What does the day of an A-Leagues coach look like? Thanks to Western United head coach and Australian football legend John Aloisi, aleagues.com.au’s Sacha Pisani was granted access inside the club’s inner sanctum for a day in Tarneit.
The clock strikes 8:10am as I drive into Western United’s base at Ironbark Fields.
Ben Garuccio, Michael Ruhs and a group of the club’s exciting academy graduates are among the cohort of player arrivals, while the groundsman is busy getting the training pitch into shape.
John Aloisi has been in the building since 7:45am.
A pilates session, broken up into two groups, awaits the Isuzu UTE A-League squad. Western United head coach Aloisi is a big believer in the exercise to help with core, mobility and injury prevention.
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It’s the start of the team’s re-intro session after a couple of days off following a friendly against VPL1 side Caroline Springs George Cross at City Vista Recreation Reserve.
Sitting in the coaches room, Aloisi’s staff begin to roll in for the day; senior assistant coach Hayden Foxe, assistant Andrew Durante, goalkeeper coach Michael Theo, development coach Diogo Ferreira and performance analyst Harry Reading.
Before on-field training begins at 10:30am, Aloisi and his staff are reviewing some footage, not only from the pre-season hit out against George Cross, but training to show players in an analysis session during the week.
It is almost an autonomous approach within the coaching panel. Aloisi – responsible for one of the greatest scenes in Australian sporting history after scoring the penalty that sent the Socceroos to the 2006 FIFA Men’s World Cup – is keen to share responsibilities with his staff – but they are all on the same page.
Foxe is very vocal analysing the footage, walking through how he wants to see players closing down space and pressing – using a laser point to break it all down on the projector.
Prior to training, head physio Daniel Hanna and strength and conditioning coach Louis Mazza consult Aloisi. Hanna provides an update on player wellbeing – from sleep to soreness, while Mazza comes into the room to give the Socceroos legend a screen update.
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“When I started coaching, I went back and thought about my whole playing career, where I enjoyed it the most, where I felt like I improved the most and where I felt I played my best football. I started to go – why and how, the results”, Aloisi told aleagues.com.au.
“You start to think about the different coaches you played under, different coaches you’ve seen work. I felt my period in Spain, the team really achieved good results, I felt at my best there. How did they create that environment? I felt I was learning every day I went into training and then I enjoyed the learning aspect of it. I could see improvement in my game.
“I try to create that here. Not only for my players but my staff. How are they going to keep improving and learning? Yes we have our behavioural guidelines and tactical principles but within that how are they going to keep improving? That’s the environment I try to create for the whole group that work within training, games etc.”
On-field training
Then, the coaches head downstairs and onto the pitch for training.
Aloisi takes a detour and gets kitted up for the session – from his jeans and jacket, into his Western United attire and football boots.
On the field, everything is in place for the first session in week nine of pre-season. It’s focused on ball movement and connection while some players have their own individual rehab.
After Brisbane Roar great Massimo Murdocca oversees the warm-up, the players split off into their groups. There are small-sided drills – the first being three-v-one plus three across four boxes while the goalkeepers are put through their paces.
The session progresses into a larger area – eight-v-eight for almost 30 minutes. It finishes off with 11-v-11 on half a pitch.
New signing Hiroshi Ibusuki is at the heart of it as Aloisi tries to integrate the Japanese star into the team following his arrival from Adelaide United, where he scored 15 goals last season. So is Tate Russell after swapping Western Sydney Wanderers for Tarneit.
Then there’s Abel Walatee, Luka Coveny, Dylan Leonard, and James York. They are among the academy graduates to have signed their maiden professional contracts this off-season. Not to mention Matt Grimaldi, Jake Najdovski and Oli Lavale.
Throughout the entire session, Aloisi stands back and observes everything. He will take over the main tactical training but during other sessions, the Championship-winning coach will sit back and step in when he needs to add his voice.
“Obviously you always like that attacking style of football but you also have to understand sometimes what you have available to you,” Aloisi says as he ramps up preparations for the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season.
Aloisi’s storied career took him from Adelaide City to Antwerp in Belgium, Cremonese in Italy, English clubs Portsmouth and Coventry City as well as Spanish outfits Alaves and Osasuna, where he is still revered.
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“You learn so much through your playing career but also after you stop playing, coaching, watching more football, watching teams do well and not so well,” the former Central Coast Mariners, Sydney FC and Melbourne City striker continues. “Okay, what are the reasons why?
“Everyone wanted to replicate Barcelona and you go, okay they’re going through a stage that these players have been brought up like that since the age of 8-9-10 whatever it is, so they’re able to play that kind of football.
“You look at Real Madrid and I looked at (Carlo) Ancelotti a lot and see how he’s been able to achieve success with the groups he’s had. I read his books and he started to become more flexible after his first stint at Reggiana and then I think Parma. He was not flexible enough with certain players and then went to Juventus and realised he needed to be more flexible with certain players. He liked to play a 4-4-2 system that was it. If you don’t play within that way, you can’t play in his team.
“Through his career, you’ve seen he’s done that (adapted). When you’re watching an Ancelotti team, you know they can play a different way also depending on the way the opposition sets up.
“Yes, we want to play on the front foot. Yes, we want to be aggressive with and without the ball but there’s certain times you’re aggressive with or without the ball and the opposition are just going to play long every single time. There’s other times you might be setting them up into a false sense of security into an area. I like that side of analysing opposition.
“We don’t go away from our way of playing and our principles.
“You have to cover all aspects of your game. How you are going to build up from your back third against teams who might press in different ways? How are you going to build up when the team sit in a mid third? How are you going to build up when the team sit in a deep block? How are you going to counter all that, because you have to. One team might press against you, one team might sit off against you and one team might be in that half-half.
“How are you going to do it against a team who overplays it at the back? How are you going to press? And all your transitional moments. People underestimate transitions in games.
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“I watched Ange’s team the other day. I’ve followed his career and spoken a lot to Ange (Postecoglou). Yes, Ange has his key principles which is what we do as well, but if you saw Son’s (Heung-min) last goal against (Everton), they were all defending in their back third. (Micky) Van de Ven won the ball and then they go bang on the counter. Son was deep in his own half.
“Everyone goes but ‘oh Ange likes to play…’. Yes he has 60-70% of the ball but he also knows how to be in a position when they have to defend, they have to defend as a group. He gets his players to work really hard as a defensive unit. But when they win the ball, how can we go forward quickly?
“With my team, when we win the ball – can we go forward? How are we going to go forward? Sometimes you might play against opposition who won’t be allow you to have as much possession but you can still be strong with and without the ball. You can dominate the game with and without the ball.”
Italian legend Carlo Ancelotti has had a big impact on Aloisi’s football, but Pep Guardiola remains his biggest inspiration.
It also leads to a question about the A-Leagues.
“I love Pep. I love the way Pep’s gone about the football he’s played. He’s been able to adapt in each country he’s been in. He can play with a nine and without a nine. His principles won’t change but sometimes his football does change a bit,” Aloisi, who has already delivered a Championship to Western United, explains.
“In Germany, he knew he had to get in more crosses because Germans like to cross the ball. In Spain, they didn’t cross the ball. What’s the use of crossing the ball when you have (Lionel) Messi as your nine. (Samuel) Eto’o is playing as a wider player and (David) Villa as a wider player.
“It’s the same now with (Manchester) City, he is always filling spaces and areas. Sometimes it’s a full-back filling that space, sometimes it might be a centre-back or midfielder. He knows how to adapt his game with the players he has.
“That’s what I find fascinating because sometimes, we as coaches especially in the A-Leagues, you’re not always going to have the players that you believe you’re going to have or they might not be at that level yet. How do we get them to that level? You might have to adjust to your group.”
Football department meeting
After lunch, a meeting takes place at 1:30pm.
It’s a football department meeting, involving Aloisi and his staff, as well as general manager of football Mal Impiombato and others.
Aloisi and Impiombato talk about the team’s pre-season schedule, upcoming events and upcoming international commitments for youth-team players.
Then there is a medical update presented by Hanna, who provides an insight into player loads and training.
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“As a head coach, you’re managing a group of people,” says Aloisi, who paints a picture on what he has to deal with on a daily basis which fans and others may not see.
“I think people underestimate the importance of managing people and how you manage people.
“Everyone manages in different ways. I’m not saying there’s a right or wrong way but I feel more comfortable in the way I do it because that’s my personality. I like to communicate a lot with my staff, my players if possible.
“Certain times it’s more of a collective with the playing group but sometimes it’s on-on-one. With the staff, it’s constant because we all want to be across it and making sure we’re getting the right outcomes.
“You’re also managing up – people above you. You’re managing the media, the messaging you might want to get out there to members. All those things I find really, really important.
“There’s one thing about coaching on the field and on game day but it’s all that around it which I find really important if you want to get results for a long period. We have a good group of people here who are wanting to work, improve and get better at what they do. That’s already a massive, massive plus for the club.”
After the football department meeting, Aloisi and his staff map out the schedule over the coming weeks – with all things pointing to the Round 1 trip to Wellington Phoenix on October 20.
Overall, it was a fascinating experience in Melbourne’s west. Through the lens of an Aussie icon, it shows there is much more than meets the eye as an A-Leagues coach.
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