Adelaide United has signed its coach Aurelio Vidmar and his assistant Phil Stubbins to new three-year deals each.
Adelaide United has signed its coach Aurelio Vidmar and his assistant Phil Stubbins to new three-year deals each.
Vidmar, who recently led the Reds to the Asian Champions League final, said he was happy with the new contract which showed the club and the owners have confidence in him.
“It was really a no-brainer. I’m extremely happy here, I’m really happy with the environment, the coaching staff, everyone around the club and the fans,” he said.
“I’m only finishing my second year of coaching and I’ve still got a lot of work to do and a lot of things to learn so I think this is the perfect environment to get that much more experience.”
“It’s not about money, it’s about me progressing in the game and learning and trying to get better and that’s exactly what I did as a player.”
The club’s chief executive Sam Ciccarello said management had seen enough of the coaching duo to invest in the future.
“We believe Aurelio and Phil offer us the best combination probably of any Hyundai A-League club in Australia and we are delighted that the success we’ve achieved to date and future success will be headed up by Aurelio and Phil,” he said.
“We’ve seen the talent and the skills that they’ve got managing people. They are great communicators and we are committed to them for the long term.”
Ciccarello said there would be an out-clause for the coaches if they were sought after by overseas teams.
“As with our playing group, if there is an offer or an opportunity for Aurelio to go to a large club overseas we wouldn’t stand in his way,” he said.
The contract announcement continues an eventful couple of weeks for Vidmar.
He watched his side lose 2-0 to Gamba Osaka in the Asian Champions League (ACL) final last Wednesday, for 5-0 aggregate loss, and then was awarded a place in the Football Federation Australia’s Hall of Fame two days later.
Vidmar said his mind was now focussed on making an impact on the domestic competition.
“There’s a lot of unfinished business to do,” he said.
“We had a pretty poor Hyundai A-League season last year, we’ve had a pretty successful time so far in the ACL albeit in a losing final but that was a magnificent achievement.”
“But now we have to start hitting our straps and getting ready for an onslaught for the Hyundai A-League.”
