A popular figure in the Isuzu UTE A-League, Josep Gombau now finds himself part of an exciting project in the United States. Speaking to KEEPUP’s Sacha Pisani, the former Adelaide United coach discussed his time in Australia and work abroad.
Four years removed from his time in Australia and Josep Gombau remains one of the A-Leagues’ most likeable coaches.
The passionate Spaniard was likened to Jose Mourinho for his eccentric celebrations while head coach of Adelaide United and Western Sydney Wanderers.
Gombau brought colour to the Isuzu UTE A-League in more ways than one, with his possession-based brand of football and touchline antics leaving a lasting impression.
The former Barcelona youth coach reinvigorated Adelaide, leading the Reds to FFA Cup glory in 2014 before leaving the following year.
Gombau also spent time in charge of the Wanderers, having also served as Australia’s Under-23 coach and Socceroos assistant.
The 45-year-old now finds himself at the centre of an exciting project in the United States, where he has teamed up with former Melbourne City forward and Spain legend David Villa at Queensboro FC in the USL.
Gombau, though, is still fond of Australia, especially from his time in Adelaide. So much so, we could see the smiling Spaniard back down under in the future.
“I had a nice time in Australia, amazing country,” Gombau told KEEPUP. “A lot of nice people there. We enjoyed it a lot. Always Australia will be in our heart and mind.
“You never know [about returning to Australia]. Now I have a contract and working in a project in the US but you never know in life. I’m still young. I hope with health, I’ll coach for at least 20 more years. So why not come back to Australia?”
Gombau had been lured to Coopers Stadium from Kitchee for the 2013-14 season after John Kosmina resigned during the previous campaign.
Under Gombau’s watch, Socceroos trio Awer Mabil, Craig Goodwin and James Jeggo all flourished as they eventually earned moves abroad.
Mabil was promoted from the youth system in Gombau’s first season, while Goodwin and Jeggo were signed the following campaign before joining Midtjylland (2015), Sparta Rotterdam (2016) and Sturm Graz (2016) respectively.
Reflecting on his Adelaide tenure, it is one of his most enjoyable experiences.
“So proud of what we did there. We found a very good group of players and we have the same vision and objective,” Gombau said. “The two years, we had fun because we got some results, the second year we won the cup. We finished in third position in the league, which allowed us to play in the Champions League.
“Also, the way we did, the football we played. The development of the player, Adelaide moved a few players to Europe – Mabil, Jeggo, Goodwin. It’s not easy to sell players to Europe. We did.
“We played good football. The fans enjoyed it. We won a trophy and we sold young Australia players to Europe. As a football coach, I’m so proud, not to win the trophies, more the development of the players. To see them, the next step in their lives, it’s not easy and we did it.”
Fast forward to 2022 and Gombau is overseeing the evolution of Queensboro FC as the club’s first-ever head coach and sporting director.
Queensboro are still waiting to make their USL debut. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the club aren’t scheduled to enter the second-tier competition until next year.
At the moment, Queensboro’s Under-19 side are their flagship team.
“It is a nice project,” Gombau said while discussing Queensboro and the culturally-diverse surrounds. “Huge opportunity for a lot of young players in Queens. People are excited. When we do any event, it’s full. People are hungry for football and they want to be part of this special club. There are a lot of Latinos, a lot of Spanish flavour. It’s nice. I think we can do well.
“With our U19, we won the competition, which is something difficult to do when you create a club from zero and in the first year to win the competition. After that, we played the play-offs, which is across the USA. We finished second in the entire country, which was something very nice for all of us.”
“Every clubs need youth and to take care of them,” he continued. “We believe in what we’re doing it. Most important is to give opportunities to the young players. Sometimes the coaches forget this, when you’re in the first team and don’t bring the young players. But the young players are the future and they are also hungry. They just need time to adapt to the first team.
“I say always, if you bring the trust in a player for 10 games, doesn’t matter if he makes mistakes but you show them the mistakes they’re doing and after they grow and grow. After that you have a player. The difficult time is sometimes coaches don’t bring this much time to young players, and in this moment, we aren’t allowing them to develop. I am a coach who brings opportunities to young players.”
Villa – Spain’s all-time leading goalscorer – is part of the ownership group of the start-up franchise.
The former Valencia, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid forward made four appearances during a guest stint with Melbourne City in 2014.
“David loves football. Even when he was playing, he was already thinking about what he’d do when he retired,” said Gombau. “He is involved day-by-day with the academies and knows every single detail. He brings his opinion and helps the players too. He is very passionate about football. He likes to work a lot with the youngsters. This is his vision.
“We have like three main points – the first is we want to put a certain style of football on the club. The second thing is very clear, develop players. We want to have a very young pool of players to work with and help them make the next step. The other thing is we want to be successful, win games.”
As Gombau and Queensboro continue to prepare for their inaugural campaign in 2023, could we see Australian players making the move to Queens?
“I see a lot of similarities with Australian and US football. Players in Australia and the US are very physical, elite. They are hungry, they want to improve. An Australia player in the US fits very well, in the culture and style of play,” Gombau said.
“At the very beginning when I was planning the team, I was thinking of bringing one or two Australian players. We are a project in Queens, a place with people from all around the world. Probably the place that is the most multicultural. I think an Australian guy in our team would be good.”
