Doha: Socceroo Marco Tilio has paid tribute to Patrick Kisnorbo’s tough love approach for helping him achieve his World Cup dream as the former Melbourne City boss prepares to make history as the first Australian to coach in one of Europe’s top five leagues.
Kisnorbo has been appointed as manager of French Ligue 1 side ES Troyes AC, one of the clubs in the City Football Group’s expansive network, which stretches from Melbourne to Manchester and across five continents.
The significance of the move has understandably flown under the radar due to the tournament in Qatar, but it represents a high-water mark for a generation of Australian coaches making an impact throughout the world.
Celtic’s Ange Postecoglou is the clear standard-bearer, but others are making waves, such as Juventus women’s manager Joe Montemurro, Club Brugge assistant Paul Okon and J1.League winner Kevin Muscat, who has been linked to the vacancy at his former club Rangers, which could put him opposite his mentor Postecoglou on the other side of the Old Firm derby.
But Kisnorbo, an 18-cap Socceroo who won three A-League trophies with Melbourne City, is breaking new ground, landing a gig in the most highly regarded domestic competition among his contemporaries and is the first to win a senior coaching position in one of Europe’s five major men’s leagues: England, Italy, Germany, France and Spain.
Patrick Kisnorbo has joined ES Troyes AC as coach, becoming the first Aussie to win a senior role in one of Europe’s top five leagues.Credit:ES Troyes AC
Tilio is one of three City players in Doha with the Socceroos, along with Jamie Maclaren and Mathew Leckie, while Nathaniel Atkinson used the club and Kisnorbo’s tutelage as a springboard to Scottish club Heart of Midlothian.
“We found out Sunday night; he gave us three a call here in camp,” said Tilio, who is originally from Sydney and made his A-League debut for Sydney FC but signed for Melbourne City in late 2020.
“I think he fully deserves the opportunity he’s getting to go over and coach in a top-five league in the world. He’s done immense [things] for our club and for the team, and he’s really made me the player I am today, so I can’t thank him enough in terms of that. I’m very happy for him to have opportunity.”
Tilio was only added to Graham Arnold’s 26-man squad as a replacement for injured winger Martin Boyle. The 21-year-old might have broken into the squad from the start had he played more often at the beginning of the season for City, but Kisnorbo kept him on the bench for his first two games and deflected criticism that doing so would harm his World Cup chances, saying his priority was the club, not Tilio’s international prospects.
An episode of the new A-Leagues All Access documentary series provides an insight into Kisnorbo’s ambition to coach at the highest level and his aggressive team talks.
Before the Melbourne derby, he is shown standing centimetres away from Tilio’s face, bellowing as part of his stirring pre-match speech: “Are you going to let [Stefan] Nigro dominate you? Huh?” He then told players to “unleash hell” on Victory.
“Obviously, everyone knows he’s a tough character, and he was hard to please, most of the time,” Tilio said. “But overall he was such a good person, and that’s the biggest thing, I think, in a coach. If you have a good person behind the coach, it really makes a good team.”
Marco Tilio has credited Patrick Kisnorbo for helping turn him into the player he is today – a full Socceroos international.Credit:Getty
Kisnorbo’s new job is another that can be largely credited to the City Football Group providing a leg-up to Aussie coaches. The Abu Dhabi-funded “family” of clubs is also a part-owner of Yokohama F. Marinos, and it was Postecoglou’s work there that won him a strong endorsement that helped him get the job at Celtic –and, in turn, he helped convince CFG to take a punt on Muscat, who is expected to either follow him to Europe soon or potentially succeed Graham Arnold as Socceroos coach if his contract isn’t extended and the Melbourne Victory legend can be convinced to take over the national team.
Simon Pearce, who sits on the board of the Australian Premier Leagues and is Melbourne City’s vice-chairman, had a big hand in Kisnorbo’s shift to France – and without CFG’s direct knowledge and insight on the ability of Australian coaches, it is difficult to see how some of them might have been able to overcome the country’s lowly status in international football during the application process.
“The support that I have had through the journey has been fantastic and nothing but positive,” Kisnorbo said.
“I can’t thank the City Football Group enough for giving me this opportunity, but eager to show that people down here and people in Australia [can do anything] if given a chance to fulfil their dream. It has all aligned, so I am very excited.”
Kisnorbo’s move to Troyes, which was bought by CFG two years ago and sits 13th on the Ligue 1 table, will also reunite him with former Melbourne City coach Erick Mombaerts, who is now the club’s technical director and has long trumpeted Kisnorbo’s capabilities as a coach, tipping he would one day make it in Europe.
The Frenchman’s legacy in blooding young players and deepening their tactical understanding – which Atkinson credited him for this week – is not just benefitting City, but the Socceroos, too.
Before moving to the A-League, Mombaerts coached Yokohama F. Marinos immediately prior to Postecoglou’s appointment – and CFG has shown a clear tendency to transfer not only talented players but coaches throughout their network of clubs, as they have done with Kisnorbo and also Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira, who did his apprenticeship after retiring with Manchester City’s elite development squad before taking the senior role at New York City FC.
CFG now owns 11 clubs throughout the world, either in part or in whole, with their latest acquisition an 80 per cent stake in Italian Serie B club Palermo.
Rado Vidosic, who coaches City’s A-League Women’s team, has been appointed as caretaker of their men’s side following Kisnorbo’s exit.
Meanwhile, Tilio admitted there was a bittersweet tinge to his World Cup call-up given it came at the expense of Boyle, who has since undergone surgery for what was only recently discovered to be a season-ending ACL injury he suffered in his last match for Scottish Premiership side Hibernian.
“Me and Boyley are quite close friends and I really feel for him,” he said. “He’s done a lot for this country and helped qualify for this World Cup, and I think he knows, and the players are making sure he does know that, and I wish him all the very best in his recovery.
“He’s in good spirits and still in camp, which is good. It’s good to have him around because such a good guy and great character to have around the group.”
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