Wellington Phoenix have announced academy product Luke Tongue has joined the club’s senior coaching staff for the Isuzu UTE A-League 2025-26 season as second assistant coach and head analyst.
The 26-year-old played for the Phoenix reserves between 2015 and 2018 and returned to the club in 2023 to coach in the club’s academy setup as head of male junior youth development. He also coached the Under-15 boys’ team and served as an assistant to reserves head coach Chris Greenacre.
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Now, Tongue is graduating from the Phoenix academy for the second time – this time as a coach, taking the step up from the academy space to work under senior head coach Giancarlo Italiano for the Isuzu UTE A-League 2025-26 campaign.
“It’s cool that Luke’s played and coached at the Phoenix,” Italiano said upon confirmation of Tongue’s appointment as second assistant coach and head analyst.
“It’s important for me to have someone who has a long affiliation with the club represented in the coaching staff.
“Being an ex-player, being young and enthusiastic, having a great work ethic and a good attention to detail makes him a great fit for the role.
“Luke is also very likeable and has a lot of respect from the young players that he’s coached before so I think the transition into the first team is going to be easy for him.”
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Tongue has replaced Reggie Davani in Italiano’s coaching staff, after Davani’s return to Australia to be with family.
He will commence his duties with the Phoenix senior team upon the conclusion of New Zealand’s FIFA Under-20 World Cup campaign, where he’s serving as an assistant to Chris Greenacre at the major tournament.
“One of my first dreams when I started coaching was to get into the professional game and now I’ve done it,” Tongue said.
“It’s special to be realising that dream with a club that has been a big part of my life.
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“I want to say a massive thanks to the Phoenix for giving me this chance. It’s great that the club is looking to promote from within, not just players from the academy but staff as well.
“I’ve worked with a lot of players before and during pre-season, I got to know a lot of the players in the squad when we went on away trips.
“It was invaluable getting to know how Chief (Italiano) operates and how much planning goes into every session, every presentation and every game.
“Chief and (assistant analyst) Tyron (Curtis – Phoenix video analyst) gave me a lot of stuff to work on when I was in this role and I’ve gone away and worked hard, and now I feel like I’m more ready than I was at the start of pre-season.”
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