Phoenix promote from within for next coach

Outgoing Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay with his replacement Giancarlo Italiano.
Photo: Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz

The Wellington Phoenix have looked within to replace the most successful coach in the club’s 16-year history.

Ufuk Talay’s right-hand man Giancarlo Italiano has been appointed head coach of the Phoenix for the next two A-League seasons.

Italiano has served as Talay’s lead assistant coach for the past three years, having originally joined the Phoenix for the 2019-20 season as the team’s head analyst and second assistant.

Italiano said Talay had taught him a lot and had plenty of praise for the outgoing coach who leaves the club after four seasons.

“I believe he is the best coach in the A-League, and I’ve had valuable lessons I don’t believe I would have got with other coaches,” Italiano said.

“I’ve also been fortunate to see Graham Arnold work at Sydney FC, followed by his successor Steve Corica. Along the way I’ve seen how team environments are created and the inner workings of successful clubs.

“That experience fused with the time I’ve had with [Talay] has really given me the confidence I can do well in this job.”

Italiano, who will become just the sixth fulltime head coach of the Phoenix, planned to build on the team’s current playing style and add his own new ideas.

Phoenix chairman Rob Morrison said it was “significant” that the club had chosen to appoint a new coach from their current staff.

“We want to develop coaches in the same way we develop players and it’s significant that we didn’t need to look outside the club to replace Uffy. We were more than comfortable with the talent available within the club.

“New Zealand currently isn’t developing enough top quality coaches, so the Phoenix are looking to fill that void by investing in coaches as well as the next generation of players,” Morrison said.

Italiano has already taken the reins for a couple of A-League matches when he stepped in last season when Talay was forced to isolate due to Covid-19 and he guided Wellington to wins over Perth Glory and Brisbane Roar in the space of five days.

A self-described “nobody” Italiano, unlike most A-League coaches, is not a former professional footballer.

Italiano gathered extensive coaching experience at the grassroots level in New South Wales before joining Sydney FC in 2017 to work with their NPL and National Youth League teams.

“I don’t have the luxury of being an ex-player at an elite level.

“I’ve always had to over compensate with my knowledge of the game, my processes and thinking outside the box to make up that shortfall, whereas ex-players have the advantage of knowing the environment already.

“I think that’s benefitted me because I don’t take anything for granted, I make sure that I’m thorough in all my work and I always make sure my work ethic is high.”

Morrison believed Italiano was the ideal coach to succeed Talay.

“He has helped unearth a number of players who have gone on to become Phoenix fan favourites, and together they have developed a style of play that has the team on track for a third finals appearance in four seasons.

Italiano recently completed the AFC professional coaching diploma, run by Football Australia, and is now one of a select few coaches in Aotearoa with a pro licence.

There are currently three coaches at the Phoenix with the highest qualification in football and three other Phoenix coaches are in the process of obtaining their pro licences.