Stuck in coaching limbo, John Aloisi is starting to get itchy feet.
But the Socceroos great, who is now Western United coach in name only, won’t be rushing to snap up just any job.
Aloisi is technically still contracted to United, who were put into hibernation as they fight an ATO wind-up order and the stripping of their A-Leagues licence.
But in reality, he is living the difficult life of a professional football coach without a team.
“It’s hard. It’s not easy, not coaching,” he told AAP.
“You’re trying to make sure that you stay as positive as possible. You want to be out there, you want to be coaching.
“But I just need to be prepared and ready for whatever comes my way.
“Whether that’s for next season, whether that’s next week, you just don’t know when you’re – I’ll say out of a job because I’m not coaching at the moment.
“But I’m just making sure that I’m prepared for whatever comes my way.”
Aloisi has long held ambitions of joining Ange Postecoglou, Kevin Muscat and Tony Popovic in earning an overseas move, with the MLS and J.League among previous links.
“If it does come along, it has to be the right club, right environment that I believe that I can be successful,” he said.
“Whether that can still be here in Australia, it could be still Western United, I don’t know. You just don’t know what’s around the corner.
“Or if the right move came along overseas, I would like to test myself.
“But whether that does happen or not, I don’t know.”
Aloisi, who has knocked back interest from Central Coast and Perth Glory, looms as the top local candidate for any A-League club looking to make a change.
“I don’t wish it upon anyone, losing their job, so I don’t want to say too much,” he said.
“But if the right opportunity comes along, that means anywhere, whether it’s A-League or overseas.”
When United went into hibernation, their players scattered around the league and overseas, with Aloisi keeping tabs on them all.
“It’s actually good. You’re excited when you see your players,” he said.
“When I see Matt Grimaldi and Angus Thurgate, Rhys Bozinovski, all these players playing, I wish them all the best, obviously and hopefully we cross paths again.”
While waiting to return to the coaching fray, Aloisi has embraced the chance to look back on 20 years since his famous penalty sent the Socceroos to the 2006 World Cup.
At the premier of JAM TV’s ‘The Kick that United a Nation’ documentary, Aloisi reflected on how then-coach Guus Hiddink’s uncompromising approach shaped his own coaching.
“There’s certain things that you look at and you think, ‘oh, can I use that in my own coaching career?’” he said.
“But the biggest thing is that you’re clear in your decisions and he definitely was.”
