CORICA REWARDED
He is one of the quieter leaders in Australian football, but Sydney FC boss Steve Corica has made clear the scale of his ambition after resigning with the Sky Blues.
With his team having won the A-League title in his first season as head coach, and finished top of the league by five points in his second, Corica has extended his contract with Sydney until June 2022.
Having deftly led the club after the departure of his predecessor, Graham Arnold, and several key players, as well as the exit from Allianz Stadium, Corica has been rewarded by the club hierarchy.
Admitting he was aware of some external doubts about his suitability for the role, Innisfail product Corica said he “like proving people wrong”.
“I think a lot of people were surprised when I got the job – maybe they didn’t think I could do it, or had some doubts,” he said. “Not from people in the club ... they were the ones who put me in charge.
“I like proving people wrong, I like doing things my own way, and I’ve served my apprenticeship under a lot of good managers. But I’ve done it my way since I took over.
“There’s been a lot of change since I took over, with players and staff. I think in the two years there’s been seven players in and out each season.
“But I think we’ve got a great squad together and that’s why we’re trying to re-sign as many as possible of them.”
Asked what plans he wanted to enact, the 32-capped Socceroo was crystal clear in outlining his ambitions.
“It was the same as a player – I wanted to play overseas, I wanted to play for Australia,” he said. “As a coach, down the track you want to coach overseas, and at some stage you would want to think about the national team. That’s a long way down the track ... there’s a lot of things I want to do here in Sydney first.”