Golden Soft Sombrero Moment with Vlado Vanis

NSL Club coached:                             

Melbourne Knights

NSL Club played for:                          

Melbourne Knights

Diegos Verdict:                                   

‘Moose’ Vanis’ ability to build a team on a shoestring budget was his forte.

He raided State league, Provisional league and Kindergarten leagues for players, paying them nothing and convincing them that they were in fact highly paid.

During his time with the Knights he became known as ‘the coach most likely to be sacked’ , having to endure week-by-week speculation over his future.

The axe finally got him in 2000 but before he was unceremoniously dumped he got the last laugh and boosted his CV to boot by being one of the only coaches in world football ever to substitute Liverpool legend and Knights guest player, Peter Beardsley in a game of football. 

Vlado the Diegos told you not to sign that multi week contract.

Some Golden Soft Sombrero Moments with Vlado Vanis

Vanis on the against the odds win against championship aspirant South Melbourne in February 2001…

Diegos: "Here's a bit of Diegos mathematics for you.

The five goals the Knights conceded against Wollongong Wolves last round plus the six goals South Melbourne scored against Marconi, add to that the four goals the Knights copped against the Lakesiders in the first round and further, add to that the four goals you scored in brilliant fashion last week against that same South team, makes for, by our calculations, an incredible 19 goal turnaround.

Ok the figures were conjured up in the bar after the game but in your wildest dreams did you ever think that you could beat the league leaders by a 4-0 score line?"

Vanis: " I didn’t expect such a big win, but I did believe that we could beat them.

My biggest problem was deciding how many strikers to play on the day. In the end I decided to play three and it paid off with all three scoring goals. We really wanted to stop South Melbourne’s wingers and I think that the boys did an excellent job.

It was a fantastic game and anyone who was there to see it really got their moneys worth."

Diegos: "All coaches love it when their pre-match tactics come off.

We know that you planned to score three goals in the space of 4 minutes.

Brilliant tactics, absolutely brilliant.

What about the rest of the game? What did you work on during the week that led to the eventual humbling of top of the table South?"

Vanis: " I was thinking when the score was three nil at half time that I didn’t want the boys to push forward too hard.

I was thinking that South Melbourne would pressure us by adding another midfielder or striker, so I told my team to try and catch them out on the counter attack, which nearly paid off with Cervinski and Vargas missing good shots.

I promised the boys that if they could keep a clean sheet today that I would give them the day off tomorrow. They did and that's what they got. You might remember that last week they didn’t have any days off after the poor result.”

Soft Sombrero Moment February 2001

Vanis on pressure…

Diegos: "Just for your information, unconfirmed reports by Diego security had Nick Theodorakopoulos speeding out of the Knights stadium car park at half time.

You've been under pressure the whole season as coach of a club with high expectations.

Do you think that this comprehensive win over the star-studded South Melbourne is enough to guarantee your job for the rest of the season?"

Vanis: " When I took on the job of being coach the only guarantee I was assured of in my mind, was that one day I will be sacked from this position.

I’m working very hard with the club and I will do so for the next four or five years, but whatever happens, happens. I will try my best for the club and if things go to plan then fantastic, if not well, I will have to wait and see what happens."

Soft Sombrero Moment February 2001

Vanis on the influx of Carlton recruits mid-season…

Diegos: "A lot has been made of the Carlton 'fire sale' recruits, Andrew Marth, Lubo Lapsansky, Daniel Vasilevski and Steve Horvat, and their effect on the team since their arrival.

Its pretty obvious that its taken time for them to gel to your structure of play.

Are you happy with their output presently?"

Vanis: " Yes I am very happy. We must remember that when they came to the Knights they hadn’t played for some three weeks.

Apart from a couple of training sessions it was very hard for the players to gel with the new side. But hard work is paying off for the boys and they have settled in well."

Soft Sombrero Moment February 2001

Vanis on how far can the Knights go…

Diegos: "We know that while the vodka is flowing down at Somers Street it's difficult to establish clearly definable goals for the rest season but you've just beaten one of the best teams in the country handsomely.

Are you allowing yourself to think of championships?"

Vanis: "With the Knights you just never know what will happen. One week we can play like a top team and on other weeks we play like a bottom side. We saw this in the last two rounds.

What I do know is that if we continue to work hard this team can achieve some excellent results."

Soft Sombrero Moment February 2001