Sydney FC is braced for a large-scale overhaul as the club goes into a hiring freeze until the appointment of a new coach, casting the future of their coaching staff and a large bulk of the squad into doubt.
At least eight Sydney FC players are out of contract next month and may be forced to look elsewhere as the club confirmed they are not willing to enter any contract negotiations until their new coach is decided. Regular first-team players such as Richard Garcia, Milos Dimitrijevic, Matt Jurman, Joel Chianese and Matt Thompson could be forced to explore other options after chief executive Tony Pignata confirmed the club has prioritised the coaching appointment over moves for any new players or the retention of existing members of the squad who are off-contract next month.
There will likely be an overhaul of the coaching staff within the club as the next coach will be given considerable freedom in moulding the football department, just as Farina was when he arrived in 2012. It's understood that some members of the coaching staff are already prepared to leave the club at the conclusion of their deals next month while a number will stay on pending the decision of the next coach.
"The support staff are there, they'll continue to be there and when the new coach comes in, he can make his own decisions," Pignata said. "The uncontracted players, again, their positions will be determined by the new coach and if they're uncontracted and find a role somewhere else, you have to understand that they have to accept that."
Graham Arnold has emerged as a favourite to take charge of Sydney FC but has not yet received an official approach from the club. Arnold has already received a multi-year deal from Newcastle Jets as well as an offer from New Zealand Football to become the next All Whites coach. He has already twice met with the Jets since returning to Australia from Japan and is set to meet with New Zealand Football next week.
Sources close to the club regard captain and marquee Alessandro Del Piero as a potential candidate to fill the void and make his first step into a coaching career in the A-League. The Italian is out of contract and is yet to decide whether he will play on and could be seen by the club as a potential head coach or assistant next season. Del Piero is highly thought-of in Sydney FC's hierarchy who would like to retain him in some capacity.
Media reports surfaced on Thursday linking former Socceroos coach Holger Osieck with the vacant post at Moore Park but it is understood that the German coach has not been identified as a target of the club. Osieck has been available since being sacked by the Football Federation of Australia last October following two disastrous losses to France and Brazil in friendly games.
