourished with the trust placed in them by Vidmar.

And that’s not forgetting this season’s emergence of goalkeeper Patrick Beach.

Aurelio Vidmar showed trust in his players. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Vidmar made the move at the start of the season to choose the then 21-year-old custodian ahead of veteran former A-League goalkeeper Jamie Young.

The faith Vidmar kept showing in Beach was questioned by many, particularly after a couple of mistakes by the young gloveman.

However, it proved to be a masterstroke from Vidmar, with Beach starting in every one of City’s 29 A-League games this season and growing in confidence every week.

Again, the trust that Vidmar showed in one of his emerging players helped develop a bond and sense of belonging that was crucial in the club’s title success.

Well done Viddy, and well done City.

Mighty Mathew

Mathew Leckie had a magnificent performance. Picture: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images

And while we’re in a congratulatory mood, The Tackle must acknowledge the magnificent grand final performance of Mathew Leckie.

Much to his frustration, the Socceroos stalwart hadn’t been able to contribute much this season due to ongoing injury problems.

However, knowing how important the experience and toughness of Leckie could be in a grand final, Vidmar asked him to defy the odds by not only starting the match but having the task of shutting down Victory’s French attacking weapon Zinedine Machach.

There was no way Leckie was going to refuse, even though he strained his hamstring at training on Tuesday, which nobody outside the club knew until after the grand final.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Leckie also had to deal with a busted nose and other facial injuries during the game after copping a kick to the head.

He was never going to ask to be replaced, instead getting bandaged up and soldiering on.

Playing injured and banged up cost Leckie a much-desired return to Socceroos duty, but that didn’t matter.

He had a job to do for his team, and nothing was going to stop him winning an A-League title for the first time.

Record numbers

Further congratulations need to go to the Melbourne public for setting a new record crowd for a sporting event at AAMI Park with an attendance of 29,902.

A grand final deserves such exposure and respect, no matter what the sport is.

The challenge now for City is to build on the club’s success by building a bigger supporter base.

A club of City’s stature and ability both on and off the field deserves more fans.

Originally published as The Tackle: Aurelio Vidmar’s man-management skills are what Melbourne City needed to claim A-League title