Auckland coach Steve Corica has revealed his international ambitions after securing a record-breaking third Isuzu UTE A-League Championship.
On Total A-Leagues Corica, the most successful coach in A-Leagues history, revealed his ambitions to try his hand at coaching abroad at the conclusion of his contract with Auckland FC.
“I definitely do want to go overseas and coach overseas. I’ve got one year left here and then I would say that would be my next step,” he said.
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Corica was asked by Total A-Leagues host Vince Rugari if there was an itch to test himself elsewhere, and confirmed his desire for fresh challenges in his coaching career.
“Yeah there definitely is. That was one of the reasons why I came here as well – obviously as something different from Sydney,” he said.
“I’d been at Sydney for 19 years, I needed to start something fresh.”
Corica made his Sydney FC debut as a player in 2005 after 10 years abroad in England and Japan. Following his retirement in 2011 he was appointed assistant coach before his promotion to head coach in 2018. Corica steered his club to back-to-back Grand Final wins in 2019 and 2020.
Corica’s triumph with Auckland FC makes him the most successful head coach in Isuzu UTE A-League history, standing alone as a three-time champion of the competition. The 52-year-old cited the multi-club ownership of Auckland FC’s chairman, Bill Foley, as a pathway into the next chapter of his managerial career.
“With Bill Foley, he owns other football teams around the world and it might be a possibility for me to go to one of them.”
Bill Foley is a general partner of Black Knight Football Club, an international multi-club ownership group whose flagship asset is Premier League club AFC Bournemouth. Alongside Auckland FC, Foley’s group boast full ownership of Ligue 1 outfit FC Lorient and a majority share in Moreirense FC of Portugal’s top flight, the Primeira Liga.
BKFC also have agreed strategic affiliation agreements with MLS club Orlando City and Japanese J1 outfit Kyoto Saka, which focuses on a collaborative approach to player development, scouting operations, executive collaboration, and commercial opportunities.
“That’s what they (Foley and his ownership group) want to do with players: to do well for Auckland and then to go to his other teams around the world,” he said. “And that’s no different with staff as well.”
These clubs appear to be in Corica’s sights as likely destinations for his next chapter in management, but he did not give any indication that he will depart before defending his Isuzu UTE A-League Championship next season.
“I did say to them (the players), obviously we won the premiership in the first year, the second year we’ve won the grand final. It’s obviously tough to keep doing that,” he said. “I suppose the only thing in the third year is to win the double.”
