Brisbane Roar’s Michael Valkanis is one of three new coaches in the Isuzu UTE A-League this season. aleagues.com.au looks at the challenges facing the trio in a three-part series.
A new coach, new faces and new hope. It is a new era for Brisbane Roar under Michael Valkanis.
Valkanis is no stranger to the Isuzu UTE A-League, and his challenge – first and foremost – is to to restore Brisbane Roar to their glory days after replacing Ruben Zadkovich.
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Brisbane are one of the Isuzu UTE A-League’s most successful clubs thanks to trailblazer Ange Postecoglou and some unforgettable nights at Suncorp Stadium but the three-time champions are far removed from those historic highs.
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Since winning the 2013-14 Championship, Brisbane have only reached two Semi-Finals, in 2016 and 2017. They have not won a finals game in eight years. In fact, the Roar have missed the top six in four consecutive seasons.
But Valkanis is a man on a mission. The former Ajax and Greece assistant wants to “bring the Roar back in Brisbane” as Macarthur Bulls loom in Round 1 on Friday night.
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“We want that sort of success as well,” Valkanis told reporters when asked about the success of NRL side Brisbane Broncos and AFL outfit Brisbane Lions. “We spoke about it in the playing group as well.
“How can that not excite you? How can that not give you that sort of energy to give even more? And that’s been a theme of ours from day one, that we’re going to raise that energy level, we’re going to raise that intensity, and we’re going to give it all we’ve got.
“I think it’s been a long time coming since Brisbane did something. And look, I’m not going to sit here hiding that we haven’t come here to participate in the A-League. We come here to fight and to win and to make our supporters very proud.”
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If the Roar are to replicate the success of other Brisbane teams in different codes, they must address their shortcomings in attack.
In 2024-25, Brisbane scored just 32 goals in 26 matches – the fourth fewest. Thomas Waddingham contributed four of those before earning a switch to EFL Championship outfit Portsmouth in January, while breakout midfield star Samuel Klein finished as the team’s leading scorer (five).
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Since then, Brisbane have been active in the transfer market – recruiting Everton youth academy product and English striker Christopher Long, along with Michael Ruhs and Olyroos forward Justin Vidic.
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It is just part of a squad overhaul heading into 2025-26, with the Roar also signing Bosnian midfielder Milorad Stajic, Greek midfielder Georgios Vrakas, New Zealand international James McGarry, Costa Rica international Youstin Salas, goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis, Jordan Lauton, Matthew Dench, Dimitri Valkanis (loan) and Hosine Bility.
“Very happy with the recruitment that we’ve done,” said the former Adelaide United captain and Melbourne City head coach. “We’ve worked diligently over the last five months, in bringing in the right players to blend with the players that stayed on at the club, we really focused on not only the profile and the type of player we wanted for the game model and the way we wanted to play, but also the personalities that we wanted in the team.
“I believe we brought in a lot of winners with a winning mentality, and to bring this back into Brisbane, that we go there to win, we play to win.”
Another area of focus is defence after conceding the fourth-most goals across the league (51). Academy graduate Lucas Herrington is bound for MLS but will remain at Suncorp Stadium until January.
The Roar have signed Bility on a permanent deal, while bringing Championship-winning full-back McGarry back to the A-Leagues along with Salas, young Aussie talent Dimitri Valkanis and Dench.
Valkanis added: “We’ve got a team that’s very strong. I don’t believe in individuals. I believe in a team, and we’ve put together a team, and I think within that team, every individual will shine.
“When I talk about a team, it’s not the 11, it’s the 26 players we’ve got, plus the other 20 young players we’re going to have in our B team.”
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