Ange Postecoglou is flying the flag for Australia abroad. The trailblazer is also inspiring the next generation of Aussie coaches.
Look no further than Hume City head coach Ric Marchioli, 34, and his assistant Johnathan Clemente, 26. The NPLM VIC duo form an elite and exciting team as two of Australia’s best up and coming young coaches.
There are A-Leagues fingerprints all over Hume City’s project in the NPL. Despite their age, the pair bring a wealth of experience to Broadmeadows, where former Turkey international and ex-Western United and Adelaide United defender Ersan Gulum is president.
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Marchioli was previously an assistant to Arthur Papas during his time at Newcastle Jets in the Isuzu UTE A-League, having also worked as an analyst at Melbourne Victory. Meanwhile, Clemente is currently juggling his Hume City commitments with his role as Jeff Hopkins’ Ninja A-League assistant at Victory.
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The two coaches have teamed up in Melbourne’s north this season, making an immediate impact. Hume City – who haven’t finished a league season in the top four since 2011 – have only lost one of their past 10 matches to sit sixth in NPLM VIC, where they are on course for finals as starting players return from injury.
In the midst of their current red-hot form, Marchioli’s Hume have scored 26 goals. They also eliminated Oakleigh Cannons – led by legendary Victorian coach Chris Taylor – in the Dockerty Cup and are on track for the semi-finals and Australia Cup Round of 32.
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“What we’ve created here is a high-performance environment that closely mirrors the preparation found at the top level and one that empowers each individual to be the full version of their character,” Marchioli told aleagues.com.au.
“That consistency and quality of work was imprinted on me during my time with Cerezo Osaka head coach Arthur Papas. The work is now evident in both the team results as well as the individual progress of our players and staff and we’re now seeing a group that’s starting to believe that limits are not a fixed bar.”
Marchioli – who completed his FFA ‘A License’ by just 25 years of age, being told at the time he was the youngest to acquire the license – won a premiership and championship double with the Newcastle Jets youth team and worked as Papas’ assistant coach alongside current Melbourne Victory boss Arthur Diles.
An overhaul of the Jets youth team, including dropping the average age to just 17.5 years, culminated in the club’s first Premiership with a game in hand three years ago.
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“I’m especially proud of the efforts made by our players in their daily work and take pride in particular in the debuts and progress our young players are making in the environment like Josh Okane – a youth graduate here who has started virtually every match for us at 21 and has now added goals and assists to his arsenal – a fantastic story,” Marchioli added.
“It’s rare, but when you’ve got two people who are obsessed with the game in the same way and can challenge each other the right way, things move in an exciting direction. The connection between myself and Johno is special and goes back around 15 years to when I coached him as a junior.
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“With one foot in the A-League and one on the training ground here, he brings elite passion and standards that uplift everything that we are building towards. And when two coaches work as one, lead with clarity, and build something sustainable with the support of the club and president, it catches attention for good reason. We both know what elite looks like, and we’re not afraid to bring that here.
“We’ve seen many coaches with varied history in the VPL or NPL who go onto have incredible careers in the A-Leagues and beyond: Ange Postecoglou, Joe Montemurro and Arthur Papas to name a few – the environment forges coaching diamonds.”
Then there is Clemente – Marchioli’s trusted and talented right-hand man.
The 26-year-old has had no shortage of Ninja A-League head coaching interest in recent years.
He also played a key role in Victory’s club-record run to the 2024-25 Ninja A-League Grand Final as an assistant to legendary coach Hopkins in Melbourne – a position he has held for almost three years.
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“Working alongside Ric has been a long time in the making since he was the one who got me into coaching when I was 13! His ability to empower those around him and challenge the way I see football has made our coaching environment one of the best I’ve ever worked in,” Clemente told aleagues.com.au.
“Ric’s trust in another young coach like myself shows his character and it’s been a massive honour to lead a top-six NPL Men’s Squad. He’s trusted me to lead the training environment which includes managing staff alongside planning and delivering sessions, analysing opposition and growing my own head coach aspirations under his guidance, using both of our A-League experience.
“Ers has shown that he wants to build a long-term project and it means that we can put great care and detail into our daily work to build something that the community can be proud of.”
“Everyone involved at this club has high ambitions and this drives me to be better every day.
“I always seek challenges to improve players and teams but also myself and this opportunity to lead an NPL Men’s Senior Team alongside my A-League Women’s commitments with mentors like Ric and Jeff Hopkins, who I share the upmost respect for, has taken my coaching and leadership to the next level and I’m very grateful for that.”
