NPL Victoria Manager of the Month: Lou Acevski

by Damir Kulas 0

Seldom in the history of football have successful goalkeepers translated their on-field success onto the touchline.

The late Belgian Raymond Goethals is perhaps the most acclaimed, having won the 1993 Champions League with Marseille, two decades after coaching his home country to third place at the 1972 European Championships.

American Bruce Arena has achieved domestic success in the MLS with both DC United and the LA Galaxy as well as steering the United States National Team to the Quarter-Finals of the 2002 World Cup. Legendary Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff came within minutes of leading his country to glory at Euro 2000, only for the Azzurri to lose the final in extra-time to France.

Their prolonged playing careers and numerical inferiority compared to outfielders are two primary reasons why we rarely get to witness shot-stoppers turn into renowned coaches.

Hume City’s Lou Acevski is one man hoping to buck that trend as he looks to take the Broadmeadows-based club to new heights this season after a successful 2015 which saw Anadoluspor earn national recognition by reaching the FFA Cup Semi-Finals. 18 rounds into the 2016 NPL season, and Acevski has once more steered the club founded by Turkish migrants to another FFA Cup national stage appearance.

League wise, City sit fourth in the standings and are riding high having been undefeated in their past five fixtures, winning three home games across June as well as earning a hard-fought 1-1 draw away to second-placed Bentleigh. Despite an inconsistent start to the campaign which saw the club suffer five defeats in the opening 13 rounds, Acevski believes their current run of form was always in the making.

“It was always something we planned on but we just had to get the right balance and since then the boys have been doing a good job.”

Central to this mid-season resurgence in form has been the impact of the club’s mid-season signings. While off-season acquisition Tom Cahill only made his debut in Round 12, the recent additions of fellow English forward Craig Carley, West Australian midfield pair Daniel Dixon and Declan Hargreaves as well as the final day swoop of versatile defender Charlie Beverley from Far North Queensland has given Acevski’s side added quality and depth with Carley scoring six goals in his opening four games for the club.

Photo: Bulent Yontem/Hume City
Photo: Bulent Yontem/Hume City

“The four boys that have come in have definitely contributed and at the same time as existing players and the usual suspects such as Nick Hegarty, Chris Oldfield, Ramazan Tavsancioglu have been fantastic.

“Petar Franjic has been like a new signing after coming back from his knee construction and has been superb over the last month. Everyone has been playing their part and it’s a good place to be at the moment.”

The 38-year-old had a decorated career between the sticks where he featured in both the NSL and VPL for the likes of Preston Lions, Melbourne Knights, Adelaide City and Heidelberg United before finishing his career at Broadmeadows Valley Park in 2011.

He took over the reins from predecessor and former Bergers teammate Andrew Vlahos immediately afterwards, and has seen the club make tremendous strides forward in the last five years.

“We’ve been growing and developing every year. When I first took over we had a ground which if I’m being honest was terrible. The pitch was as hard as a rock, there were no facilities around the place and we weren’t a club which many players wanted to come to.

“Five years later and we have the best facility in Victoria at our level and have some very good footballers here and our FFA Cup and NPL finals run last year was of a decent standard as well so we’re definitely getting better at what we want to do and what we want to achieve.”

FFA Cup Semi-Final between Hume City & Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park (28/10/2015), Photo: Mark Avellino
FFA Cup Semi-Final between Hume City & Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park (28/10/2015), Photo: Mark Avellino

Acevski’s early years at Broadmeadows Valley Park were characterised by underachievement with City often struggling on the wrong end of the ladder. However the birth of the NPL in 2014 and the opening of their new multi-million dollar stadium in the same year has seen a reversal of fortunes at the club which is now aiming to compete for league honours.

“Our goal at the start of the season was to grow on from last season and we’re on track to do that. In saying that, I believe we can win the Championships with the squad we’ve got as it’s the best one I’ve had in the last five years.

“We’ve got a lot of match winners, a lot of experienced boys and a lot of young quality boys so I think there is a right blend at the right time. We’ve got eight league games to go plus finals hopefully and I believe we can shake things up when we get there.”

Central to Acevski’s success at the club over the last few years has been the behind-the-scenes support staff who have raised the professionalism around the place. This includes assistant coach Zoran Markovski, team manager Hakan Dogan, technical director Dean Hennessey, former AFL conditioning coach Cameron Falloon, physiotherapist Johnie Markov in addition to two sports scientists and a sports psychologist with the man in charge emphasising the important roles these individuals play in the success of the side.

Photo: Mark Avellino
Photo: Mark Avellino

“I think we’ve got a very professional set-up at the club where everybody plays their part. Zoki [Zoran Markovski], Hakan [Dogan] and I talk everyday about the team and what we’re going to do and how we’re going to do it so it’s a great support team that I have next to me.

“Cameron Falloon is incredible at sports conditioning and knows his stuff at every level and is a massive help. All the other individuals have been fantastic as well. Johnie Markov’s background as a Doctor of Chiropractic means he has unbelievable knowledge.

“I’m very lucky to have this support staff and believe that if we want to push for a Championship and become the best we can be as a club, we need to have a great off-field support structure which I believe we have.”

As he prepares his charges for a crucial away visit to Lakeside Stadium to face bogey side South Melbourne tonight, Acevski is satisfied to see his side still alive in all three major competitions and is relishing this despite the logistical hurdles it may bring.

“It’s a good place to be in and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Being involved in the league, Dockerty Cup and FFA Cup is great but we’re taking it as a game-by-game situation. We have both short-term and long-term goals and have to get through the short-term ones before we can move on so I always pick my best eleven as every game comes up.

“Injuries, suspensions or other hurdles may pop up, but whatever they may be I set about picking my best eleven and ensuring there is no favouritism to any of the competitions we’re still involved in as we’re trying to win everything we can.”

The one-time Melbourne Victory injury-replacement signing also played overseas having featured for Czech club FK Siad Most in the 2007/08 campaign before returning to Melbourne to join City, who were coached by good friend and coaching advisory Goran Lozanovski.

He spent three and a half seasons with the club before being thrust into the managerial hot-seat days after going into retirement although Acevski maintains coaching was something he always wanted to do.

Photo: Bulent Yontem/Hume City
Photo: Bulent Yontem/Hume City

“I always wanted to coach and in my final few years of playing it became an ambition of mine to coach senior footballers at the highest standard possible. I wasn’t expecting to be in charge of a senior side in the old VPL so soon after my retirement as I was given the role three or four days after hanging up my boots.

“It came across very quickly and I’ve learnt a lot and keep learning as coaching is a very difficult job. There is a lot of enjoyment in it, especially when you win but also a lot of learning when you’re losing so you tend to put the two together but yes it was definitely my ambition to coach and I’ve really enjoyed.”

Despite his rising reputation, Acevski has not given coaching at a professional level much thought given his other life commitments.

“My family always comes first with my beautiful wife and I welcoming a new-born girl into the world four months ago so I now have three girls at home under the age of eleven.

“My business makes me literally a one-man show so I’m not a huge builder and am comfortable doing five-six projects at a time and even that is very demanding.”

Maintaining a balance between the three is something which Acevski finds difficult, giving an insight in the many factors he must take into consideration while coaching week-in-week-out.

“The hurdles are immense, particularly in relation to pre-match preparation and planning training session as well as working on and making tactical adjustments. That differs with every week given that one week we’ve done something so well or need to work on something based on our opposition so planning is my biggest time-consumer.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s very easy to coach by just going to training and putting two goals up and playing a game. That’s not the way to do it and we need to work on things and get players fits and raring to go in the right atmosphere.

“But then again I’m a sucker for punishment and I enjoy it and will keep on doing it as long as I can but obviously family does come first.”

With this in mind, he remains content with life at Hume City and is grateful with the opportunity the club provided him in late 2011 when appointing the inexperienced 33-year-old as their head coach.

“I wouldn’t rule myself out from coaching professionally, but at the moment I’m very happy with what I’ve got at Hume City.

“I was given a chance by Steve Kaya the President five years ago and he has backed me the whole time and so I’m very happy and comfortable in this environment as it’s like my own family and will continue doing it as long as possible.”

Having found his feet in the world of coaching, Acevski is now determined to bring silverware back to ABD Stadium and repay the club that offered him his first gig five years ago while bolstering his rising stock as one of the country’s most promising young managers.