Vidmar "absolutely" keen on City stay, Popovic hoses down links
Melbourne City boss Aurelio Vidmar says that he would “absolutely” like to remain at the club beyond this season, while Tony Popovic has hosed down talk of any crosstown defection.
Melbourne City boss Aurelio Vidmar says that he would “absolutely” like to remain at the club beyond this season, with current Melbourne Victory boss Tony Popovic saying speculation linking him with a cross-town move to take over at Casey Fields is “silly.”
A longtime friend and collaborator with Melbourne City Director of Football Michael Petrillo, Vidmar took over as a caretaker of the club following the shock sacking of Rado Vidošić just two weeks into the campaign, brought in to fill a perceived need for a harder edge to be brought to a playing group whose standards had slipped.
Vidmar has been unable to return City to their imperious best of previous seasons since arriving but still has them on the verge of a tenth-straight year of finals football heading into the A-League Men’s final round; win over Western United this weekend and their place in finals football will be assured.
Inconsistency has dogged the three-time defending premiers this season, who will win three games in succession for the first time all season should they down United this weekend. But after a record-setting 8-0 win over Perth and a critical 2-1 win over Western Sydney on the road – a run which coincided with Vidmar’s return to the dugout after a battle with illness – they perhaps are finding form at the right time.
Against this backdrop, the 57-year-old confirmed on Friday that talks would soon take place about the club’s direction for 2024-25, confirming that he would “absolutely” want to return.
“Discussions are on the way so we'll see where it's going to go,” the coach told JDL Media. “I think Klopp was coming here, I heard last week! It's the silly season in December and January with the transfer windows for the players and I suppose at the end of the season, it's also the silly season for coaches.
“We'll see what's going to happen. Everything is really positive at the moment. I've said it many times, I've got a great relationship with management and things are going well here, in terms of as well as they could.
“Yes, we're not in the position that we have been in the past, but certainly, the projection is certainly heading in the right direction.”
With the facilities, resources, and associated global network making it one of the better jobs in Australian football, speculation has inevitably taken place surrounding the City position heading into next season, with the likes of Arthur Papas or a returning Patrick Kisnorbo amongst the names often thrown up by the fan base.
A News Corp report from earlier in the week suggested that Victory boss Tony Popovic, whose contract ends at the end of this season, was interested in the job – what would be a curious stylistic fit – but the 50-year-old poured water on those links on Friday.
“I mean, the question should be more about what you've read,” Popovic told JDL Media when the City links were put to him. “I've not read anything. I haven’t heard about that. But you know, it is the silly season and the best way to answer that is that it’s the silly season, it's silly reporting.”
The Victory boss, whose side is guaranteed to host an elimination final regardless of the result of their clash with Western Sydney this week, has previously stated that he intended to “park” discussions on his future with the club until after the season had concluded and remarked that “nothing’s changed” regarding those plans.
That same News Corp report listed a series of possible coaches on Victory’s wishlist should Popovic move on but club officials declined to comment on “speculation”.