Melbourne Victory is excited to welcome back Club champions Archie Thompson, Fahid Ben Khalfalla and Gabriela Garton to the Club as Development Coaches that will help re-shape and develop our Academy program.
The trio will work closely with our newly appointed Head of Academy Coaching, Joe Palatsides together with the entire Academy coaching team to help guide Melbourne Victory’s Men’s and Women’s youth programs in a range of specialist training and mentoring.
Thompson, Khalfalla and Garton – who stepped away from her A-League Women’s commitments this season as an expectant mother – will be joined by former Socceroo and AFC Men’s Player of the Year Sasa Ognenovski and former Croatian international Joey Didulica in the development department, rounding out the Club’s experienced mentoring team.
Melbourne Victory Football Director, John Didulica, said the Club is excited to welcome back some of the members of Victory’s illustrious history to support the next generation of the Club’s talented players.
“We are very fortunate to be able to access some of the best experience and intellectual property that exists in Australian football through the creation of our Development Coaching panel,” Didulica said.
“We have five former international footballers who collectively represented four different countries – Australia, Croatia, Argentina and Tunisia – which gives our players access to an incredible range of knowledge both on and off the pitch.
“Importantly, these appointments and our Development Coaching panel create a platform to re-integrate Club legends who understand what has made Melbourne Victory the Club that it is today and help shape what it will be in the future.
“Access to the knowledge and experience of our Development Coaches will give our coaches and young players straight line access to not only the Club’s ethos but what it takes to reach the height of your chosen profession.”
The Club’s Development Coaches will begin with the Academy immediately in the lead up to the 2022 NPL Victoria season.
