Image: Sydenham Park
Sydenham Park have become the second club in State League One North-West to part ways with their manager this week after announcing former Socceroo John Markovski as the successor to Alex Cobo.
Colombian-born Cobo took over the reins of the 2015 SL1 NW runners-up in the off season and guided the club to three wins, two draws and three defeats in his eight league games in charge.
The highlight of his spell at Keilor Lodge Reserve was no doubt Sydenham’s 3-0 triumph over rivals Preston Lions in Round 6, with his last game in charge seeing his chargers defeat Westgate 5-4 away.
One of the division’s youngest coaches, Cobo had previous coaching experience in the NPL set-up with the likes of Bulleen Lions and Northcote City and succeeded Alan Muscat in the role.
47-year-old Markovski returns to Sydenham Park having spent the final season of his playing career there almost a decade ago and was most recently coaching the Heidelberg United 20s.
His previous coaching spells have included multiple stints with both Altona Magic and Preston as well as VPL campaigns with the likes of Fawkner and Sunshine George Cross.
He made his senior debut as a fresh-faced 16-year-old in the old NSL with the Georgies in the mid-80s and also represented the Young Socceroos at the 1987 FIFA Under 20 World Cup in Chile.
Playing spells at Preston, Melbourne Knights, Marconi and the Morwell Falcons followed before winning an NSL Championship at Somers Street with the Knights in 1996.
Further NSL moves to the likes of Canberra Cosmos, Carlton and Perth Glory followed before featuring for the Auckland-based Football Kingz in the early noughties.
He ended his career in the VPL, where he featured for the likes of Altona, Preston, Western Suburbs and also enjoyed those two player-coach roles at Chaplin and CB Smith Reserve respectively.
In total, he represented the Socceroos 19 times over the course of his career while also featuring for the Olyroos in their memorable fourth-placed finish at the Olympics in Barcelona in 1992.
An NSL legend, he made 368 appearances in the national competition, netting over a century of league goals to make him one of the most prolific Australian forwards of his era.
Markovski’s first game in charge of the club is this week’s Macedonian derby encounter against Geelong SC at home with Sydenham sitting in seventh place on the standings