Two rookie coaches, two very different stories, one very mutual connection.
Airton Andrioli and Mark Milligan’s pathways to the top two places on the A-League table in their debut seasons as a senior head coach could not be more distinct.
Andrioli, 61, has waited an entire career for his shot, wondering if it might ever come, and has taken it.
Milligan, 40, has transitioned from Australian football legend to coach like he was born for it.
Both have unleashed youthfully exuberant sides who play, mostly, swashbuckling football.
And both called Carl Veart their boss in their last post – assistant coach at Adelaide United.
“It’s a credit to Mark and Airton and the work that they’ve done to get to that point,” a proud Veart told football360.com.au from Saudi Arabia, where he is currently coaching Australia’s Under-17s.
“Airton’s spent a long time in South Australian football in that development phase. So, I’m very happy for him to see him get the success that he deserves. He’s worked extremely, extremely hard and had to do things the hard way to get to where he is. And I’m very happy that he’s carrying on the Adelaide way that we want to go in developing the young players and giving them that opportunity.
“Mark, once you have a conversation with Mark, you know that he’s very focused and very driven. And I know that he will have success wherever he goes in football. And I think he’s proven that this year so far, to win the Australia Cup and to then finish first in the league. just shows, the quality person that Mark is and the great coach that he is.”
Mark Milligan enjoying a great night in Newcastle.
Milligan settled in at Coopers Stadium when Veart needed a replacement for Ross Aloisi. Recommended by goalkeeping coach Eugene Galekovic, he had Veart convinced from their first cup of coffee.
“I knew straight away from that coffee, the conversation we had about football that, I think you’re going to have a very good career and we were very fortunate that he was happy to come to Adelaide and work with us,” Veart recalled.
“As soon as he came in and started working with the players, you could see he’s had a great career as a player under some great coaches. It didn’t take long for him to get his thoughts across to the playing group on what he saw, what he needed to be successful. And we were very aligned on a lot of our philosophies.
“It was great working with Mark. As I said, he’s very driven and knows where he wants to (go in) his coaching career.”
That said, could Veart have predicted this, being on the cusp of a treble – the Australian Cup, Premiership, with qualification to Asia and possibly the Championship?
“I suppose looking from the outside, people that haven’t seen Mark work and how much work he puts into his coaching, would maybe see it as a surprise. But knowing Mark and working with Mark in that coaching way, I knew that he would have success,” he said.
“Yes, I suppose it’s come very quickly.
“But does it surprise me? No, because I know the type of person that he is.”
While Milligan has burst out of the blocks, Andrioli has played the long game.
What’s the lesson to those dreamers out there from Andrioli’s perseverance?
“Consistency. Airton hasn’t changed,” Veart said, without hesitation.
“He has his belief, similar to Mark on football, and he’s been very consistent with that and just kept working and doing the right things.”
Photo: Antonis Pagonis / Adelaide United
He continued, explaining their shared passion for giving young players an opportunity, while working together in South Australia: “We were was frustrated our young players didn’t get opportunities there and I remember we used to always have these discussions, me and Airton, saying our young players are just as good – we don’t understand why they keep going and bringing other players into Adelaide when we had the players there.
“No surprise that he’s kept on going and Airton is very proud of the development and the pathway that he helped set up. It just shows that if the pathway is set up correctly, that players will come out at the other end.”
“Sometimes in football you have to be in the right place at the right time,” Veart said. “And then it’s a matter of then taking that opportunity and don’t let it pass by and be true to yourself.
“I think that’s the biggest thing as a coach. Too many coaches see other coaches and want to try be like that and not themselves in there. He’s stayed true to himself and he’s carried that over into his senior career from what I can see from the sideline. That’s a credit to that belief that he has in himself.”
So, if both teams get past this week, does that present a challenge for Veart when his two sidekicks go head-to-head?
“Well Adelaide is my team,” he beamed.
“I’m still a very, very strong Adelaide supporter. As I said it’ll always be my team and there’ll be no changing away from that. I still give these young boys here a little bit of stick about how good Adelaide is. I’m always pushing Adelaide!”