Head Coach Graham Arnold has pledged to return to Sydney FC in the future after his successful four-year stint in charge ended in Semi-Final defeat on Saturday.
Head Coach Graham Arnold has pledged to return to Sydney FC in the future after his successful four-year stint in charge ended in Semi-Final defeat on Saturday.
The reigning Champions missed the chance to defend their crown as Melbourne prevailed 3-2 in extra-time to snatch a Grand Final berth alongside Newcastle Jets.
Having equalised deep into stoppage time of the original 90 minutes, Arnold admitted his players simply ran out of legs before Terry Antonis buried the 117th minute winner.
But the outgoing 54-year-old, who will take over the Caltex Socceroos following the FIFA World Cup, insists the heartbreak doesn’t sully their collective effort, which has also reaped two Premiers Plates and an FFA Cup triumph.
“I just said to the boys I couldn’t be prouder of the four seasons [I’ve] had at Sydney,” Arnold said.
“To dominate the competition the way we have the last two seasons, even with this result I still believe we’re the greatest team the A-League has seen.
“The stats show that and we’ve created history, breaking so many records. It’s been an honour and a privilege to coach these players.
“I will be back at Sydney FC some day.”
Arnie | "I've told the boys no one can take away what we've done the last two years." #SydneyIsSkyBlue #BigBlue #ALeagueFinals
— Sydney FC (@SydneyFC) April 28, 2018
Arnold’s trusted captain Alex Brosque paid tribute to the coach for restoring the Sky Blues to glory.
“What Arnie has done to this club has been incredible over the last four years,” he said.
“It’s been a great era under him. He moves onto bigger and better things with the national team but we keep rolling here.
“We’ve set a standard in the last couple of years that we want to maintain and we’re confident we can.”
