IN the latest of his series of one-on-one chats with the ten Hyundai A-League coaches ahead of the upcoming season, Fox Sports commentator Simon Hill this week sits down with Adelaide United’s Marco Kurz.

Simon Hill: Marco, 12 months into the job — how are you enjoying Australia, and what are some of the positives and negatives of your experience here so far?

Marco Kurz: Well, as a European guy it is another world. It is a big challenge for me and my partner, and also to learn about Australian football, and a new culture. I enjoy being a part of the A-League — OK, so football is the number three sport here, not like in Europe, and I know we have to improve. It starts with the facilities, the quality of the players, the pitches, but I knew all that before I came. The travel is long to the games, the pre-season is a very long time. In Germany we have 5 or 6 weeks — here it is 12, but it is good to learn, and for me to have a new experience in my life. I like to work with Australian players.

Adelaide United will host the FFA Cup final against Sydney FC. Source: Getty Images

SH: Does that long pre-season make things more difficult? Some would say it gives them a lot of time to get things in order on the training ground?

MK: You do have a long time for training, but it is hard to find opponents — you can only play against your local teams, and the quality is sometimes not so high. You need to play against A-League teams, but then you have to fly — so it’s not perfect. That’s why it is important to reach the latter rounds of the FFA Cup, because then you have official matches, you play strong teams. That is always our aim in pre-season.

SH: Your methods have been presented as being grounded in discipline, fitness, structure. Did you get immediate buy-in from the Adelaide players?

MK: It was not easy, and I had to be careful because I couldn’t come in from Germany where we train twice a day in pre-season and impose it straightaway. It just wasn’t possible in Australia. You had to go step by step, because it was new for them. But they have improved — now we are in a good training rhythm. The players know after a year what their coach needs, and what they have to do.

Kurz and Wanderers coach Markus Babbel were opponents in the German Bundesliga. Source: AAP

SH: You have clearly started a bit of a trend — now there is another German coaching in the A-League in Markus Babbel (Western Sydney Wanderers). What is it about German coaches that Australians seem to like?

MK: I think it shows that our job in the first year wasn’t too bad! I know Markus — we were opponents in the Bundesliga when he trained Hertha Berlin, and I was with Kaiserslautern. I think it is good to bring a new culture and a new view of football to Australia. Also a lot of German players have signed for the new season. It’s good for the improvement of the game.

SH: Talking of which, you have signed Mirko Boland as a replacement for Daniel Adlung, who has gone back home. Did you try hard to keep him?

MK: That’s the problem with players from Europe...it’s a long way from home. Sometimes they are homesick, and they decide to go — you have to respect it. Daniel had a two-year contract, but he wanted to go back. I wasn’t happy about it, but I had to respect it. Mirko is not the same type of player as Daniel — but he is a good, aggressive midfielder, good on the counter-press, and he has scored a lot of goals in the pre-season. I think he has to improve and learn the Australian football culture — it is different — but I am happy that he is here. I think we signed a good player.

SH: You’ve also signed the Dane, Ken Ilso, and two quick wingers in Craig Goodwin and Ben Halloran. Does that change the dynamic of the team this season?

MK: Well, now we have more options — last year we had only (Ryan) Kitto and (Nikola) Mileusnic. Now we have a lot of depth in the wing positions. In terms of strikers we have Baba (Diawara), Ken (Ilso) can play striker, George Blackwood, the quality is higher. The competition is stronger. The other signs are good too with (Mikael) Jakobsen, who is a very good signing for us, very experienced. A good replacement for (Ersan) Gulum, so I think we are positive for the season.

Ken Ilso adds depth to Adelaide’s attacking options. Source: AAP

SH: Adelaide’s biggest problem over the last few seasons has been finding a regular goal scorer. Is Baba Diawara the answer for you this year?

MK: It’s not only Baba, but we are happy that he is currently in good shape, and on the way to becoming fit for the whole season. It’s a big season for him and for all of us. Last season we played without (Johan) Absalonsen, and without Baba for long periods — that was one reason why we weren’t at the level we wanted sometimes. I hope he can stay fit and score a lot of goals, but we also have Goodwin who can score, Boland, Ilso, plus our defensive players can score off set pieces too. But I am on the same page as you — it is good to have one or two regular goal scorers in your team, and I hope we find one who can do the job for us this year.

SH: Some of the other clubs have brought in big name marquees like Siem De Jong, Keisuke Honda, Ola Toivonen. Would you have liked one yourself?

MK: It’s always up to what you can do as a club — we cannot sign marquees like Sydney, Victory, Wanderers or City. It’s not in our budget. But the competition this year is stronger than last year — the other clubs did a good job with bringing in quality players, and I expect a very hard and strong competition.

SH: Away from the stadium, you seem a very calm, composed character — yet on the sidelines you seem to have a lot of disagreements with officials?

MK: That’s my natural personality. When I start to coach I want to win. Sometimes I talk too much with the officials or my players — but it is my nature.

Kurz says football can learn a few things from the AFL. Source: News Corp Australia

SH: Do you enjoy any other sports in Australia?

MK: Well in Germany, we don’t know about AFL — but here it is South Australia’s number one sport. I enjoy it, I like the intensity, the behaviour of the players, they fight and stand up. No-one asks for a free-kick. We can learn a lot from that. Do I learn from it as a coach? No, I think tactically it’s completely different to football.

SH: Finally, do you think you will have a long-term commitment to Australia?

MK: Maybe, but at my age I am looking only year by year. I am contracted until the end of May next year, and then I will see what happens. I’m open to staying or going somewhere else — I just don’t know. As a coach, you cannot plan for life in five or ten years. I know that I won’t live my whole life in Australia, as I have two daughters in Munich, and sometimes you feel the big distances. It’s not so easy to fly for a short “hello” to Germany!

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