Michael Valkanis is in the KAS Eupen hot seat until the end of the 2021-22 campaign after the struggling Belgian side sacked Stefan Kramer.
Eupen relieved Kramer of his duties amid a 10-match winless streak across all competitions, which has left the club 15th in the Belgian Pro League and just four points above the relegation play-off spot.
Valkanis, who was named assistant in January – joining forces with Socceroos legend and board member Tim Cahill at Eupen – is now tasked with trying to preserve Eupen’s top-flight status.
KEEPUP revisits an interview with Valkanis from January as the former Melbourne City head coach becomes the latest Australian to take the reins at abroad.
Put another shrimp on the barbie…
Cooking BBQs, Christmas in summer and wearing thongs: That’s how Australians are perceived abroad as coaches and players, past and present, have tried to crack Europe.
Much has been made about the hurdles facing Aussie coaches – Ange Postecoglou spoke previously about almost giving up on his European dream because he was being judged by his passport. The Australian trailblazer is now kicking down doors for his countrymen on the back of his Celtic appointment.
But as many continue to navigate those obstacles, Michael Valkanis does not believe European coaches are superior to their Australian counterparts.
Valkanis has experienced the difficulties of being an Aussie in Europe through his time with PEC Zwolle in the Eredivisie and with Greece’s national team, but the former Melbourne City head coach told KEEPUP: “It’s not easy but I do believe a lot in the Aussie coaches.
“I really do believe we want to learn, we want to get better. One of the reasons we can make it in Europe is because we have humility. We live so far away from Europe, we think it’s unattainable and we can’t reach it and everyone in Europe are on another level.
I really don’t believe that because we are students of the game. Because we are so far away, we watch every game, we study so hard, we read every little bit of material that exists on the internet.
“I think sometimes we outwork a lot of coaches here because we want to be in Europe and reach that level. It doesn’t matter we’re from Australia, what matters is we maintain that humility and growth mindset, and to become better coaches.
“There were some difficult moments in my career where I thought I’d never get to where I want to get. You’re doing hours and hours of work and not getting remunerated as much as you’d like because that’s the industry you’re in.
“You just have to keep fighting through it. If your dream is to go overseas, you have to really work towards that and you can make it happen. It is attainable, you can make it as long as you put in in the hours. There’s no reason why we aren’t better than the coaches in Europe.”
Now, thanks to the opportunity afforded him at Celtic, Postecoglou is proving that point for everyone to see.
“It’s very important what Ange is doing because it will put Aussie coaches and Aussie football on the map,” he said.
“We will get a little more respect than just being known for cooking BBQs, having Christmas during the summer, going for swims at the beach. That is how we’re, a lot of times, portrayed – wearing thongs, shorts and having a good time.
“Everyone will be important, not only Ange. Even Kevin Muscat (Yokohama F.Marinos head coach) in Japan, (Juventus women’s head coach) Joe Montemurro in Italy.
“Slowly there are more Aussie coaches abroad. Sometimes you have to take risks and not use excuses and boundaries that exist but don’t really exist because if you really want something, you have to go and get it.
“Ange, Kevin and Joe have taken that risk abroad. They’re doing it and that’s what you have to do. For a lot of Aussie coaches, yeah you have to do the groundwork at home and get the experience, but at some point if you want to take that leap, you have to believe in yourself.”
Reflecting on his own experiences, Valkanis – a former defender for Greek clubs Iraklis, Larrisa and Agios Nikolaos – added: “Even though I played here, one of the technical directors in Greece said they’d be very interested to see how I coach. I haven’t got the profile of a famous Ajax, Bayern or Panathinaikos player coming into coach. Unfortunately the world looks at an ex-football icon as a free ticket to coach.
“Playing football at the highest level has nothing with how you coach afterwards. They’re two different things. Even I learnt that the hard way when I first started coaching Adelaide. When I first finished at Adelaide and I started coaching, ‘I thought how easy is this going to be, it can’t be that hard to coach’. But you learn along the way. You have to keep working and stay patient.
“Even in Holland, a lot of good coaches come out of Holland. So for an Aussie coach to go there, even at the club I was at were looking and thinking ‘we had to bring an Aussie coach’. Even after John (Van’t Schip) left, Gerard Nijkamp called me and they wanted to keep me on. He asked me to help the academy and technical director to streamline the philosophy and coach coaches with some of the stuff we implemented with the senior team. I thought it was great and spoke with John, who said ‘of course, you’re an Aussie and they want you to stay, you have to’. I stayed on.
“I remember at the start it wasn’t an easy task. I had a great relationship with the academy directors. There were some coaches that would look at you and say ‘come on, this Aussie..’. It was a challenge and taught me different skills and how to be able to influence them in a different way.
“Over time, I was able to achieve what I set out to do. It was one of the most enjoyable times for me. It wasn’t too long because I joined John in Greece. I still have great relationships with people at PEC. It was an interesting time trying to persuade some of the coaches there that an Aussie has a certain way of doing things that could help. To get acknowledged afterwards from a Dutch magazine that an Aussie came in and helped them do something.”
Valkanis is coming off a two-and-half-year spell as van’ t Schip’s assistant with Greece – the latter resigning in November last year.
Like he did in Melbourne via the Isuzu UTE A-League and Zwolle in Holland, Valkanis followed Van’t Schip to Greece in 2019, tasked with guiding the Euro 2004 champions to the World Cup in Qatar. The pair share a close relationship, established from their time together at AAMI Park.
The national team fell short, finishing behind Spain and Sweden in Group B on the road to Qatar 2022, but as Valkanis weighs up his next move, the 47-year-old insisted: “It was a great experience.
“In terms of having a Greek background, when I found out we were going to be having this opportunity, it was very exciting and I was very much looking forward to it. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have that opportunity.
It was an amazing feeling and every time we played and you listen to the anthem, the Greek background and blood in you, you get that feeling of pride, an honour.
“It was a fantastic experience, especially dealing with some fantastic players, high-level players. Having to maximise the minimum time you have on the pitch gives you great experience as a coach and tools to take into the future and your next coaching endeavours.
“That was the biggest experience and learning for me in a national team set up, especially when you try to implement a new philosophy into a nation that is known for playing one style and they’ve even won a Euro Championship that way. It was a big task at hand but a huge experience to learn and put a style in place in minimal time, it is a tool that I can take away with me. You have to be spot on, exactly what you want to do and be very clear. We saw the fruition of our work over time, unfortunately for us, for the amount of chances we created, we didn’t score as many goals.
“One of the biggest things we did with Greece (was) really change up the squad and give it a whole new energy with a lot of young players. A platform now to continue into the future with a new breed of players.”
Valkanis retains the belief of taking on a head coaching role, having done so previously with Melbourne City in 2017, but wherever the future takes him, for the one-time Socceroo, it’s all about creating an identity.
“I’ve always seen myself taking that step as a head coach. I’ve obviously taken a little bit of a different journey,” ex-Adelaide United captain Valkanis continued.
“After the A-League with City, I got the chance to be assistant again in Europe. There was an opportunity to go back to the A-League as a head coach but I chose to go to Europe and have that chance. We read about it often how it’s difficult to for Australian coaches to break into Europe, and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity. To get the chance in Holland was fantastic.
“Now with Greece, being part of some great opportunities. It’s always been to be a head coach but along the way, you start to realise, okay it could be a possibility again, but whether I’ve done as an assistant, senior coach or whether I touch on it as a director in the future, it’s always going to be the same view – you’re leading people to play a certain way, to implement not only a football philosophy but a life philosophy. We can talk about attacking or defensive football, there’s no right or wrong in football, but without the life philosophy underpinning the football philosophy, there’s no way of leading people or an organisation to create an identity.
“I believe a lot in humility, I’ve learnt from a young kid that you need to work hard and respect everyone around it. Also to have a growth mindset, to want to be better every single day. If you want to be competitive, you have to want to get better. We see that with one of Australia’s greatest coaches in Ange Postecoglou. He is an icon for many Aussie coaches.”
