Sydney FC have taken the first step towards trying to regain some stability at the club by re-signing championship winning coach Vitezslav Lavicka for another season.
In a week where CEO Edwin Lugt to announced he will step down following Sydney’s Asian Champions League, the Sky Blues have decided to extend the deal of the Czech coach.
It’s a huge boost just days away from their ACL opener against Suwon and comes as a huge shock considering the club indicated they wouldn’t make a decisions on his future until after the ACL group stage.
Lavicka, who won the double in his first season, had only had his contract extended until the end of the ACL after Sydney had a forgettable season where they missed the play-offs.
The Sky Blues went the first 10 games without a win but recovered late in the season to remain unbeaten in the last eight matches.
“We had a very successful season as a team in my first year at Sydney FC. The second season was very tough, in particular the start, but we continued to work hard and we-ve had a good stretch in 2011,” Lavicka said.
“In the offseason we will work together to bring in some more quality players and focus on playing entertaining football for our fans and for our city.”
“Like I have said many times, I love Sydney FC, I enjoy my job here and my family loves Sydney so I am very happy.”
“This is very good news but myself and the team is now focused on our game against Suwon on Wednesday night. It is an important tournament for the whole club and right now our main goal is on perfuming well in the Champions League.”
In other news, Sydney also announced that Steve Corica and Ian Crook will be assistants to Lavicka for the ACL following the departure of Tony Popovic, who has gone to England, and Michael Zach.
“This is a great opportunity for me and I look forward to working with Vitezslav and the boys and contributing as much as I can,” Corica said.
“The club has given me a fantastic chance to learn and further develop my coaching skills in what is very prestigious tournament.”
“I know Asian football well as I played in Japan for a number of years and I also played in our first Champions League campaign in 2007 so I will be able to use that knowledge to help the team.”
