Traianos Dellas reportedly given 24-hour deadline to accept offer as next Melbourne Victory coach
The Greek Herald
July 19, 2020


Greek manager Traianos Dellas is allegedly in the final stages of talks with Melbourne Victory to take over as head coach next season.

According to information received by The Greek Herald, Melbourne Victory was unable to reach an agreement with Wellington Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay, as his team refused to terminate his three-year contract.

The same information states that the ‘Colossus’ of Greek football has been given a deadline of tomorrow, Monday, to respond to Victory’s contract proposal.

If Dellas accepts Melbourne Victory’s proposal, he is likely to bring with him his assistant, Vasilis Borbokis, and coach Dimitrios Bouroutzikas to be part of his management team.

Dellas last coached Greek team Panetolikos from 2018–2019, leaving for unspecified personal reasons, with the club finishing sixth on the ladder at the back end of last season.

A-League: Victory closing in on Greek coach Traianos Dellas
Marco Monteverde
July 25, 2020 2:37PM


Greek hero Traianos Dellas is on the verge of being announced as Melbourne Victory’s new coach

A club spokesman said on Friday the recruitment process was ongoing but nearing its completion.

Dellas, 44, made 55 appearances for Greece and helped them to 2004 European Championships glory.

Dubbed the “Colossus of Rhodes”, defender Dellas played for a host of clubs, including Sheffield United, Roma, Perugia and AEK Athens,

After retiring, he was appointed coach of AEK Athens in 2013, and has since also guided the fortunes of two other Greek clubs, Atromitos and Panetolikos.

Wellington coach Ufuk Talay has also been linked to the Victory coach, but the Phoenix have reportedly insisted he honour his three-year deal.

Under interim coach Grant Brebner, the Victory finally re-start their 2019-20 A-League season on Saturday night against Victorian rivals Western United at Bankwest Stadium.

Brebner, appointed after the departure of Spanish mentor Carlos Salvachua, said “what will be, will be” in the Victory’s remaining five matches in what has been a disappointing campaign for the four-time A-League champions.

“It feels like we’ve been preparing for this game and only this game for about six weeks which we have,” said former Victory midfielder Brebner, whose along with his squad end their two-week quarantine period in NSW on Saturday.

“From a personal viewpoint, I’ve really enjoyed it.

“If I’m being truthful, this is the hardest part for me, the media side of it, talking to you guys.

“When I’m on the grass I feel at home, and I think the players have responded to it.

“It’s not about me.”

Brebner said he was disappointed to be without Socceroos attacker Robbie Kruse, who will miss the rest of the season after injuring his knee at training.

“I was looking forward to seeing Robbie play for the club again,” he said.

But Brebner said Kruse’s absence, and the departures of foreign pair Ola Toivonen and Tim Hoogland, who both returned to Europe, presented opportunities to the Victory’s emerging talent.

“I’ve come up here with a lot of young players who are going to feature at all points of this five-game period,” he said.

Brebner found it amusing that Western United counterpart had been studying videos of the Victory’s W-League team - coached by Brebner’s assistant Jeff Hopkins - in an effort to have every base covered in terms of potential tactics.

“It’s great that ‘Rudes’ went to that in-depth knowledge on doing some scouting on us, but if it’s been the W-League he’s been watching, then he might get a little shock,” the former Scotland under-21 international said.

“They (United) are a decent side and they seem to be getting better and better as they go along. What we expect is what we know. We don’t envisage any surprises.

“If we’re worrying about Western United more than we want to do, we’re in a bit of trouble.

We cannot go out there and worry too much about them.”

Melbourne Victory's Thomas set for move to Europe - sources
Joey Lynch

Lawrence Thomas has likely made his final appearance in a Melbourne Victory shirt, sources have told ESPN.

According to those with knowledge of the situation, the 28-year-old goalkeeper, who has previously been linked with moves to the Middle East and Japan, is set to complete a move to a European club in the coming days.

When that deal goes through, he will be the fourth player to depart Victory since the A-League's COVID-19 enforced hiatus -- club captain Ola Toivonen, Jakob Poulsen and Tim Hoogland having already taken their leave.

Backup goalkeeper Matt Acton, who supplanted Thomas in the starting lineup against Western United on Saturday evening, and 20-year-old Matthew Sutton remain on the club's books -- with Acton expected to serve as the first choice for the remainder of the season.

In a year of turmoil at AAMI Park, Thomas has served as one of the club's few beacons of stability, playing every minute of every match Victory's 2019-20 campaign and recording five clean sheets.

The AIS product has made 122 league appearances since debuting during the 2011-12 campaign: largely serving as Victory's first-choice keeper since the departure of Danny Vukovic ahead of the 2016-17 season.

His finest moment arrived in the 2018 Grand Final, where, bloodied and bruised, he absorbed a series of punishing blows in denying the Newcastle Jets' as Victory triumphed 1-0 and won their fourth A-League crown.

A grin beaming out from the bandages wrapped around his head, he was then awarded the Joe Marston Medal -- an award given to the player of the match in the A-League Grand Final.

The departure of Thomas represents a further blow to a Victory going through a season to forget in 2019-20, the club all but certain to miss finals football for the first time since the 2011-12 and possibly, should they not drag themselves up to eighth, their worst ever league position.

Already confirmed to be looking for a new head coach for 2020-21, interim boss Grant Brebner already ruling himself out of the post, the club is facing down the prospect of a near-total rebuild; just a small handful of players under contract for next season in the form of Robbie Kruse, Marco Rojas, Migjen Basha, and Leigh Broxham.

Following their fixture against Western United, Victory have four games remaining in their 2019-20 campaign: against Brisbane Roar on July 29, Central Coast on Aug. 3, Perth Glory on Aug. 8, and Western Sydney Wanderers on Aug. 12. The club also have six fixtures remaining in their Asian Champions' League group, likely to be played in quick succession out of a hub later this year.

Melbourne Victory was contacted for comment.

Victory coaching decision may come as early as this week
Michael Lynch
August 9, 2020 — 2.04pm

Melbourne Victory are drawing close to a decision on their new head coach, with board members set to make a call as early as this week following conversations on Sunday and with other discussions scheduled for Monday.

Ange Postecoglou's assistant at Japanese champions Yokohama F. Marinos, Arthur Papas, is the favourite ahead of former Socceroo John Aloisi, the ex-Melbourne Heart and Brisbane Roar coach.

But Victory's interim coach Grant Brebner is the wildcard in the equation and now a contender for the top job.

The former championship-winning midfielder has impressed many with the way he has guided a squad, which has been gutted since the A-League restart.

Brebner has put his faith in youngsters and playing an open brand of football rather than stacking the defence with experienced players and grinding out results.

In doing so he has done the club – and whoever takes over as head coach – a service, as it has been able to guage the mental strengths as much as the technical ability of the talented teens it has on its books.

The youngsters did Brebner – and Victory – proud on Saturday evening when they demolished Perth Glory, a team that only needed one point to make the finals, 4-0.

Still, Brebner, who spent several years at Manchester United and then played in the English Championship and Scottish Premier League before coming to Australia, will be seen as an outsider given his lack of senior coaching experience. His most recent job has been working with the Victory youth set.

Papas comes with Postecoglou's imprimatur and is understood to have made two presentations already, both impressing decision makers with the detail and analysis he provided.

The 40-year-old has had extensive experience both at home and overseas in a career that has seen him work in a variety of head coach and assistant roles.

Melbourne born, Papas worked at the AIS while still in his twenties and was Victorian coach of the year in 2011, when he had just turned 30, having led Oakleigh Cannons to the grand final that year.

Papas subsequently worked with the Indian under-23 team and had success in Indian club soccer before returning home to lead Oakleigh to the FFA Cup quarter-finals in 2015. After that he had spells with Green Gully in the NPL and then in the Saudi Pro-League as an assistant coach.

But it is through his association with Postecoglou at Yokohama that Papas is probably best known, helping the ex-Socceroos boss to lead the team to its first J.League title in 15 years. This year he was elevated to the title of head coach under Postecoglou.

Aloisi is a much better known candidate, having played in the English Premier League, La Liga and the Serie A and at a World Cup with the Socceroos.

His coaching period at Melbourne Heart was difficult and he ended up getting sacked, but he subsequently took the reins at Brisbane and led them to the semi-finals of the A-League playoffs. He has been working in media since quitting Roar in December 2018.

Victory's final game of the season is on Wednesday night when they play Western Sydney Wanderers.

Having thumped Perth, Brebner is expected to retain the same starting line-up.