Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John Aloisi and newly appointed assistant Hayden Foxe have lavished praise on former AIS Head Coach Ron Smith after he was recently confirmed as the Club’s Technical Advisor.
Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John Aloisi and newly appointed assistant Hayden Foxe have lavished praise on former AIS Head Coach Ron Smith after he was recently confirmed as the Club-s Technical Advisor.
Smith arrives at Heart boasting unrivalled experience in the coaching realm, having played an instrumental role in the development of Australian football-s golden generation.
Aloisi and Foxe are among the litany of Australian football luminaries to have learned their trade under Smith at the Australian Institute of Sport, which include the likes of Mark Viduka, Lucas Neill, Craig Moore, Ned Zelic and Josip Skoko.
Describing Smith as one of the leading coaches to have ever plied his trade in Australian football, Aloisi is confident his playing group will benefit greatly from the esteemed input of the London-born tactician.
“Ron is the most knowledgeable coach we-ve had here in Australia for a lot of years and has produced a lot of players through the AIS, probably the best group of players we-ve had over the last 20 years,” he said.
“A lot of us went through there and still talk about Ron as one of the best coaches we-ve had across our careers so to have him on board is fantastic for the players, who will learn a lot from his specialised technical analysis.”
Citing Smith-s considerable role in shaping some of the key members of Australia-s 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup squads, Foxe emphasised the esteem with which his former mentor is held among the ranks of current and former players.
“A lot of people outside the football community don-t know a lot about Ron Smith, but he had a very big impact on a significant number of the Australian players who have travelled abroad and went to the World Cup,” Foxe said.
“Now if you ask these players, the likes of Mark Viduka and Lucas Neill about what Ron developed them as a player they will only speak very highly of him, so we are very lucky to have him on board.”
