Arnold is the A-League's 'Jose Mourinho'

Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold's mind games have become the stuff of press conference legend this season, as his team has gone from strength to strength on the field. It's as though the wily A-League master coach has taken his cues from the best in the business, Jose Mourinho.

t

Mind game master Graham Arnold takes in the action as Sydney FC dismantles Adelaide United. (Getty) Source: Getty Images Asia Pacific

Graham Arnold is that rare thing in the A-League: a coach not afraid to speak his mind, nor infiltrate the mind of his rivals. 

Last week, on the eve of their semi-final clash at Allianz Stadium, the Sydney FC coach gnawed into the head of Adelaide rival Josep Gombau and stayed there like a Coles advertising jingle, suggesting that the Reds 'stole the points' last time the two sides' met. Arnold was, of course, referring to the Round 24 match at the same venue, where Adelaide 'keeper Eugene Galekovic pulled off more stops than a red traffic light to help his team to the win. 

On the three occasions prior to that game, Adelaide won two convincingly and played out a draw. Arnold effectively deflected attention from his side's return of no wins from four against Gombau's by suggesting his semi-final rival got lucky last time it was in Sydney.

It worked. When asked about the comments on Friday, 

"I am a coach, my motivation is not for this. I am a coach that speak on the field."

Cage rattled. By the time Adelaide started to 'speak on the field', it was 3-0 down. Sydney FC had failed to win its past four, but it overwhelmed the Reds 4-1 in an emphatic display of attacking power to set up a place in the grand final against Victory.

Arnold may want his team to be , but with each passing week he is fast-becoming more like the man he'll be trying to beat in June: Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho - a master of manipulation when it comes to destabilising the gray matter of a rival. 

In fact, Arnold's running tete-a-tete with Gombau this season conjured memories of Mourinho's epic spats with the normally placid Pep Guardiola over their years together in La Liga. It takes a special kind of pest to cause Pep to famously fume, in Spanish: "In this room, he’s the f****** chief, the f****** man, the person who knows everything about the world and I don’t want to compete with him at all. Off the pitch, he has already won, as he has done all year. On the pitch, we’ll see what happens."

Sounds similar to what Gombau said in reply to Arnie, doesn't it?  

So attention turns to Sydney's decider against Victory in what has already been described as the biggest blue of them all... at least this season anyway.

Arnold has already built up a repertoire of verbal pot shots at his combustible mate Kevin Muscat, infamously suggesting Victory could 'wilt under the pressure' as the race to the Premier's Plate went down to the wire. 

But when given an opportunity to send Muscat a message after the Adelaide match, Arnold

"Muscy's done an excellent job down there and we're great mates and I'm very proud of what he does with them. They play great football."

Arnie continued: "It's not about that (sending a message to Muscat) it's about the boys enjoying this week.

"The boys going down there and we give it a real good shake. I'm confident because we've got a lot of experienced players with big game experience. They know how to play in big games and they're very relaxed. During the week they were very relaxed.

"At this stage in the season tactics are important but keeping them happy is more important."

And that is perhaps where Arnold has most emulated Mourinho, in his effective management of a squad, that for the first time in five years, is delivering on its vast potential. 

Arnold's ability to get the most out of his players, both the young and the experienced, is a trait that achieved unprecedented success at Central Coast Mariners and now with the Sky Blues. 

Not that he'd have a bar of that. When asked how much of the credit he gives himself, in a typically non-effusive, Jose-style response, Arnie said:

"None. One day when I retire I might look back. But I've been in this game long enough to know that you're only two losses away from everything turning around. I'll be happy tonight, happy tomorrow, but on Monday it all starts again."

No doubt the attention of the nation's football media will be on the Sydney FC coach this week as the grand final build-up gathers momentum. His sound bytes may well set the scene for the biggest match of the season. 

In the meantime, we've cobbled together some of Arnie's best grabs from the season that was. 

Arnie on Adelaide United:

"They play a very long and direct game. Looking at the stats they've played over 1,500 long balls at an average of 66 a game which shows their intent is to get the ball from back to front as quickly as possible so they can get in behind you as quick as they can.

"They're a fantastic team and they've got some wonderful players but I look at the stats side of things often and the stats don't lie."

(Gombau responded thus: "He is playing his game. I don't speak about the other teams because I respect a lot and for me it's important to speak about us.")

Arnie on Melbourne Victory after the 4-3 Round 26 win over Newcastle Jets:

"All we've done is we've kept the pressure on Melbourne Victory. They'll see that we've come equal with them again and it will take it to the last round.

"Pressure does funny things. When teams don't have anything to play for they play relaxed and free like you saw from Newcastle tonight."

Arnie on then first-placed Wellington Phoenix before their Round 23 match:  

"I've been in the position before where we've been sitting on top and it's something you want to hold on to. It's a different kind of pressure all together.

"The Phoenix players will probably all be glued to the TV tonight barracking for the Mariners against Melbourne Victory and tomorrow they'll be barracking for the Wanderers against Perth.

Arnie on the Mariners before their Round 4 clash: 

"I know how Mossy thinks. I already know their starting line-up. I already know their system. He's got no secrets. Mossy has got his style, it's totally different to the style of play that I had. It's a totally different system."

- Sydney FC won its three matches against the Mariners with 11 goals for and 3 goals against

Arnie on Western Sydney Wanderers before the Round 2 Sydney derby:

- The Wanderers had lost 4-1 to Melbourne Victory and Arnold implied their minds may have been on their looming ACL final against Al Hilal

"I've been in those positions before and it's a big distraction. Knowing you have a huge game in front of you, players don't want to get injured and miss those types of occasions.

"As Tony Popovic said it was a bad day at the office, they hadn't conceded four goals before and are a very strong, well coached side.

"Was last week a one-off or was it because they had one eye on the Champions League? I'll guess we'll find out."


Share
Watch the FIFA World Cup 2026™, Tour de France, Tour de France Femmes, Giro d’Italia, Vuelta a España, Dakar Rally, World Athletics / ISU Championships (and more) via SBS On Demand – your free live streaming and catch-up service. Read more about Sport
Have a story or comment? Contact Us

Watch the FIFA World Cup 2026™, Tour de France, Tour de France Femmes, Giro d’Italia, Vuelta a España, Dakar Rally, World Athletics / ISU Championships (and more) via SBS On Demand – your free live streaming and catch-up service.
Watch nowOn Demand
Follow SBS Sport
7 min read
Published 11 May 2015 12:21pm
Updated 11 May 2015 1:09pm
By Tom Findlay
Source: SBS

Share this with family and friends