The Corner Flag sat down and had a chat with the recently appointed Heidelberg United coach Bill Mihaloudis ahead of the 2015 WPL season. The former Altona City and South Melbourne Women’s FC coach discussed why he believes the Bergers are such an appealing project, as well as his youth policy, love for goals and expectations for the season ahead.
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Jordan Lim (J): So a fresh start, new team, you must be stoked! Have you had a chance to meet the girls yet?
Bill Mihaloudis (B): I’ve been pretty good actually, we’ve got our first session tonight [Thursday], and I met the team on Tuesday. We had a bit of a chat, a meet and greet and onto the pitch today! First session, it’s quite exciting, so I’m here a little bit early [at training], and just keen to get it going.
J: It’s been a little while since your last WPL gig [at South Melbourne], what have you done in your stint away from coaching?
B: I’ve been watching games, and I’m still involved in the game in different levels, basically focusing a bit more on junior development for a couple of academies, as well as an overseas program that we’ve got going in Fiji. That’s kept me pretty busy, and of course work – the one that actually pays the bills – so I’ve been pretty busy!
J: Is it nice to step away from your day job a little bit and have a bigger football balance back in your life again?
B: Absolutely, it’s in your blood. As much as you [hate to] walk away from it, it takes time. Once things settle down, you’re excited, keen and raring to go again. So definitely, it’s in the blood.
J: How did the call come about to head over to the Village?
B: The way it actually all worked out was that they had an advertisement and I thought, it’s a great opportunity to take it on board. There was an interview process – I’m not sure how many applicants there were – and I’m sure the club would’ve shortlisted it from there, and just focused on the ones they were very interested in. That took probably a couple of weeks out of memory, and the official appointment was on Thursday.
J: Was there something in those discussions that really sold the Heidelberg case for you?
B: I had a number of opportunities to return to football management anyway from a coaching point of view, but the offers just didn’t feel right. It was only until I met up with Heidelberg, and that’s when they started ticking all the boxes, and I’m sure it worked vice-versa. I guess it just felt right so you just knew that this was the way to go.
#WPLVIC – Former @SMWFC coach Bill Mihaloudis takes over vacant @HUFCWARRIOR role from @wplvictoria coach of the year John Kyrgios
— The Corner Flag (@CornerFlagOz) November 27, 2014
J: Surpassing the reigning WPL coach of the year has to bear some significance, how do you think you can stamp your own mark on the side?
B: I think I did [something similar] last year at South Melbourne anyway, where I like to play an attacking style of football. I think a lot of coaches say it, but very few coaches actually do it. At the end of the day, the proof is in the pudding and we proved that [two seasons ago] scoring over 100 goals. I just believe in my philosophy of coaching, and the way I like to do things, I’d like to implement it with this new and exciting team that I’ve adopted. I’m really looking forward to these exciting challenges that are coming ahead.
J: How does it sit with you to know that you may be the hunted, rather than the hunter after making the Grand Final last season?
B: The hunted, that’s an interesting one. At the end of the day, they are the hunted and we’re the hunter because they have just won a premiership. But we need to walk before we can run, and we’ve got to prepare before we get to that point. We need to actually find ourselves and then slowly build momentum right along, and that’s out main focus for pre-season.
J: How was it stepping into a camp off the back of that heart-wrenching Finals defeat? Did that come up in conversation at all when you met the girls?
B: Not at all! Generally you’ll find with new coaches coming in – new ideas, new concepts – it’s a breath of fresh air for everybody. Lots of changes are going to take place, we’ve already started as of Tuesday, and we’re just aiming to build on that now. We’ve got plenty of time before we start to get down that path and really understand what’s needed in order for us to actually go that step further.
J: On the mental side, do you think the Finals loss will drive them further this year?
B: It’s not only going to be driving the girls, it’s driving all of us. We’re all in it together and it’s definitely a hunger from a coaching point of view as well. We’ve now tasted what it’s like to actually get so close. So we’ve all got something to prove. Everybody’s on a mission, including myself, and just listening to the girls, they’re very excited about the challenges that lie ahead.
J: Too soon to be putting benchmarks on the season ahead?
B: We started setting benchmarks in our first meeting on Tuesday, there’s a level that we need to achieve at every stage of pre-season and then once we achieve that, we go to another level, and so forth. That officially has started on a theoretical point of view, the practical part comes now. It’s not only the physical aspect, but also the mental toughness, which is a part of modern football. We must have 11 mentally tough players on the park for the entire duration of each match.
J: You’ve obviously done a lot of youth development in your eight months or so away from coaching at WPL level, is that something that’s important for you to bring to Heidelberg?
B: There’s a big buzz around the club with good, young, talented players coming through the ranks from the juniors. From that side of it, it’s quite exciting, and we’re going to make sure we expose our younger talent to senior football so they can slowly adapt to Premier League level. It’s also good to see some new faces coming down to the club, so it’s nice to see that.
You’ll actually start to see [some younger faces] evolve through pre-season, and I have no doubt that the opportunities to establish themselves in senior football is only around the corner. This’ll be evident once the team starts to take its shape. It’s still very early days, I’m a week into the job and there’s still plenty of time for that. Our exciting, young prospects need to be patient and when the opportunity presents itself, they need to embrace it and make the most of it. From what I’ve seen so far from the young girls, they’re really exciting to watch.
I’m very big on player development and youth development. That’s driven me for many years and still is high priority on my list. It all depends on the individual player, some need to be pushed – thrown into the deep end so to speak – and some need to be nurtured through it. It’s a matter of a manager understanding and knowing the players they have in their squad and of course how they can get the best out of the player so they can better themselves in the long-term.
J: And finally, what marks a good season personally for you?
B: We all have unfinished business, and everyone at the club has the same desire and goal. So to answer your question, team success is the benchmark for my success.