Club legend Steve Corica will begin his professional coaching career at Sydney FC next season when he takes the reins of the National Youth League team.
The 36-year-old enjoyed a stellar career with the Sky Blues, leading them to two Hyundai A-League titles and scoring the winning goal in the grand final of the 2005/06 season.
He missed this year’s triumph due to a hamstring injury, but still played a part with his leadership and experience off the field.
Corica has already begun assembling his young squad and is looking forward to the next challenge of his career.
“Coaching is something I’ve always wanted to do and I am obviously very happy to be given my first opportunity by Sydney FC,” Corica said. “It is going to be a whole new experience but I am ready for this challenge.”
“While I was recovering from surgery I watched a lot of DVDs, did a lot of scouting and I have been to many State League games recently too. I have really enjoyed doing that. It has been different being on the other side of things but it has been exciting.”
“You need to be organised, be prepared and conscious of everything that is going on. I have already had great support from the club and from Vitja. A few of the boys have also offered to help out.”
Corica revealed that the NYL team will form closer ties with the Hyundai A-League team this year with training regimes, coaching philosophies and recovery work to mirror each other.
“The youth team is very important to the club. It brings through and develops new, young players and simply we want to be successful from day one this season,” Corica said.
“We are a very successful club and we are going to make the youth team a big part of that.”
“I have been looking at a lot of games and a lot of players and we are putting together a strong team. We will announce the full squad in the next few weeks.”
