Auckland FC head coach Steve Corica was named Isuzu UTE A-League Coach of the Year at the 2025 Dolan Warren Awards, in recognition of his Premiership-winning season in charge of the Black Knights.
Corica was named Auckland head coach ahead of the club’s inaugural season in the Isuzu UTE A-League and led the A-Leagues newcomers to the top of the table by the end of the regular season.
Auckland lost just three games en route to the Premiers Plate, amassing 53 points from 26 games to seal the club’s first piece of silverware in its inaugural campaign.
Corica won all six of the Isuzu UTE A-League’s Coach of the Month awards throughout the 2024-25 campaign; in partnership with Football Coaches Australia (FCA), the Australian Professional Leagues’ Coach of the Month process involved the FCA panel selecting four monthly nominees for the award, with the winner determined by a monthly fan vote.
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The Coach of the Month awards were a contributing factor to Corica claiming the Coach of the Year award, through a four-mechanism process:
- A 3-2-1 voting basis by the head coach of each club immediately following the conclusion of the A-League Men Regular Season
- A 3-2-1 voting basis by a panel of three technical football experts appointed by the APL
- A 3-2-1 voting basis by a panel of five media representatives appointed by the APL
- 1 point will be awarded to a Head Coach for each Coach of the Month award they have received during the A-League Men regular season
At the 2025 Dolan Warren Awards, Corica thanked his fellow coaches for voting for him as part of the Coach of the Year process, while praising his coaching staff and all involved at the club to contributing to a special season that ultimately ended in heartbreak, in Saturday’s Semi-Final defeat to Melbourne Victory.
“First of all, I want to thank the coaches for voting for me,” Corica said.
“I want to thank my coaching staff and the players for doing an amazing job all season.
“It means a lot to me. As a club, it’s important to win things, and we’ve managed to win a trophy in our first season, so I’m really proud of everyone around the club, and really proud to receive this award.”
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