New Adelaide United boss Airton Andrioli has, by his own admission, taken the long way around to his first senior men’s club job. A Brazilian professional who landed in the NSL with West Adelaide and stayed, he’s built his resume and reputation on youth development, and now takes on the top football job in his adopted state, aged 60.
His task, at least initially, looked centred around rehabilitation. Last season’s spat between manager Carl Veart and Technical Director Ernest Faber – which saw the Reds crash from Premiership contention to missing the finals, and Veart dismissed – was uncommon ground for a club usually associated with smooth off-field sailing.
As Adelaide opened the season on Friday night at home before the weekend’s biggest crowd, returnee Craig Goodwin playing a key hand in their 2-1 win, it did feel like Andrioli had already managed to revive some of the optimism which deserted them so dramatically last season.
‘In football things are constantly changing, and can happen quickly. We had a few new people that came in, Ernest Faber came into the club and probably wanted to go in a different direction. And those decisions are made’ Andrioli told Box2Box.
‘From my perspective, I was doing my job with the youth team. I never asked for [anything], I just always believed that you do your work and let somebody else judge if you are capable, if you know what it takes to maybe do a job at a different level.
‘So I mean, my main focus was always doing my job. For me, [what happened] that doesn’t matter. It’s part of the past now. Things happen quickly in football. I just got given this opportunity, and I want to take this with two hands and make the most out of it.’
It’s been quite the journey in coaching to this point. From women’s football with Canberra United (2003-04), Football South Australia’s Technical Director, Young Socceroos assistant (2015-16), and most recently Adelaide’s Head of Youth Football – working with the likes of Ethan Alagich, who scored the eventual winner on Friday – he follows a lineage of big personalities on the Hindmarsh touchline.
‘I have a lot of energy. The fact that I’m running on the sideline there, and jumping up and down, that’s me. That’s me at training. I believe in the excitement that football brings to you, and the fans and supporters to be excited as well.
‘For me, it was also my first day at A-League level. You try to focus on the job in front of you, but can’t hide the fact you have a few butterflies going around in your stomach and thinking ‘wow, you’re the head coach now and have the responsibility for all these things.
‘So it was almost like a sense of relief on the second goal, you know, when we scored the second goal because we’re having some good moments in the game, but at the end of the day you have to put the ball in the back of the net.’
Andrioli’s only other senior men’s position – save for time as coach of Australia’s beach football side – came during a five-year stint as manager of the Solomon Islands from 2005. His first two full internationals in charge came against the Socceroos in the Oceanic playoff final – the step before Guus Hiddink’s side went on to their famous tie with Uruguay.
Solomon Islands lost 7-0 in Sydney, then 2-1 before 15,000 in Honiara. In the next cycle they topped their group on the path to South Africa, but fell in the Oceanic semi-final to New Caledonia.
‘That happened because we didn’t have many opportunities here [in Australia], and I had a few people that I knew in Oceania. My name came up and they asked me the question if I wanted to go and coach the Solomon Islands and I thought, well, why not? This is a great opportunity for me, a different experience, and so I took that job.
‘When we had those two games against Australia – what a generation Australia had then. My goodness, if I look back at the players that we played against, and Guus Hiddink obviously on the bench, it was amazing to be able to experience that. Again, something that you learn and you take with you.
‘My hope was always after that that I could have a job that was going to be more consistent at that level. As you can tell from that point I then came back and thanks to many opportunities, it took a long time for me to be in this position, and I’m extremely happy to have this opportunity.’