Perth Glory is delighted to announce the appointment of Tony Popovic as the club’s new Hyundai A-League Head Coach.
The 44-year-old, one of the most successful Australian coaches of all time, has signed a three-year deal with the club.
Popovic is best known for his remarkable work at Western Sydney Wanderers whom he joined as their inaugural coach in 2012.
His achievements at the club included an A-League Premiership in their debut season and three Grand Final appearances.
But Popovic trumped those domestic successes by also leading the red-and-blacks to the Asian Champions League title in 2014, the first time an Australian side had ever won the competition and was named the AFC Coach of the Year in recognition of this unprecedented feat.
The former Socceroo, who was also previously the assistant coach at English Premier League side Crystal Palace, is now relishing the prospect of returning to the A-League at a club which he feels has enormous potential.
"I'm very excited to have joined Perth Glory," he said.
"I'm looking forward to the challenge of tapping into the vast potential that the club has.
"I'm also looking forward to continuing to work with the great young talent that exists in WA.
"There is a rich history of WA players that have come through and gone on to make careers in the game and it'll be great to have the opportunity to work with such talented young players."
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Popovic will take up the reins at Glory with immediate effect and club Owner and Chairman Tony Sage is understandably delighted to have secured the services of a man with such a proven track record of success in Australia and beyond.
“Tony was our number one target from day one,” he said, “and we beat off some stiff competition in order to bring him here.
“His resume, reputation and pedigree are hugely impressive, as is his vision for the future of Perth Glory.
“Tony recognises that his own ambitions are matched by ours as a club and we are confident that he can help bring the success, both domestically and in Asia, that our loyal members and fans crave and deserve.
“This appointment marks one of the most exciting moments in Glory’s illustrious history and one that I know will have our supporters counting down the days until the start of the 2018-19 season.”
Those sentiments were echoed by Glory’s Football Director, Jacob Burns.
"Securing Tony's services is a huge coup for the club," he said.
"His style, work ethic and ambition made him the perfect fit as the Head Coach we wanted to drive the club forward.
"We come from the same production line in Western Sydney and I have admired Tony throughout his playing and coaching career.
"I am extremely excited about working closely with him as part of what I'm sure will be a fantastic future for Perth Glory."
Popovic is set to arrive at the club early next week, with further player announcements expected in the very near future.
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