Melbourne Victory's decision to sack Kurz a mystery as much as it was obvious
There was a moment on the touchline during Marco Kurz’s Adelaide United tenure when the notoriously flammable coach furnished one poor fourth official with what he must have perceived as the ultimate insult. “You’re only a fourth official ... in Australia,” the German bellowed.
As of Wednesday, assistant referees across the land were breathing easier after Kurz was relieved of his duties by Melbourne Victory just 13 matches into his two-year deal. That particular official was merely one in a long line to be on the receiving end of the relentless pitchside wrath of Kurz, a genuine gentleman in just about every setting except during one 90-minute spell each week.
It happened again on Sunday when, having sworn at an assistant referee in the presence of Gosford’s swaying palm trees and inflatable sauce bottles, the German was dismissed from his technical area. He would not have envisaged at the time that it would turn out to be the longest red-card suspension in A-League history.
Not three days later Kurz was sacked as the Victory hierarchy attempt to arrest the slide that has left the powerhouse in the top six only on goal difference.
The decision is as much a mystery as it is the obvious course of action. Kurz’s record falls into the latter category, with four wins, three draws and six losses – Victory’s most defeats to date, just halfway through a season. The club’s 15 points is equal to their lowest tally in history after 13 outings, alongside 2007-08 (a middling season between two championships under Ernie Merrick) and 2011-12 (the transition period under Mehmet Durakovic, caretaker Kevin Muscat and then Jim Magilton). They are not results befitting the expectations of four-time A-League champions.
But there is also a slightly left of field feel to this decision, on a wholeleague scale: in a similar situation last week, the pressure was widely considered to be on Markus Babbel and Robbie Fowler, yet it was Ernie Merrick who instead was fired. Victory are a big club, but they are also a conservative one. Knee-jerk reactions are an uncommon theme in chairman Anthony Di Pietro’s boardroom.
Two seasons ago when the pitchforks were out for Muscat, who was stranded in the quagmire of a midseason slump that engendered boos and calls for his head, the board stuck by him. He survived to witness the most gloriously humiliating VAR malfunction in history and orchestrate a heist for an unlikely title from fourth place.
Last season, Muscat’s final iteration of Victory were a frightening force on paper, replete with high-calibre foreigners in Keisuke Honda, Ola Toivonen, Georg Niedermeier and Raúl Baena. They finished third, and went out in the semi-finals via a 6-1 loss to Sydney FC. Muscat had pedigree and history on his side.
Kurz has not had a chance to build either. Unlike Babbel, who is living a charmed life at eighth-placed Western Sydney, Kurz was not afforded a full season to adjust to the rigours of a big-budget club with big-budget expectations. He was appointed on the eve of pre-season and several players were recruited later than that. Chronic injuries to key personnel, most notably German defender Tim Hoogland, have left little time to develop consistency with a fullstrength squad.
Then there is the David Moyesesque curse of following a club icon. Succeeding a man with two titles as a Victory player and two as a coach was always going to be fraught with comparative undertones. Sydney FC’s Steve Corica is the obvious exception, though there is something to be said for assisting the very manager you eventually replace.
Is his exit somewhat premature? The sentiment to the contrary is that Kurz’s football philosophy and managerial style did not fit Victory’s culture, that his tactical approach was misaligned. These were also factors mentioned when Adelaide decided last March not to renew his contract; Kurz himself at the time cited a paucity of “a common vision”.
With the Reds he won an FFA Cup and made two successive finals with scant resources, a loyal playing group and pure passion, factors that earned him widespread success. But last season Adelaide, while finishing fourth, also scored the second-fewest goals in the league.
Hours after Wednesday’s official announcement, Di Pietro hinted at dissatisfaction at his club’s current attacking modus operandi while acknowledging “you can never get every appointment right”.
“At Melbourne Victory our members expect an entertaining brand of football,” he said. “That’s what will bring us the results … if we’re playing football that’s taking on our opposition.”
It is true that the team’s pragmatic, often colourless on-field presence this season has been offset only by moments of individual sparkle from the likes of Toivonen and Kruse. But then Kurz has never delivered sexy football, and Victory knew this when they signed him. Whatever the issue, something was awry. A crucial click was missing. In corporate speak, a lack of synergy. It is also believed there was internal discontent regarding his hardline training regime and a pattern of soft-tissue injuries.
Indeed, his exit may have come even earlier were it not for the recent Melbourne derby win followed by the 4-0 rout of Newcastle that sealed Merrick’s demise. But in the end it was the manner of Sunday’s absurd loss to the Mariners that prompted decisive action.
A squad overhaul now appears imminent, and it is believed Kristijan Dobras could be on the way out to make way for Johnny Warren medallist Marco Rojas, who is set for a medical on Thursday ahead of a hero’s return. “We’re going to take our time in the process going forward and look at what we did in the current process,” Di Pietro said.
Time is certainly of the essence, in the sense that Victory’s next appointment must be given it.