In March 2024, Perth Glory made a significant personnel decision by appointing former Socceroo great, Stan Lazaridis, as its Football Director.
After a challenging season in 2023/24 when Glory was placed in administration, the cobwebs were removed with the purchase of the club by the Pelligra Group.
It was none other than Harry Redknapp, the legendary West Ham manager, who witnessed the talents of the flying wingback on a preseason tour Downunder in May, 1995 and immediately penned Lazaridis’ signature.
A distinguished career followed from 1995 to 2006 when he played 260 league matches for West Ham and Birmingham City, while becoming a crowd favourite with his brilliant and penetrating runs out of defence which made even the toughest opponents cringe with fear.
Lazaridis was also a mainstay for the Socceroos, appearing in 60 internationals from 1993-2006 and fulfilling his greatest moment as part of the squad which qualified for the World Cup Finals in West Germany after a 32-year absence.
However, Stan Lazaridis faces a new challenge in his new role at Perth Glory after their rock bottom performance last season.
Nevertheless, if anybody can make it happen, it’s the mild mannered and creative thinker who knows how critical this season is for A-League football in Perth.
In this interview with Roger Sleeman, Stan Lazaridis talks about his new role, the patient rebuilding of the club under the watchful eye of new owner Ross Pelligra and the dawn of a new era for the once great club.
ROGER SLEEMAN
What is your feeling after coming back into the game after an absence of 11 years?
STAN LAZARIDIS
It feels Iike I’m starting all over again when I was a player because I never thought I’d ever get another opportunity again in Perth.
I was almost resigned to this impasse but after meeting the new Board and owners, it just fell into place.
When you’re out of the game you miss it so much and you wonder to yourself how your approach could’ve been different.
I can really thank Marco Bresciano and Vince Grella but also the director, Jason Bon Tempo, who played a major part in my appointment.
It was Bon Tempo who facilitated my introduction to Ross Pelligra and after our first meeting, the new owner remarked it’s almost like I know you well and know all about you.
Significantly, Pelligra is trusting me with his money and granted me the power to achieve the best outcomes for the club.
R.S.
What is Ross Pelligra’s commitment to the club?
S.L.
He’s a very passionate man and a winner. He started business at a young age when he was pouring concrete at 13, so he earned money the hard way and learned to value it more.
Apart from his investment in real estate, his company owns basketball and ice hockey clubs, but he saw the opportunity to acquire Perth Glory and turn its fortunes around.
Pelligra knows the club’s potential, particularly in light of the success of Tony Popovic at the club and in previous seasons.
Also, he knows how hard it is to beat the team in Perth after you’ve travelled five hours and have to confront that special kind of atmosphere when there’s a full stadium.
R.S.
How hard will it be to restore the wonder days of Perth Glory in the NSL under the ownership of Nick Tanna?
S.L.
You have to go back to why it was successful when it was an honest and entertaining system of play.
The players were heroes which has been lacking and we now have players like Faisal who is being compared to Mohamed Salah and is getting more hits than Taylor Swift.
Adam Bugharia is like an old fashioned Hristo Stoichkov who the fans can identify with and can hit the ball on target from distance with considerable power.
Nathanael Blair, an old fashioned striker, is over 1.9 metres tall and is strong as an ox with speed to boot and the Vietnamese striker Khoa Ngo has the skills of a Maradona.
I firmly believe these players will create great atmosphere this season.
R.S.
How does the club erase the disappointing season of 23/24 in terms of overcoming financial problems and a better place in the A-League?
S.L.
This is why I was brought in and we released 15 players. Everything is new with my team, new owner, new staff and the signing of 17 players.
There’s no point dwelling in the past because we know we were well off the pace and we can’t place the blame on former coach Alen Stajic because he simply wasn’t given the tools to succeed.
Surviving the administration gave us a second chance to go out and get the people back by investing more and playing a brand of football which the fans will want too see and which will also inspire the kids.
After our recent Australia Cup match against Melbourne City, the fans stayed back and clapped for the performance for over 30 minutes.
Also, I believe we’re going to develop some young players who will eventually play for the Socceroos and that will be one of my legacies.
R.S.
What led to David Zdrilic’s appointment as head coach?
S.L.
After my first week in the job, I sat round the table with the CEO Anthony Radich and coach Alan Stajic, and they asked me which team do you like in the A-League and I replied Sydney FC.
It’s not just their playing group, there’s an energy and entertainment value which reminded me of past Glory outfits which I wanted to bring back to the club.
I started looking at young players who could play this high energy system and with four experienced players to complete the combination.
I told them we’re not fit and I expected fitness levels comparable with Sydney FC.
I started trying to recruit top players but with a seven million dollar debt, that wasn’t going to be easy.
After the disaster of the last five games in 2023/24 the situation had to be reversed. I remember clearly after one match we were trailing 4-0 and Ross Pelligra called me and told me to fix it because we can’t have his club with an image like this.
We conducted a review, and after Alan Stajic had received the offer from the Wanderers, I spoke to three or four coaches but it just didn’t click as there style of play didn’t register with me.
Co-incidentally, I bumped into David Zdrilic one day and we had a brief talk despite knowing he’d received offers from other clubs. He liked the idea of being able to start fresh with a new club and it just connected when we talked about players.
It was like the stars just suddenly lined up as we were remarkably on the same page.
Interestingly, Zdrilic was prepared to take a pay cut because he could see this opportunity and after I spoke to Kevin Muscat for two hours, he advised you have gut instinct, so trust that.
All those feelings came true with Zdrilic and fortunately he could be released by Sydney FC and the deal was done.
R.S.
Are you happy with the new signings and confident the squad can vastly improve from last year?
S.L.
I’ve picked players who will entertain and Abdul Faisal is a winger who takes players on but needs more coaching to know when to use his weapons.
Adam Bugarija as previously mentioned is a great talent, Taras Gomulka doesn’t know how good he is and Zach Lisolajski – who we call Alexander the Great – didn’t get a chance with Western United.
For Nathanael Blair, the sky is the limit and Lochie Barr from Adelaide is a great addition in defence.
Remember we also have Brandon O’Neill, David Williams and Adam Taggart who scored all those goals last year.
Fortunately, we have the luxury of virtually having two players in every position.
R.S.
How much have you tried to reconnect the former Perth Glory players with the club?
S.L.
I’ve reached out to Dino Djulbic and Bobby Despotovski and we must talk to people like Scott Miller and Gary Marocchi amongst others.
It’s not going to be a token gesture because we want them involved as much as possible.
R.S.
What is the general feeling about the Glory brand from the Perth football community?
S.L.
At first, there was a reaction to the signing of young players as there were question marks whether they could do the job.
We were asked; why weren’t we signing major names but after three or four matches the response has been unbelievable.
The talk around town is the style of play we’re playing and some older supporters are thanking me for it.
Even when you play from home you can still play attractive football.
However, we have the basics in place with our structure at the back.
Also, the pattern of play involving shape and pressing is a work in progress but it takes three to six months to perfect this.
R.S.
How do you rate the standard of the A-League?
S.L.
Overall, every team has three or four outstanding players and I want to see young players from every club given a chance and a pathway leading to a super Socceroos team.
We have some great local coaches in Zdrilic, Sterjovski, Corica and Stanton who all have their own style of play which bodes well for the League.
However, financial considerations are centre stage, especially in light of the reduction in funding to the clubs from the APL.
R.S.
How is your Academy progressing?
S.L.
We’re reshaping it because it needs work and it’s a work in progress.
However, it’s part of the overall revival of the club which will take time, remembering I’ve only been in the job since March.
R.S.
Can the glory days of the club be relived?
S.L.
I think they can if we reconnect with the fans and business community, while showcasing a good brand of football and achieving favourable results.
We have a great Board and competent staff and I’ve witnessed nothing but strong unity since I started the job.
