Watching a revolution unfold can be difficult for all involved. Ensuring one’s success, albeit with resources that would make Napoleon Bonaparte blush, is still an extremely challenging task.
For coach John van’t Schip, the task of managing Melbourne Heart-cum-City into a new era was always going to be a path riddled with uncertainty.
The 51-year-old has remained a calm and composed figurehead in the face of much media scrutiny during his two-part tenure at the club and now looks set to seriously challenge for the A-League’s summit.
The wolves have firmly sat at van’t Schip’s door at times throughout his second tenure at the club. His current deal was extended until the end of the 2016-17 season, coming after less than two months after the new owners took control. This was marked as a strong indicator of the stability the City Football Group (CFG) could bring to the A-League franchise.
The Dutchman took the reins from John Aloisi just prior new year’s day 2014 – his first match in charge ending scoreless away to the Central Coast Mariners.
After CFG and its millions entered the fray, everything changed both on and off the pitch.
In an interview with Fox Sports’ Simon Hill in the immediate months following the takeover, van’t Schip gave a glowing review of how the club could move forward, and how his coaching methods could be enhanced.
“The facilities are getting better of course – the small things are being taken care of very well. It sounds strange, but every day we have a good lunch after the training sessions, we have no complaints about training gear, we have good goals on the pitch, and the pitches are good. Before, we had to wait for such things to be arranged. Those are the visual things – the other things are the resources that we can tap into at City in England, with their training methods, with the way they treat injuries.”
Greater organisation surrounding the playing group helped van’t Schip steered his team to a seven match unbeaten run. The highlights of this streak included two record-breaking wins: a 5-0 triumph away to Wellington Phoenix, the club’s biggest away win, and a 4-0 trouncing of Melbourne Victory, the highest margin of any Melbourne derby fixture to date.
City, for the first time that season had an on-pitch identity and playing style that its supporters could be proud of.
READ MORE: Melbourne City 2015-16 team preview
Van’t Schip said at the time: “Everyone would like to be involved in that so I assume the players are very positive about that and will give them a lot of energy.”
A reaction was evoked in the squad. Under van’t Schip’s tutelage, Dutch marquee signing Orlando Engelaar, who had returned from a serious knee injury, produce consistent excellence. The veteran entertained the supporters that braved a torrid first half of the season to regular showings of jaw-dropping skill and force in equal measure.
During his playing days, van’t Schip spent his time at the elite level as a tricky outside forward or winger. After graduating from Ajax’s famed youth academy he spent the next 11 seasons in the first team. During which, he won four Erdivisie titles, three KNVB Cups, European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1987 and UEFA Cup in 1992.
Perhaps his greatest accolade is a winner’s medal from Euro 1988, a team that boasted the likes of Ronald Koeman, Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten.
Time on the pitch was expectedly hard to come by with such competition in attacking areas, but the now Melbourne City manager still managed to amass 114 minutes across the Euro 1988 and 1992 campaigns.
While the 51-year-old no longer rubs shoulders with football’s elite, his squad could soon eclipse Melbourne Victory as the A-League’s benchmark.
Considering the amount of forward’s City now possess, the squad’s formation is unlikely to stray from his tried and trusted 4-3-3. It is a similar setup to the incredibly effective setup utilised by Ajax’s world-beaters in the mid-1990s.
At no point during either of van’t Schip’s spells as coach at Melbourne Heart/City has the club looked the league’s best. The lack of a true goalscorer, perhaps outside of the four weeks David Villa spent at the club, has been telling.
Squad additions in forward areas, including Uruguayan Bruno Fornaroli, Corey Gameiro will team up with Harry Novillo to ensure City maintain an attacking edge even when a game may not be going as planned.
Throughout preseason, the midfield has looked to gain a greater understanding when joining attacks, as well as winning the ball back quickly when a spell of possession in the forward half breaks down.
As has been the case in the past, the longer van’t Schip applies his methods to a squad, noticeable improvements occur in its playing style. With a list that rivals the league’s best, the Dutchman looks primed to take City another step forward in the revolution.
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