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Battling Brisbane Roar are set to appoint their fourth full-time coach in less than three years with Michael Valkanis lined up to replace Ruben Zadkovich.
On Tuesday, the club announced they were parting ways with Zadkovich after a dismal A-League Men season.
The Roar notched three late-season wins wins to narrowly avoid the wooden spoon.
But Zadkovich’s late surge could not paper over the cracks of another underwhelming Roar coaching appointment.
“The club would like to acknowledge and thank Ruben for his commitment and efforts during his tenure in Brisbane,” Roar CEO Kaz Patafta said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Ruben leaves with our best wishes for his future endeavours, as we begin to chart a new course here at the club.”
In their statement, Brisbane flagged a new coach and staff would be appointed “in the coming days” with Valkanis expected to get the nod to take charge.
The 50-year-old has extensive experience in the Australian game having spent time on the backroom staff at Melbourne City and Adelaide United.
More recently, the Melburnian has worked as a head coach with Hapoel Tel Aviv and Turkish side Adana Demirspor.
Valkanis has also been employed as an assistant with Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam and the Greek national team.
The Roar will hope Valkanis will be able to stick around and revive one of the competition’s sleeping giants.
Since Warren Moon’s departure in February 2023, caretaker Nick Green, Ross Aloisi, caretaker Luciano Trani, Ben Cahn and Zadkovich have all taken the reins then departed for various reasons.
Brisbane have struggled for relevance for years, with the club seemingly a shadow of the powerhouse that captivated the league with Ange Postecoglou’s “Roarcelona” team.
Coach Michael Valkanis . (Photo by NESimages/Geert van Erven/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
Ross Aloisi took Brisbane to the Australia Cup final in 2023, but the Roar last appeared a genuine threat for ALM silverware when brother John was at the helm between 2015 and 2018.
Battling Brisbane Roar are set to appoint their fourth full-time manager, and seventh overall, in less than three years after parting ways with Ruben Zadkovich.
The Roar finished second-last despite going unbeaten in the final four games of the A-League Men season, including notching three wins.
Zadkovich has been moved on after 38 league games – and just eight wins – at the helm (10 draws, 20 losses) after initially joining as an interim coach last year.
“The club would like to acknowledge and thank Ruben for his commitment and efforts during his tenure in Brisbane,” Roar CEO Kaz Patafta said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Ruben leaves with our best wishes for his future endeavours, as we begin to chart a new course here at the club.”
In their statement, Brisbane flagged a new coach and said their staff would be appointed “in the coming days”.
The Roar will hope their next appointment is able to stick around.
Since Warren Moon’s departure in February 2023, caretaker Nick Green, Ross Aloisi, caretaker Luciano Trani, Ben Cahn and Zadkovich have all taken the reins then departed for various reasons.
Brisbane have struggled for relevance for years, with the club seemingly a shadow of the powerhouse that captivated the league with Ange Postecoglou’s “Roarcelona” team.
Ross Aloisi took Brisbane to the Australia Cup final in 2023, but the Roar last appeared a genuine threat for ALM silverware when John Aloisi was at the helm between 2015 and 2018.
Former Perth Glory boss Zadkovich will also have to plot his next move in coaching after another difficult spell in a top job.
“I wish to take this opportunity to thank the members and fans at Brisbane Roar, alongside Kaz Patafta and Zac Anderson, for the opportunity to coach at this great club,” he said in a statement.
Socceroos great Mark Milligan is the latest man charged with ending the Newcastle Jets’ painful finals drought after landing his first head coach role with the A-League Men club.
Milligan, 39, who has signed until the end of the 2026-27 season, had long been expected to take the reins after the Jets parted ways with Rob Stanton before the season finished.
Mark Milligan (Photo by Simon Hofmann – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Newcastle haven’t made the finals since they lost the 2017-18 grand final to Melbourne Victory, when Ernie Merrick was coach.
It is a lack of success that burns even more given arch-rivals Central Coast have enjoyed a trophy-laden stint in that time.
Newcastle will hope Milligan, who was a highly rated assistant at Adelaide United under Carl Veart from 2022-25 before working under Peter Cklamovski with the Malaysian men’s national team, can turn the tide.
“I am excited and thankful for the opportunity to be the club’s new A-League Men’s head coach,” Milligan said in a statement.
“It is exciting times under the new ownership of the Newcastle Jets, and it was clear very early on that their strategy is consistent with my vision for the Jets, which will be built on player development and ultimately achieve team success.”
Milligan played for Newcastle in 2008-09, but was most prolific at Melbourne Victory. He also had multiple stints playing overseas.
But he is best known as an uncompromising defensive midfielder/centre-back across 80 caps with the Socceroos, attending four World Cups and winning the 2015 Asian Cup.
Milligan retired from international football and finished his club career at Macarthur, before moving into coaching.
“As we progressed through the process of identifying a new A-League Men’s head coach, it became clear that Mark was well placed to take the club into a new era,” Jets chairman Maurice Bisetto said on Tuesday.
“Mark has made the transition to coaching seamlessly and we are excited to have him onboard as a leader in our organisation.
“We are confident Mark will be able to instil a strong culture across all facets of the club, including building a winning team that the region can be proud of.”
© AAP
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