Melbourne City have found their Dario Vidosic replacement following the appointment of Michael Matricciani for the 2024-25 Liberty A-League season.
Matricciani arrives after Premiership-winning head coach Vidosic was lured to the Women’s Super League (WSL) Brighton and Hove Albion at the end of the 2023-24 season, which saw City reach the Grand Final having ended their four-year wait for a Premier’s Plate.
This is Matricciani’s first senior head coaching role in the A-Leagues; he previously served as an assistant coach at Adelaide United, where he also played for the Reds during 2005-06 Isuzu UTE A-League season.
The 38-year-old brings a wealth of experience from South Australia’s NPL SA. In his seven years in the competition, he held roles as both head coach and technical director at Adelaide City and Campbelltown City, winning the 2024 Federation Cup with the latter.
Matricciani, who was named 2018 WNPL Coach of the Year during his three years as head coach of Football SA NTC Girls team, also oversaw Campbelltown City’s Round-of-32 showdown against Moreton City Excelsior last month.
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“I’ve long been an admirer of City’s football philosophy and style of play,” said Matricciani.
“As soon as the opportunity to join the club was presented to me, I jumped at it straight away.
“Dario has done such a fantastic job with the squad over the last two years and I’m excited for the challenge to continue that success.
“My eyes are firmly on day one of pre-season and ensuring we have the best preparation possible for our AWCL campaign.”
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Drawn in Group B, City will travel to Thailand to face hosts College of Asian Scholars, Filipino champions Kaya FC and the Winner of Group D of the Preliminary Stage, for the inaugural 2024-25 Champions League beginning in October.
City, meanwhile, have signed Alexia Apostolakis, Mariana Speckmaier, Malena Mieres and Emilia Murray while retaining Taylor Otto, Bryleeh Henry, Laura Hughes, Karly Roestbakken and Shelby McMahon.
The reigning premiers have farewelled Hannah Wilkinson, Emina Ekić, Bárbara, Naomi Chinnama, Julia Grosso, Daniela Galic, Leia Varley and Tijan McKenna.
“Michael is someone who we have had our eyes on for a very long time, he is a fantastic young coach who truly believes in the way we want to play football and has demonstrated this with his teams in recent years,” said City’s director of football Michael Petrillo.
“After Dario’s departure, and with an important Champions League campaign on the horizon, it was vital that we found the right coach to lead this exciting team forward.
“Michael brings years of experience and knowledge, and we believe he will continue to build on our winning culture.
“I believe that after the signings we’ve made and with Michael’s appointment, we are in a great
position to challenge for silverware both in Asia and back home domestically.”
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