Sydney FC has appointed Isuzu-UTE A-League Premiership winner John Maisano as the club’s new Assistant Coach.
Maisano recently left French club AC Troyes having spent the last four years working within the coaching ranks of the City Football Group.
He won the A-League Premiership at Melbourne City as Assistant Coach to Patrick Kisnorbo in 2022 before moving to France.
Maisano also led City’s NPL Youth squad to promotion for the first time in their history in 2022.
Head Coach Ufuk Talay is delighted to have secured a coach of Maisano’s calibre.
“John has a great deal of quality coaching experience and a huge knowledge and aptitude for the game,” he said.
“He brings an excellent set of coaching skills developed with four years at City Football Group, as well as a playing career spanning the top leagues in Italy, Belgium, Holland and Scotland.
“He is extremely dedicated, works well with young players, which will be important for us and I’m looking forward to building a strong relationship with him.”
As a player, Maisano represented Australia at under 17, under 20 and under 23 level and played in two youth World Cups.
He began his career at the Australia Institute of Sport before making the move to Atalanta in Serie A during the height of the Italian league’s European dominance.
A switch to the Belgian and Dutch leagues followed before his return to Australia with Marconi Stallions in 2000 and a subsequent move to Scotland.
Maisano is keen to make a big difference at Sydney FC.
“I’m excited, really excited, to be working with such a great club and the most successful club in Australia, alongside a fantastic Head Coach in Ufuk Talay,” he said.
“Winning trophies is the number one priority but I’m also keen to help develop the next generation of great Australian players.
“The A-League is a very challenging league because the pond is small and putting together winning strategies means you constantly need to re-visit your work to stay ahead of the game.
“Uffie has done that very well which is why I’m excited to work with him.
“Mentality and behaviours are the key differences between good and great teams and I’m keen to see what sacrifices our players are willing to make to become better players, better people and to win Championships.”
John has completed the AFC Pro Diploma in coaching and is currently studying for his UEFA A coaching badge.
He is also close to finishing a degree in Psychology from Swinburne University.
Between finishing his playing career and moving into coaching John spent six years setting up a family run fitness business.
He speaks Italian and Spanish fluently.
