Adelaide United’s newly appointed Men’s Head Coach, Airton Andrioli, has spoken of his pride, humility, and determination after stepping into the top job. In his first interview since the announcement, Andrioli reflected on his journey, coaching philosophy, and vision for the future.
Full interview transcript
Congratulations on your appointment as Head Coach. What are your emotions after being appointed?
Airton Andrioli:
Very excited and also humbled for the opportunity that’s been given to me. I’ve always believed in doing the hard work, especially when no one is watching, and leaving everything else in God’s hands. So this is a special time in my life, and I won’t take this for granted.
I’ve been thinking about this – to be able to lead Adelaide United, one of the best football clubs in Australia, at Coopers – arguably one of the best football stadiums in Australia – in front of the best and most loyal, loyal supporters in this country, is something I can’t wait to experience.
You’re a very well-respected figure in South Australian football, but perhaps for fans who might not know much about you as a coach, can you take us through your journey – from where you were born to where you’re coaching today?
AA: I was born in Brazil. Football is everything in Brazil. From a young age, myself and my brothers, you know, we started quite young. We left home also very young to play for a big club in Brazil – Grêmio was our former club – and then from that, our football journey started.
I then went around Brazil for a number of years, playing at different clubs, and my brother went overseas. I had the opportunity to go overseas as well, and after playing there for a couple of seasons, I met my wife today, and that’s how it all started. I came to Australia and then obviously played in the old NSL for a number of years.
I had a few years overseas, playing in Malaysia. When I came back from that, I had the opportunity given by West Adelaide – the club that I used to play for in the old NSL – and they offered me a job as the youth team coach. So I started off quite young in my journey as a coach, but then obviously had to take a little bit of a detour, and I ended up doing different jobs. And that was my journey until I got to this point.
Part of that journey – you were Technical Director at Football South Australia – and you worked with a number of key young players. You actually did work with the likes of Carl Veart, Richie Alagich and Cristiano dos Santos. Talk to us about that journey and how it has shaped you as a coach today.
AA: Yes, as I said before, I started off coaching quite early. I should have mentioned that I had the opportunity to coach in the Solomon Islands national teams, and we played at quite a good level. But because football back in those days didn’t offer too many opportunities, I took, as I said, a little bit of a different journey.
And when this job came up – to become Technical Director for Football SA – obviously it gave me a little bit of stability, and I ended up doing that job for nearly 10 years. We had a very good team. We had beliefs – certain beliefs and convictions – that we wanted to implement in football, and I’m quite proud of the way everything was set up with all the development programs and the good people we had working together.
And obviously that then, after a few years, started paying dividends – we could see the players coming through academy systems. And we were also not only helping players, but helping develop coaches and clubs as well. So it was a good journey. But eventually, what I always wanted to do was come back to be a full-time coach, and that’s what I’m doing now, and that’s obviously my passion.
How do you describe your football philosophy and how you like your teams to play?
AA: Look, I see football – for me as a coach – if I’m not able to deliver a clear message in which all the players understand and grasp the concepts and the structures and the principles, then I have failed as a coach, regardless of the outcome.
So that’s the benchmark for me. That’s what I set as my goals as a coach – I need to be able to communicate that clear message to everyone, making sure everyone is on the same page. And then from that, work on our vision and philosophy, in the way we want to do things.
Obviously, being Brazilian, I’m always excited about good football. I used to say to the boys when I was coaching in NPL, “I only celebrate good goals – I don’t celebrate the cheap goals.” I take them! So that’s something – we want to have a team that’s able to adapt to the situation. Obviously, when we can play exciting football, attacking football, we will do that.
But also, I think it’s important that the players and the football team are adaptable to the situation and what’s in front of you.
What are your non-negotiables when it comes to how you expect your players and your team to operate, both on and off the pitch?
AA: I think the team always has to come first. And three things I find in my life, in my experience, are very important. You have to be humble – that’s non-negotiable. You need to have respect for others as well.
And also, in order to put all those things together, we need to be able to clearly communicate that message. So the team has to come first above everything else. Do it with respect, humility – and hopefully, by doing those things well together, we can achieve some success.
The Club has a very proud history of giving young players – especially young South Australians – the opportunity to shine at the highest level. You’ve played a key role in the development of players like Nestory Irankunda, Luka Jovanović, Ethan Alagich, Ryan White, Harry Crawford, Amlani Tatu… quite a big list there. Can fans expect to see more young talent emerge under your leadership?
AA: Yes – that won’t change. It’s a passion. It’s something that the Club wants to continue to do, and for me to be able to now be leading those players – the A-League players that we started off working with five, six years ago – and seeing them achieving their goals, and being able now to, as I said, lead them in the A-League, is something very special.
We want to continue that. We want players to understand that this Club is always prepared to give opportunities – not just to young South Australian players, but if anyone has any aspirations, this is the Club to be at. We value young players – we want that to continue.
And also, working with some of the players who have been here for a longer time, who have more experience, they can help us to blend those players and mould them into the type of players that they need to become.
What does success look like for you over the next couple of seasons? And how do you balance youth development with building a competitive senior core to build on what Carl Veart started at the Club?
AA: I think it’s a combination of both. You have that excitement and the unpredictability of ways in which young players can bring things to the scenes – you know, they are sort of more unpredictable – and then having the balance of a few players that can help them along the way.
But as I mentioned before, I think it’s very important that we create a clear template in which everybody understands the message and the structures of the team.
I’m very much a believer that structure gives players freedom to express themselves. What I mean by that is – if the structure is good, and players understand the when and where to do certain things, they can express themselves better with more confidence.
So this will be the challenge for me in the next two years – that we get that template clearly defined, understood by everyone, and then from that, obviously give the young players – who don’t have that experience – the security to understand that if they follow the principles and the structures properly, they will be in a good place. And then also having the other players that can lead them along and guide them.
Obviously, the A-League has the proud honour of being the longest pre-season in world football. Is that a positive for you, and how excited are you for 1 July, when pre-season officially begins?
AA: Well, I’m extremely excited. I should say I can’t wait to start – but it’s more like I can’t wait to continue the work that I’ve already been doing at this Club for the last five years.
I came here five years ago as the Head of Youth Development with the aim to provide those players with an environment where they could flourish and achieve and reach their dreams and goals – and I think we’ve done quite well in that area.
So now, to be in this new role here – obviously, it’s something that I always wished for. I dreamed about it. I didn’t know when it was going to happen, but I believed in the right time and the right moment.
So I waited for a long time for this to be realised – and I’m excited. I mean, the pre-season here in Australia is long – we know that’s the landscape – so it gives us plenty of time to make sure that we consolidate, that we put the foundation in place, that everybody understands that before we put things on top, the structure and the foundation has to be very solid.
That was actually the template we used for the youth team over the last five years – making sure that everybody had the safety to understand the structures and the principles, as I mentioned before, in order to be able to play the football that we wanted to play.
So that will be the goal – to make sure that we establish that foundation. I know there are some great people in this Club – I feel very blessed to be working with everyone. From the people in the office to the people that come to training – they’re very loyal – and I think that’s one of the most important things, and often neglected, in sports or in business or whatever it might be – it’s the people around you. And we’ve always had a good environment here.
So I think we’ve got one of the best setups in Australia – and we want to take this to another level. Create a winning mentality. We want to have a team that’s not just able to entertain, play great football, but also get silverware, get results – because I believe that can be done.
At the beginning of the interview, you mentioned we have the best fans in Australia. What’s your message to those fans as you begin this new chapter in your career?
AA: First of all, I want to say thank you to them, because they’ve been so good to us. Even with the youth team playing – I was coaching in NPL for the last four years – and every time, to see some of the supporters coming along and showing up and enjoying watching the young players that we were developing…
Every time that we go to Coopers – man – our crowd is so loyal. We have fantastic supporters. And they deserve a team that can excite them, that can allow them to enjoy themselves, because football is a game that brings people together.
And when we go to Coopers, the excitement level is something that… as I said – first of all, I need to say thank you to the supporters for the support they’ve always given us for the last so many years – but also say that we need them.
They are an extremely important part of this Club. And we want the supporters to be there – and we will do our part to provide them with football that they can enjoy and, obviously, that we can achieve success all together.
