Image: Mark Avellino
The Springvale White Eagles have appointed former Altona Magic Championship winning coach Vlado Tortevski as their new manager for the 2017 NPL2 season.
The 57-year-old moves to White Eagles Stadium after overseeing a two-year spell with the Magic, whom he led to the State League One Championship this year.
In addition to his most recent spell at Paisley Park, Tortevski was in charge of the club for the second part of the last decade, leading them to consecutive VPL Championships in 2008 and 2009.
A midfielder during his playing days, he has spent the majority of his career with Altona while also coaching rivals Preston Lions in 2002 and featuring in the NSL for Footscray JUST in the late 1980s.
He replaces the departed Nik Kovacevic who earlier this month returned to Pascoe Vale to take up a senior role as assistant to head coach Vitale Ferrante.
In a further boost to club coaching ranks, former Gippsland Falcons forward Brian MacNicol has been appointed as manager of the club’s 18s side after spending 2016 as head coach of the South Melbourne 20s, while Artour Kirichian is the new 16s and 20s coach after joining from the Bentleigh Greens.
Former first-team boss Zed Mihajlovic is also still involved with the club after agreeing to be the Miniroos mentor, where he will oversee several different junior groups while also continuing his head coaching role at Scotch College.
The addition of the three experienced coaches to their youth ranks highlights an increased commitment by the club which is aiming to have the strongest junior development in the region.
Speaking exclusively to TCF, White Eagles President Bojan Simic spoke of the club’s desire to continue developing and producing young players.
“This club has had a proud tradition of producing players over the past two decades or so such as Milos Lujic and Goran Zoric to name a few, and we have continued this commitment into the NPL era. Brian, Artour and Zed all bring a high level of experience with them and we are delighted to have them at our club,” Simic said.
“If you look at our senior team last term, we had one of the youngest teams in the competition and I am proud of the fact we unearthed some gems over the course of the season.”
“Damir Stoilovic had an outstanding year which saw him win the NPL2 Rising Star award, while not too many people had heard of Isaiah Joseph and Jeremy Min Fa before the start of the year, but they certainly would have at the end given their tremendous form throughout the season.”
“Lajos Oliveira and Erdem Ozcagli established themselves in senior football while Milan Jovanovic, Dimitar Mitkov and Connor Daly also did well despite being 19 or younger. Seven other teenagers also earned senior minutes over the 28 games, showing our dedication in giving young kids a chance.”
One of those teenagers was left-back Nenad Nikolic, who recently jointed the Melbourne City Youth team, where he is reunited with former Springvale junior teammate Zac Bates who scored two goals in five league appearances under Joe Palatsides, while 17 year-old Brandon Jansz has progressed into the Melbourne Victory Youth team.
Speaking on the appointment of Tortevski as senior team coach, Simic said the decision was a no-brainer given the experience of the two-time VPL Championship winner.
“Vlado is one of the most experienced coaches in Victorian football and we are delighted to have him on board given his achievements in the game and it was an easy decision to make in the end.”