Tony Popovic.
Glory’s new boss is among the most familiar figures in Australian football and one of its most successful ever coaches.
His illustrious playing career saw him ply his trade in England, Japan and Qatar as well as Australia, skippering Crystal Palace, Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Sydney FC in the process.
At international level, meanwhile, he won a total of 58 caps for the Socceroos and featured at the 2006 World Cup having previously represented his country at every level from Under-17 up.
And his move into coaching yielded yet more success both domestically and overseas.
Having cut his teeth and won an A-League Premiership and Championship as assistant coach at Sydney FC, he took up a similar role at another of his former clubs, Crystal Palace and duly helped the South London side reach the last four of the Carling Cup.
But it was a return to his native Sydney that saw the man universally known as ‘Popa’ take his coaching career to the next level.
Appointed as the inaugural Head Coach of the newly-formed Western Sydney Wanderers, he steered them to the Premiership in their debut campaign and was duly named Hyundai A-League Coach of the Year.
His five-year stint with Wanderers would eventually yield three Grand Final appearances, but as remarkable as those domestic achievements were, they were trumped by his groundbreaking success in Asia.
2014 saw the red-and-blacks stun the continent by becoming the first Australian winners of the Asian Champions League, with Popovic subsequently being named AFC Coach of the Year.
The 44-year-old eventually parted company with Wanderers last year and spent a brief spell with Turkish top-flight side Karabukspor before returning to Australia.
He becomes Glory’s 10th A-League Head Coach having signed a three-year deal with the club.
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