This podcast is part of the Sports Social Podcast Network. The official Brighton & Hove Albion podcast. If I break it as simple as possible, we want to play attacking, we want to dominate the ball. When he opened up with attacking, I was sold. Yeah, that's him.
I had all these players that I sort of looked up to and I think my parents said when I was young I would go around telling people that Roberto Baggio was my uncle. You know the rivalry between the English and Australia, have you picked up any of that yet? Well, if it was, I wouldn't have known because everyone's been so nice and welcoming to me. We'll actually get out of here. Yeah, maybe, yeah, maybe.
Hi all, Glenn Murray and Paul Haywood here. Good to have you back with us as we continue our impressive guest line-up for the new season. They're all queuing up, eager to come on, which is great. And we continue today with another big name around the club.
Yes, for this episode, we're going to focus on the women's team here at Brighton as we get to sit down with Dario Vidicic, who's taken on the role as head coach, joining us from a title-winning season in Australia as head coach of the Melbourne City women's team. We talked to Dario about his big move from Australia, how he travelled the world as a player and how he plans to take the women's team to the next level. So let's welcome Dario Vidicic.
Dario, thank you for joining us on the pod and welcome to the Football Club. How are you finding Brighton so far? Firstly, thank you. Really, really enjoyable. Throughout the first month, I've been staying in Brighton. had a hotel, then moved to Worthing, had a hotel there. So I moved in yesterday. So that was starting to settle in now. And that's been awesome. I think it's a lovely part of the world. And then also, you know, very privileged and lucky to be coming to work here.
every single day so yeah really really enjoyed it and now just yeah looking forward to getting started with the with the season ahead not quite as hot as home yeah not not as not quite so this is yeah maybe like a winterish day sometimes depending where in where in australia but no it's been it's been beautiful so yeah i can't complain really enjoyed it and but yeah unfortunately everyone's been sort of saying don't get too used to it that the cold's not too far away but
a bit of time in europe so i'm sure it won't be that bad i'm stuck by this image of you sitting on your sofa at home in melbourne i think it was where and the phone going and the next minute you're on a plane to the uk You know, you're fine for 24 hours to start a new life, a new job. I mean, it was an exciting opportunity, but that's a big upheaval for somebody, isn't it, to take that on. What's it been like for you? Look, I think it's...
i'm sort of used to because as a footballer was a sort of similar journey from from australia and then you know one season in oz and then over to germany so and then yeah throughout my career going all over the world so but it was one of those sort of surreal ones where I was contacting a lot of agents throughout the off-season, trying to get in contact, trying to sign players and prepare as well as possible.
our upcoming season and um yeah like i quickly opened the message expecting it was from one of the agents of a player and then i'm starting to read and i see like mike from yeah brighton have albion and then um yeah we spoke a little bit that night set up a call the next evening had a video call the evening after and then one more the after and then yeah that was offered the the job and
What felt went really, really fast and went really, really slow with the whole visa process. So then that was sort of, you know, push back and they were looking for other information. And yeah, it was just once the green light was given, then it was a very easy decision. Yeah.
It sounds like you didn't hesitate very much. Was it hard saying goodbye to the Melbourne players? Because you'd just won the league, of course. So they must have been in shock. Yeah, it was. It was. So I think everyone knows Stoddy quite well. So they asked her, obviously, about me. And so she pulled me aside and just said, Is this you that they're talking about?
Look, I had a fantastic relationship with the girls. I've been with some of them for a couple of years and watched them develop and grow. And then to have the success that we did as well was fantastic. And we're probably a little bit unlucky in the grand final.
as well we put on probably our best performance of the year and unfortunately just the result didn't go our way that that evening but you know left a lot of good people but I've found that you know here as well there's a lot of great people within the club that have you know made me feel really welcome and hopefully we can have a similar success as well as soon as you open that message Did it kind of get you a little bit, were you on the hook as soon as you saw the opportunity come to the WSL?
i think so yeah i'm sort of one that never goes like too high and never too low because it's sort of you never know it can you know visa could get blocked or this could happen or that could happen so it's sort of
it's always nice to have that recognition that you're doing something well. And I sort of thought, you know, I didn't have an agent. It wasn't something that I was, you know... looking to do and I was desperate to get overseas and do that I was you know I was fully planning next season signing up players getting the squad ready on video calls late at night and then and then yeah then started having the video calls with Brighton and you know
a club of that stature and it was one that I was you know following on the men's side that I was you know really enjoying the football that they were playing and I was getting some inspiration from there and and and yeah funnily enough in my office I had a little like
Brighton Hove Albion pendant. I bought my, so that was hanging in my office. My son has a Brighton Hove jersey before this all happened. Any reason why? My kit man, he gave me a Brighton Hove, just because I liked Brighton. Yeah, I enjoyed the football.
and i just really like football and and enjoyable football and i really liked you know how they played and and um you know whenever there was an opportunity if it wasn't two or three o'clock in the morning that i would i would um i'd be up and i'd watch and i'd probably
push a little bit for the next day for our training session but you know it was you know download the games to watch them after on white scout so it was just it was just something oh yeah i'm not too sure why but then it's funnily enough that you know brought and reach out so it's sometimes It's a funny way of how the world works. And, you know, it was...
So that's probably what made it very easy then to say yes as well. Who was in charge when you were watching? Deserbi Roberto, yeah. So he was, yeah. And he's sort of a coach that I, you know, from previously when he was a Shakhtar and Sassuolo, sort of followed him along, Pep.
these sorts of coaches so you know as a young coach is trying to learn as much as possible watching the highest level and um and yeah sort of you know liked you know brighton as the as a sort of the club and and all those sort of facets together and maybe a little bit
of that you know not to say underdog but a little bit you know seen maybe you know away from the big four that sort of speak so it was that you know it's always easy to jump on board and to support you know the liverpools and the city so i sort of found that other club that, you know, and I enjoyed the football that they were playing and so it was, yeah. It's a nice badge of honour to come with to be the champion, to have won the league, to come here as a league winning coach.
Tell us how you did that. What's your methodology for building a title-winning women's team? What are your basic principles of coaching and management? Look, very simple. So we want to be dominant with the ball. We want to win it back as quick as possible. So it takes time. And I'm really big on... development of the players. I'll never cheat their development for a result. So we'll always stick to our principles. We'll always play the way we play. I'll analyse the opponent.
how we can hurt them but we'll always stick to our principles and the way we play regardless of you know who that is whether it's a friendly game whether it's a cup final whether it's a you know in the league away to Chelsea who are last year's champions, so we won't sway too far from what we do and we'll evolve and it's going to be a fun process and one that the girls have taken in a lot of information to start with.
And, you know, I think it's starting to sort of take shape. And the more we practice, the more we get the games in and we see those pictures. I think we'll be a fun season ahead. We like to pin a style of play on managers, don't we? Can we pin one on you or you're more of a pragmatist? I was sold at attacking. When he opened up with attacking, I was sold. Yeah, that's him.
depends how much time we've got and um i could talk here all day about all the principles and then the the phases the sub phases and you know yeah um reading different forms of pressure but if i sort of break it down it's it's i've never been one to coach sort of that it's attacking we want to dominate the ball
If I break it as simple as possible, we want to play in the opponent's half, that if they move their goal that they want to score in to halfway, that they still can't score. So we don't want to just keep possession for the sake of it at the back. And, you know, we have 67.
70%, but we've done nothing with it. So it's possession with a purpose. We lock teams in, and then as soon as we lose it, we can counter-press, and we just regain the ball, and we just go wave after wave of attack. That's probably the simplest way to put it. Yeah, I like it. Before you came to the football club, did you have a look at the squad and feel as though they were capable of doing?
of putting your tactics in place yeah i watched um again it's it's one that was difficult to watch i tried to watch a couple games but unfortunately they all kick off at like one in the morning and then i'm up at you know 6 45 to head to work in melbourne So it was always difficult, but tried to download a couple games. And obviously at City, we had the sort of relation with Manchester. So we tried to also get some of their footage to just see what the teams over here were doing.
yeah then once it all started then i started to watch a little bit more and um you know especially the girls i think there's a lot of potential there so a lot of things that also could could improve and um and but i think we've got you know
a lot of good players and now it's just instilling that and that and it is a little bit different to what they've done so there's some stuff that i've told them that they've probably been taught completely different probably from from a child so now it's just about changing those behaviors and few different things and then i think you know we show them the video we show them you know training but once you experience it and then you get success from it
that's when the belief will start to really get there so i think they're starting to get that a little bit they're starting to see the picture and um but yeah it's been it's been really really good how much they've taken on in a very short amount of time um yeah we're looking forward to to in spain where we'll spend you know 10-ish days or so together and then we can really sit down go into detail of you know how we can progress it how we can you know read different because
in a game it's you know we can target say r10 that'll be the out but then after five ten minutes or once we've exploited that teams will naturally change. So we got to be able to then change. So my coaching is a lot on adapting sort of to the opponent and reading.
Well, that they have the answers to whatever happens. So it's never like, okay, this is the tactic. We know that space will be open if we, you know, we could exploit it, but not score. And then after a while, if maybe the opposition coaches don't see it.
players have the tendency to know okay they keep getting it whether it's maybe friend for example all right now we're going to have so now we need to have another mechanism to exploit the new space so it's about identifying that space how we manipulate the space and then yeah how we can ideally
score as many goals as possible make it sound easy yeah hopefully it'll be that easy tell me if I've missed any countries but I reckon you played in Australia Germany New Zealand China India and Switzerland that suggests a hell of a desire to keep playing why did you move around so much
as a player um you know i think it's it's always that um you know from australia when you're young you want to go overseas i think it's sometimes you need a little bit of luck as well that it's at the right time so i was in germany for about four years um
went to a team that was you know highly successful won the german cup and then unfortunately the year after got relegated with an even better bigger better squad so then it probably became hard for a young 19 18 year old from australia to maybe get as many opportunities so um got to a point then where it was just sort of like just to go back play some play um some minutes and continue the development on that side and then yeah had another opportunity in um
Switzerland, and yes, a few problems there with an owner. That was a bit crazy. And then, yeah, that sort of took it out of me a little bit and then just searched to play. I've always wanted to play that sort of... attacking brand i thought like i suited that and um you know just love to have the ball and when we didn't have the ball i'd run out and press by myself just to try a winner back so
always sort of had that, you know, within me. And so that's why when I became a coach, it was sort of, I could now put together the football that I wanted to play that maybe I didn't get the chance to throughout my career. Was that always the pathway? Did you know from early on? I'm going to go into coaching management. I think so, yeah. My dad probably played a big part of that. He's been a coach as well and so probably sort of following in his footsteps and then probably the Barcelona of Pep.
came in so that's probably around that 25 26 years old that's where I started to have that fascination with with tactics and then you know watching them how they played and that was you know breathtaking football what they were doing back then so you know when whenever I had the opportunity
watching if i missed the game i would find a way to to download it to watch it you know ask the coaches at the club if they could download it for me so it was just you know especially like you know messy as well and and all these guys what they were doing so that's sort of where that
deeper fascination started and then also then the discussions with them with my dad and and then so it was always and then when I played I started you know my coaching badges sort of preparing for for after football and and yet got an opportunity in the city academy and then joined in onto the women's side not long after and then yeah my father got moved to the to the men's first team and then yeah we were
one day away from traveling to new zealand for round one and they told me i'll be taking the job so so it was yeah straight into the deep end but was yeah really really enjoyable and i learned a lot in that first season and and last year so just continuing
to learn because it's only my coming into my third year as a as a head coach so i know there's still a lot to learn so i'm you know every day just enjoying the the process and and enjoying you know coaching the place You moved to Australia from Croatia when you were young, when your father... Got a job at Queensland Reds, didn't you? So you've been very close to the game from a very young age through him, I guess. And so he shaped you as a coach and a player.
I think so, yes. So he was always one that, you know, when I played, he would always give up his hours to drive me everywhere around the state. And Australia is massive. So those were some big, big trips. And, you know, whether it was indoor. Or, you know, it would be bus trips of like 15, 16 hours, I think, to Canberra for nationals and, you know, different tours that we went on. So, you know, financial and also time and driving me around to, you know, help me achieve my dreams and that.
I was always grateful to my parents and now being a father, I understand that as well, how not just on the field, but everything else that goes with raising kids. and um you know so i owe a massive part you know to my parents for helping me to to achieve everything i have but um yeah it was always sort of in his footsteps and as a player i was always asked you know my performance is how i did what could i improve and then similar to coaching.
When I was at City, I'd ask him to send me his halftime notes as well because there were times I didn't have an assistant coach at the time. So then I used him as an assistant coach. He would watch the games and then I would run my notes along with him, what he saw maybe from... from a different perspective to mine so yeah he's he's helped a lot so yeah
There are people who say that Melbourne is the greatest sporting city in the world. We like to think it's London, but Melbourne is an incredible place. You know, obviously the MCG and the Australian Open Tennis, the Grand Prix. Did you really live the sporting life when you were in Melbourne there? Were you part of that? Not so much, I don't think. I was fully immersed in football.
Right. So I would just go to Amy Park, watch, you know, for our games or for the men's games. And if the Formula One was on, I'd probably just watch it on TV. I think I had opportunities. I didn't go. I think I've been to one AFL game.
that was i think towards the end of our season a semi-final at the mcg so it was a nice experience i found it a little bit boring if i'm being honest again towards the end because again it was sort of like i was trying to see some sort of like tactical element to the game and then it sort of got really cagey towards the end a lot of
Long balls. It was very tense in the stadium. It was very, very close. Elimination semi. So yeah, 100,000 people was a nice experience, but I was sort of trying to watch it in a different way. So then that probably got me a little bit. board of that game um but yeah i've sort of just been yeah
put all my time to try help the players and whatever I can find that we can improve or improve an individual. So I give up my time there and then the rest is family time. Is that the problem when you become a manager or a coach? You're always trying to break sports down.
can't actually sit back relax and just watch them for what they are um probably a little bit yeah so you sort of get in that tendency but you know sometimes you just try to be a fan and just enjoy it so that's probably something i'm really looking forward to go to the amex and just you know hearing that atmosphere when you watch it on tv and you know also watching some of the documentaries and how much it means to people yeah watching you know
Teams in relegation, fans are there in tears, but they're still there supporting their club no matter what. So I think there's a fascination of that because I've always been a fan of football. I've loved it ever since I was a kid. a VHS of the 1990 World Cup.
Can't tell you how many times I watched that. I think my parents said when I was young, I would go around telling people that Roberto Baggio was my uncle. Hopefully you stopped watching at the semi-final point. Yeah, yeah. So then I had all these players that I sort of looked up to.
So there was always that fascination and always been a fan watching games. So I'm looking forward to that experience at the Amex to support the men's team and sometimes just to take in the atmosphere and watch it from that perspective.
to the question sometimes yeah you do find yourself just trying to see like what it is and then maybe can can we apply it even if it's a different sport can it maybe be applied in some way to to football perhaps Just thinking of your dad again, is there any lingering Croatian influence, do you think, in your coaching and certainly his approach to the game?
There's such a strong culture and identity in football in Croatia, isn't there? Did he take that to Australia with him? Look, possibly, yeah. I think so, because I think with everything that Croatia has achieved in its sort of short span, for a very small country, the success they had...
and player development just seemed to keep like every time that golden generation goes it's like all right they're probably going to fall away a bit and then you know from Boban to Schuker then you get Modric come in and now and then Kovacic and then you got
you know, others that are now starting to come in that we probably don't even know of yet that will probably take over the mantle from these guys. So, you know, so I think it's always been that sort of similar fascination in Croatia to play attacking.
to be technically very, very good to, you know, all these things that we see with the national team. So I think it certainly would have had an influence. But had a population, probably the most overachieving nation in certainly men's football and world football, isn't it?
Yeah, I would say so, yeah. You know, constantly in the quarterfinals, in knockout competitions, in tournaments. There's even a bit of an influx in England of those Australian, mind you, that Croatian background in Postacoglu as well, and Mili Yedinac. under him I suppose you guys are starting to take over aren't you? I'm not too sure it's good to see you know
Fellow Aussies doing well. And Miele, I was roommates with him in the national team camps when we were at World Cups together. So I know Miele really, really well. And Angie was my coach when I was younger. And then when I'd come back from overseas on holidays, I'd join in with his team.
in Brisbane and just to stay fit and really enjoyed you know the training sessions and being there so you know I think it's it's great it's great to see you know fellow aussies because sometimes we've probably because we're so far away they probably think it's you know not being maybe afl being the number one sport we're probably known as a country for for other sports
cricket, rugby league, so probably swimming as well, probably what we're most renowned for. But, you know, I think there's a massive passion of football in the country. And so it's nice that there's a couple of us, you know, at the highest level and doing well.
and hopefully it's a platform then for others to also achieve a success. Well, I think Big Ange has been welcomed by Premier League fans. I think they all enjoy his brand of football and hopefully you'll have a similar impact in the WSL. Yeah, that would be awesome.
Are you aware, because if you're not, you will be soon, about the rivalry between the English and Australia? It's a wonderful rivalry. It's intense. It's particularly felt in cricket, but it's everywhere. If you had to say who were the main rivals in English sport, you'd say, well...
maybe Scotland, maybe Germany, but definitely Australia. So have you picked up any of that yet? And do you expect to? Well, if it was, I wouldn't have known because everyone's been so nice and welcoming to me. Wait till you get out of here. Yeah, maybe.
I knew about it obviously with the cricket especially and probably maybe with the union as well you know they've had those two of the best teams in the world and they've had those with Ashes and World Cups and all those different things so you know
I'm aware of it. So hopefully the Aussies win and then I can have a bit of banter with everyone. Is it fair to say that Australian sports people bring certain... characteristics to sport i mean one is obviously fighting quality um determination um toughness are they cliches or do you think that's true um i think so i think it's always that you you need that
i think regardless i think to make it to the top level everyone needs that and we we sort of don't want to just be known for that we want to be you know that we you know whether it's good coaches or good players but i think you know every professional sports person has to have those qualities to make it to the top and then to stay at the top because it's one thing is to get there and it's a completely different thing to stay for a long period of time and to have success and to survive.
And you need that to work hard, to, you know, sacrifice, you know, all these different things. And, you know, and that's why the best people make it to the top, I suppose. When Fabian Herzler came in, he said, there's a very telling phrase. He said, I want to challenge.
the establishment, have you got that urge as well in the WSL to take it to those big name clubs? For me, I'm planning on winning it. At the start of the season, everyone starts... zero points and there's no advantage to Chelsea or City or Arsenal who are towards the top last year
So until it's mathematically impossible that we can't win, then that'll be the aim. Every game we go out, we'll go out to win. So if we win every game, that means we're champions. But that's sort of my mentality. I'll never go into a game thinking... let's try get a draw today or let's you know
close up shop and just be hard to beat. So we won't sway from how we play and how I said to the girls on the first day, all the badges could be coloured in black because I'm not interested. I've sort of seen. a little bit i think they can all be we can beat everyone if that's sort of uh yeah so we'll try
make us as best as possible and yet there's no real consideration of any other team until we face them that weekend. That's a great message for the players to hear because if you came in and said we're going to stabilize, we're going to consolidate, we're going to see how we go. That's completely different from coming in and saying, we're just going to try and win every game. We're going to win every game, isn't it? Yeah, I'll never change. So I think, you know...
Brighton have the the goal of you know top four but you know I think and it's to be fair it's a great goal but you sort of put a ceiling on it so then if you go fourth okay happy days where we've achieved it but There's still three more spots that we can go. So I think ideally, you know, we want to be up there, but, you know, we want to be up there competing and trying to win trophies as well. You must be...
When you got that call and Brighton said that they want to crush that top four party in the WSL, that must be music to your ears. Yeah, so it perfectly aligns. And I think I told them as well. I said, yeah, I want to win it. So that'll be the aim every single season. Whether or not we achieve it, we'll see at the end. But, yeah.
Going out, again, won't matter what sort of game. Friendly game, cup game, Champions League game, league game. It'll always be the same mentality that we go out to win because if we practice like that and then if we change the message...
then we go away from what we're about. So now to say we want to be on the front foot, we want to have the ball, we want to press, and now to say, oh... xyz are coming to town oh we're going to now drop off and we're going to do everything completely different so i think then you have to coach two completely different brands so
We'll know how to do that, but we don't want to do that for long periods. Because good teams, everyone will have moments when games happen. Even the best teams in the world, they have to defend for some moments. But largely, we want to dominate. We want to play in the opponent's half. And that'll be no problem. different to whoever we play we've just got a few quick fire questions toughest opponent as a player as a coach both probably Bayern Munich
Might have been in my coaching. I haven't coached for long. Probably Sydney FC. Best player you've played with and best player you've managed? Good question. Played with maybe Harry Cure. Best player so far? It's a tough one because we've only been together. Probably maybe Fran from early. Probably Fran. Coach and Idol. I think I know this one. My dad and probably Pep. Match their routine.
Not got one? No, not really. Just prepare. I write sort of my notes that I have for the game. I like to do that, but I don't have it like I have to do it at this time or I have to wear this or I have to do that. I'm just sort of matched there. Never as a player either.
As a player, if I found there was something that was... you know i felt really good i'll try to do it but it was never like um oh i had to do this and then i had to eat that meal and now if the restaurant's closed now i was never really too superstitious because then
you know if it doesn't happen then um then or then it throws you out it throws you off so if it was something that you know i felt really good in the game then then i'd probably just try to copy the same meals or whatever i've done but yeah as a coach Match day is the players day, so I let them enjoy, that's their moment. So I just try to help on my match days. Favourite moment on the pitch as a player and as a manager? Been a couple, maybe at the World Cups, promotion.
to the Bundesliga. Probably, yeah, national team debut, first national team goal. Just probably the old cliche ones, really. As a player, oh, sorry, as a coach. probably the premiership last season you know how it all went down to the last day and everything that we went through throughout the season so it was just a combination of things and to finish as premiers and champions was was a nice way to to finish
Do you think you'll spend, just finally, do you think you'll spend a lot of time with Fabio and Herzler? Will you exchange notes and thoughts? I'd love to. He's a fantastic manager and if I get that opportunity, 100% because I'm just a... be there and to learn even if it's from afar you know I'm sure there'll be so much that I could you know pick up and you know it might be a sentence it might be a practice it might be maybe a message so you never know and more you're around you know
managers of that quality and you know how how young he is he's only going to get better as well because he's so young and um but he's got such a good coaching pedigree and experience and so yeah if i'm given that opportunity i'm there 100 No matter what time it is brilliant Dario, thanks for joining us. That was fascinating. Thank you very much Big thanks to Dario. It's gonna be really exciting keeping an eye on the WSL this year
Next week on the podcast. She's been a force on the pitch for both club and country for so many years now. Fran Kirby.
It's funny, today in training we did old players versus young players and she tried to say that I was the oldest player here because we've been playing against each other for so long. I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa. No, no, no. You know coming into this environment being in training and training well you know for me my confidence is already growing because you're in an environment where you feel valued and you feel respected and you feel like what you're doing is enough.
Normally, I can be quite quiet and reserved, but I just feel like, oh, there's Fran. And then I just feel, no, you know what I mean? It's like I've just been here the whole time. That's how you feel, but all of them are like, wow, there's Fran. Hit follow on the channel if you haven't already, and we'll see you next time.