Why Tony Popovic is made from the ‘same material’ as Ange Postecoglou

San Francisco: Ask any member of the Socceroos’ golden generation of the mid-2000s if they ever thought Tony Popovic would coach the national team one day, and the answer will be quick and unequivocal.

Vince Grella speaks fluent Italian, but reached for another non-English language to describe the sense shared by many of his ex-teammates that Popovic was born to coach Australia.

“The French say physique du role [which roughly translates to looking the part],” Grella said.

“It was like printed on his chest before he even became a coach. He has a lot of the coaching or managerial characteristics. So I’m not surprised about the job he does, because I know the way he works day to day.

“The way he sets up the football operations in any organisation where he goes … his attention to detail is second to none. He’s unbelievable.”

Grella played just in front of Popovic in midfield during most of his 46 caps for Australia. They are friends, and you could accuse him of bias, but Grella knows how a high-level coach carries themselves.

Before he moved to Sicily to become the chief executive of Italian third division club Catania FC, Grella was based in London as an agent for CAA Base, one of the world’s top agencies. During his travels, he crossed paths with many of the best in Europe, and he wasn’t always impressed. He insists Popovic belongs in that conversation.

“I’ve met a lot of coaches across the times, when I was doing the player agency work; mate, they can’t lace up his shoelaces,” Grella said.

“Popa, for me, has the potential to coach in the top leagues in Europe. He just needs to be given a chance. Is he any worse than an English coach? He’s up there, he’s in the top [echelon]. Popa is in that field.”

Popovic was parachuted into the Socceroos job mid-qualification after Graham Arnold’s departure in September 2024, and his record is flawless in competitive matches: Popovic’s only defeats came after Australia’s spot at the World Cup was secured and he began to experiment in friendlies.

While some fans are not in love with Popovic’s perceived overly conservative tactics and occasionally perplexing selections, it is difficult to argue with his results, and his Socceroos team has proven to be resilient, organised and harder to beat than they have been for years.

It remains to be seen what Popovic will do after this World Cup – Football Australia has made no secret of its desire to tie him down for another four-year cycle – but, at 52, the opportunity to move abroad would be tantalising, especially if his stocks rise with an impressive run at this tournament.

If he does head overseas, it will be his third attempt. Before Ange Postecoglou (another CAA Base client) started his journey in Europe with Celtic, Popovic made the leap, leaving Western Sydney Wanderers, the club he helped build, on the eve of the 2017-18 A-League season to move to Turkish side Karabukspor.

Popovic lasted just 73 days and oversaw one win in his nine league games in charge before being sacked – but the club was a catastrophe, with crippling debts, unpaid wages and deep political instability, leading to a mass resignation of the entire board, eventually sending Karabukspor into a spiral that ended in its dissolution entirely.

“It was a shambles; not his fault,” Grella said.

Popovic had another crack in 2020, but again chose the wrong destination. This time, he signed for Xanthi FC, then in the Greek second division. The club was owned by an Australian businessman, which provided some level of comfort that he would not be pre-judged by his nationality.

Little did he know that the owner, Bill Papas, was allegedly conducting one of the biggest frauds in Australian corporate history, and that this club, too, would end up dissolving years later.

“I remember because I spent a bit of time with him when he was there,” Grella said.

“Again, they turned their back on him. They didn’t let him do his job. If they let him do his job, they would have won the league, I guarantee. But they didn’t let him do his job, and that’s why it didn’t work.

“Because everywhere else, when people just let him do his job, the results speak for themselves. The guy has nothing less than the coaches that are navigating in that level. A bit the same as Ange. Ange just needed someone to give him a crack, and then when they gave him a crack, look what he did. Popa is of the same material.”

Grella is certain that, knowing Popovic, the Socceroos will have done everything in their power to be ready for this World Cup, which kicks off for them on Sunday (2pm AEST) against Turkey in Vancouver.

They often speak on the phone, and what he hears in Popovic’s voice is a level of passion, pride and determination that gives Grella as much comfort as he could feel about Australia’s chances at the tournament.

“All I can say is this: for sure, they will have the best preparation imaginable – the best preparation, because he is a fanatic in detail,” Grella said. “So they’ll be physically fit and ready to go. Tactically, he’s a very smart coach. He knows what he needs to do to get results.

“He’s getting the maximum out of a team that’s a little bit hard to measure, because there’s not a lot of players playing in the top level – but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a good team. It’s not written in any book that if you don’t play in the top level, you can’t build a good team. And I would say he’s getting the best out of that team.

“And then you’ve got the green rectangle [the playing field] that’s going to be the judge, always. So that bit there, I don’t know. But we have the best possible coach that we could have.”