Tony Popovic is a name synonymous with Australian football, both as a player and a coach. And if anyone knows what it means to bleed Green and Gold, it’s ‘Popa’.

The 58-capped former Australia international became the new Subway Socceroos head coach this week and is raring to go ahead of his first match in the dugout against China on 10 October.

Popovic has enjoyed a successful playing and coaching career, spanning multiple continents, achieving many milestones and successes along the way.

This is the journey of the new Australia head coach.

The early days

Born in Sydney in 1973, Popovic’s football career began at Sydney United – a club that helped shape many Socceroos, including former captain Mile Jedinak – where, after earning his stripes in the youth team, he would make 162 appearances across seven years for the senior side.

Such was the evidence of his leadership qualities that Popovic was made captain of Sydney United at the age of just 20.

That period from 1989 to 1997 included a five-game loan spell at Canberra FC in 1994, before Popovic then secured a move to the Japanese top flight when he joined Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

Progressing to the next level

By this point, Popovic had already started to earn a reputation as a tough and reliable centre-back and, having represented the Australia U23 team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, he made his Socceroos debut in a friendly against Colombia in 1995.

After impressing in the J.League, where he racked up 87 games and an impressive 13 goals as a defender, Popa made his next significant move, this time to England, with Crystal Palace securing his services on a free transfer in August 2001.

From 2001-2006, the Australian appeared 123 times for the Eagles and went on to become the club’s captain, as well as a fans’ favourite. He played a crucial part of the club’s 2003-04 promotion-winning side, which overcame West Ham United in the First Division play-off final to reach the promised land – the Premier League.

Popa played over 20 times for Palace in the English top-flight in a season that would be his last for the club and one that unfortunately resulted in relegation.

The final chapter

The Aussie then moved to Qatar’s Al-Arabi where he featured 17 times in his solitary season there.

Popovic would finish his playing days back home, signing for Sydney FC in the A-League, and making 27 appearances before calling time on an impressive career spanning nearly 20 years.

Socceroos playing days

Popa’s international career was equally impressive. After making his Socceroos debut in 1995, he earned 58 caps and scored eight goals in over a decade of international football.

One of his most memorable moments came against England in 2003, when he rose above Gary Neville at the far post to head home Stan Lazaridis’ free-kick and set the Socceroos on their way to a famous 3-1 victory against the Three Lions.

Popovic also won three OFC Nations Cups before getting to football’s biggest stage with Australia in 2006.

Our cap number 407 was part of the Golden Generation, which included the likes of Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill and Mark Viduka, and the team that overcame Uruguay in that World Cup qualification play-off in 2005 which needs no introduction.

After qualifying for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 32 years, Australia went on to secure their best-ever World cup finish at the time by reaching the Round of 16. Popovic featured in the tournament, starting Australia’s second Group Stage match against none other than Brazil, but his tournament debut was unfortunately cut short by a calf injury. Before leaving the field after 41 minutes, Popa did, however, manage to keep the likes of Adriano and Ronaldo quiet. He was unfortunately ruled out of the following two matches, but gracing the pitch was a deserved reward for a player who had previously been part of two unsuccessful qualifying campaigns.

Transition to coaching

After hanging up his boots in 2008, Popovic made the transition to coaching. His first role was assistant coach at Sydney FC, where he would remain until 2011, until an opportunity arose to be reunited with friend and ex-Palace team-mate Dougie Freedman, who had just been appointed the club’s manager. Popa became Freedman’s assistant until he was appointed as Western Sydney Wanderers’ first-ever coach in their inaugural A-League season (2012-13).

Unprecedented success

In an impressive opening campaign, Popovic guided the Wanderers to the A-League Premiers Plate after finishing first in the league, with his side ending up as runners-up in the Grand Final. After a strong first season, he was named A-League Coach of the Year.

He and the team would follow that up with an incredible 2013-14 season, winning the 2014 AFC Champions League, defeating Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal in the final. The Wanderers became the first Australian team to win the tournament, a landmark achievement in Australian football history. Popa became the first A-League and Australian coach to manage the feat – an achievement that is yet to be repeated, with Popovic standing alone. As a result, he was named the 2014 AFC Coach of the Year.

The Wanderers would go on to reach another Grand Final in 2015-16, before Popovic then moved to Turkish Süper Lig club Karabükspor for what was a short stint in charge in 2017.

Return to Australia

The ex-Socceroo then returned to Australia in May 2018, where he joined Perth Glory as their new manager. His impact was immediate. In his first season at the club, he won the A-League Premiership (2018-19) and was once again named the A-League Coach of the Year. Although Perth narrowly missed out on winning the Grand Final, Popovic had once again proven his worth as one of Australia’s top coaches.

In August 2020, the Australian coach would move to Europe once again, this time taking the helm at Greek Super League side Xanthi FC but would only stay there for five months.

Victory reborn

In April 2021, Popovic would find himself back in the A-League, where he was appointed head coach at Melbourne Victory on a three-year deal. At Victory, he sought to rebuild a struggling team, after the side had finished rock bottom of the A-League table for the first time in their history.

Popa led Victory to a superb bounce back season in 2021-22, finishing second in the league and just one point off Melbourne City. Not only that, Popovic also claimed silverware with his new team, with Victory lifting the Australia Cup (then-FFA Cup) with a 2-1 win over Central Coast Mariners in the final.

These vast improvements and significant achievements by Popovic were reflected in him being awarded A-League Coach of the Year for the third time. Only outgoing Socceroos boss Graham Arnold has picked up the award as many times as Popovic.

While Victory weren’t able to reach such heights in Popa’s second season, they bounced back impressively in 2023-24, agonisingly missing out on Grand Final success after a 3-1 defeat to Central Coast Mariners after extra time.

Popovic moved on in June 2024 and left a lasting legacy at Victory after steering them back to their status as one of Australian football’s powerhouses after one of the rockiest patches in their history.

And now, here we are. On 23 September 2024, Tony Popovic was officially announced as the Subway Socceroos head coach. His first game in charge will be on 10 October, when Australia face off against China in their third match of the Round Three AFC Asian Qualifiers™ – Road To 26 Qualification campaign.