Adelaide United’s Airton Andrioli spoke to the Media in his first press conference following his appointment as our A-League Men’s Head Coach. Andrioli discussed his philosophy moving forward, alongside Assistant Coach Adrian Stenta, starting with the upcoming Australia Cup Round of 32 clash against Newcastle Jets.
Andrioli on pre-season commencing next week…
“It’s really exciting. It’s a quiet time of the year for many, not myself, because we’re still going with the NPL boys. But no, we are extremely excited. Looking forward to starting pre-season next week and looking forward to this new challenge ahead.”
Andrioli on player departures, squad strength, and bringing in reinforcements…
“We’re extremely happy with the squad. Obviously, in football, you’ve got to always have your eyes open looking for players that might become available. There are possibly a couple of positions in the team that we would like to bring somebody in if that player becomes available. But in saying that, having Craig back is a fantastic scenario for us with all his experience, he knows the landscape. He is a fully professional player that can obviously help the young players along, and we’re happy with the remainder of the squad. We’ve got a good mix between experienced players and young players. We’re just looking forward to pre-season.”
Andrioli on strengthening the centre of defence…
“Obviously the focus goes to the backline when you’re conceding the number of goals that we have conceded, especially the last couple of seasons. It doesn’t necessarily have to because of the backline. It’s sort of more of a team scenario, a team effort. But yeah, I’ve said it before that’s possibly one of those positions that if any player that suits the way we want to do things becomes available, we will look into that.”
Andrioli on the possibility of welcoming Awer Mabil back to the club following his recent comments about returning to Australia…
“Yes, a player of that calibre is always welcome back. He’s a local. I’ve known Awer for a long time, going back quite a few years, and if a player of that calibre becomes available, the Club will be interested to look into it.”
Andrioli on facing former Adelaide United assistant, Mark Milligan, in the Australia Cup Round of 32 following last night’s draw…
“It will be exciting to play against Mark. He was here with us for a couple of seasons. He’s truly an incredible guy, very professional in what he does, and I’m sure he’ll do well in Newcastle. It’s interesting that’s how the draw came in. So the two of us worked here in similar capacities and now we’re facing each other, so we’re looking forward to the challenge.
Andrioli on his contribution to selecting his coaching assistants…
“Yes, most definitely we had a say. As a team scenario we discussed the possibilities of who to bring in and why not give the opportunity to somebody like Adrian who has done a tremendous job in the women’s game. He’s been there for such a long time and I’ve known Adrian for a long time. I think I ran one of his coaching courses quite a few years back and I know him personally. For me, the most important thing is the person’s character. He’s a respectful guy, everybody who knows him speaks highly of him, and I’m really excited to have him on board.
Andrioli on moving forward following recent player statements…
“These things happen in football, people will have an opinion. Every opinion you have is bound to have some consequences and we have to deal with that. But for me, I think that’s not relevant to myself and Adrian. So, I’m looking forward. I’ve been waiting for a long time for an opportunity like this, and it’s been given to me now. I never went chasing it. I never went asking for it. I just always believed that you do the work and somebody will recognise that one day, the opportunity will come, and that’s what I am doing now, and I’m looking forward to this and to prepare for the first Cup game.
“We just had a recent review from the PFA with the players’ feedback this week, and overall, everything is quite positive. There will always be those situations in which somebody becomes upset, it’s how you deal with that, but for us it’s just a matter of now creating an even stronger culture. The Club already has a good culture, a good environment, we just want to make sure that there is a good foundation for us moving forward.
Andrioli on his goals for the season…
“I came to the Club five years ago and I think it’s still a similar scenario. From my perspective, setting up an environment that would be conducive to creating players for the first team, that’s what I did. But I’m a big believer that winning is everything in football, so we try to match or blend those things together, developing the players and also challenging to win games. I think we’ve got a very strong squad and we want to build this mentality that we can actually go all the way and not just perform well for come parts of the season. We want to be consistently performing well throughout the season and challenge for silverware.
Andrioli on being involved in coaching the boys he developed now in a senior team environment...
“Yeah it’s a pleasure; I couldn’t ask for anything better. As you know, I came to the Club a while ago, working with those young boys and seeing them now go to the next level, either playing A-League or going overseas. That’s what we did the job for before, but now I’ll have the opportunity to work with them at a higher level. I’m extremely excited and looking forward to continuing to help those young boys reach their goals.
Andrioli on the next breakout player following Tatu’s performances last season…
“I’ve mentioned a number of times that I don’t like to mention names, but all I can say is that we have a very strong group of young boys coming through. This year again, we’ve got a few other boys that will be promoted to the first team squad. It’s a solid sort of base that we have the youth team and then we continue bringing future players into the first team.”
