Ron Smith (football coach)
Encyclopedia
Ronald "Ron" Smith is an Australia
n football (soccer)
coach, who currently works as Technical Director of Sydney Olympic.
team Tottenham Hotspur before injury forced an end to his top flight football ambitions. He then went onto play for a number of non-league teams in England
before emigrating to Australia
to play for South Melbourne SC in 1974.
at the Australian Institute of Sport
in Canberra
from 1982 to 1986, and then as Head Coach from 1986 to 1996. During this period he mentored a number of players who played for the Socceroos or professionally overseas, including Frank Farina, Tony Franken, Jean Paul DeMarigny, Rodney Brown, Robbie Hooker, Warren Spink, Jason Polak, Lou Hristodoulou, Sean Murphy, Kevin Muscat, Steve Corica, Ned Zelic, Steve Horvat, Paul Trimboli, Mark Viduka
, Josip Skoko, Clint Bolton, John Aloisi, Craig Moore
, Hayden Foxe,Simon Colosimo, Lucas Neill
Brett Emerton, Vince Grella and Josip Simunic
, who captained Croatia at the 2006 World Cup Finals.
in 1995, for eight matches at the end of the season. The team went from 13th position to 5th in the league and qualified for the Malaysia Cup. The team were knocked out in the semi-final of the Malaysia Cup by penalty shoot-out by Pahang. In 1996 Sabah won the 'M' League for the first time in the club's history and reached the Malaysia Cup Final, losing to Selangor in a penalty shoot-out in front of 82,000 spectators. In 1997 Sabah came third in the 'M' League. Smith was voted Coach of the Year in recognition for his achievements in 1996, the trophy presented by Kevin Keegan. Smith coached Johor FC in 1998 and 1999 laying the foundation for the first club team ever to be promoted to the "M' League in 2000. Smith served as Technical Director to the Football Association of Malaysia
between 1999 and 2002 and established the Bukit Jalil development program based on the Australian Institute of Sport model.
to take on the vacant coach's job at Perth Glory FC
. David Mitchell served as Smith's assistant and the two planned to rebuild the squad for the 2007–08 season
.
On 3 November 2007, Ron was sacked as Perth Glory's coach, after 11 matches without a win that season and 5 points adrift at the bottom of the A-League table. Perth Glory were under administration financially, crippled with the injuries to key players and unable to recruit new players until an owner was found. During this time two key talents were unearthed from the local league whom have since gone on to sign with clubs overseas. Nikita Rukavytsya and Jimmy Downey. Perth reached the final of the Pre-season Cup at the start of the 2007-08 season losing to Adelaide Utd. The club sent him to Bali
afterwards for a well earned holiday.
with video analysis before returning to his adopted Australia in 2004 to serve as Technical Manager to the Australian national football team.
In June 2005 Smith was appointed interim coach of the Australian national team until the appointment of Guus Hiddink
when he resumed his position as Technical Manager. Ron Smith uses "Sportscode" digital video analysis software that allows coaches to analyse football video by breaking the play down into its component parts.
From January 2008 Smith assisted Graham Arnold with the Olympic team through to the finals in Beijing in August that year and worked as the technical analyst to Pim ver Beek to the World Cup Finals in Germany in June 2010.
Smith continues his role as technical analyst to the Socceroos and Olympic team for the current campaigns.
He was linked to a technical director's role at NSW Premier League club Sydney Olympic and signed in December 2009 as a Technical Consultant.
Smith provided advice to Sydney Olympic during the 2010 season.
In the 2009-10 'A' League season the 'Coaching Clinic' series on Fox Sport's Match Day Saturday program, was written and produced by Ron Smith.
In August 2010 Ron Smith was the chief scout for Nike, in "The Chance" and nominated Tommy Rogic, who was voted in the top eight from one hundred trialists from all over the world, to spend a year at the Nike Academy in England in 2011.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n football (soccer)
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
coach, who currently works as Technical Director of Sydney Olympic.
Playing career
Smith played as a junior for North LondonNorth London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
team Tottenham Hotspur before injury forced an end to his top flight football ambitions. He then went onto play for a number of non-league teams in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
before emigrating to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
to play for South Melbourne SC in 1974.
AIS
Smith worked as the Assistant Coach of the football (soccer) programAustralian Institute of Sport - Football (soccer)
The Australian Institute of Sport Football Program is an association football talent identification and player development program run by the Australian Institute of Sport, in Canberra...
at the Australian Institute of Sport
Australian Institute of Sport
The Australian Institute of Sport is a sports training institution in Australia with world class facilities and support services. The Institute's headquarters is situated in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The 66.0 hectare site campus is in the northern suburb of Bruce, but some of the...
in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
from 1982 to 1986, and then as Head Coach from 1986 to 1996. During this period he mentored a number of players who played for the Socceroos or professionally overseas, including Frank Farina, Tony Franken, Jean Paul DeMarigny, Rodney Brown, Robbie Hooker, Warren Spink, Jason Polak, Lou Hristodoulou, Sean Murphy, Kevin Muscat, Steve Corica, Ned Zelic, Steve Horvat, Paul Trimboli, Mark Viduka
Mark Viduka
Mark Anthony Viduka is a former Australian soccer player who played as a centre forward. He captained the Australian national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany to the last 16.-Melbourne Croatia:...
, Josip Skoko, Clint Bolton, John Aloisi, Craig Moore
Craig Moore
Craig Andrew Moore , is a retired Australian soccer defender.Moore is best known for his two spells with Scottish Premier Division / Scottish Premier League club Rangers...
, Hayden Foxe,Simon Colosimo, Lucas Neill
Lucas Neill
Lucas Edward Neill is an Australian Soccer player who currently plays for UAE Pro-League club Al Jazira. He is a full back. Neill had spent almost 15 years of his career playing in England. He represented Australia at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, the 2010 World Cup in South...
Brett Emerton, Vince Grella and Josip Simunic
Josip Šimunic
Josip Šimunić is a Croatian footballer who plays as a defender for Dinamo Zagreb and the Croatian national team.-Club career:...
, who captained Croatia at the 2006 World Cup Finals.
Malaysia
Smith coached Sabah FASabah FA
The Football Association of Sabah is a registered football association affiliated with the Football Association of Malaysia. The association's football team competes in Malaysia's football league representing the state of Sabah in Borneo. Sabah FA is a professional football club and one of the 14...
in 1995, for eight matches at the end of the season. The team went from 13th position to 5th in the league and qualified for the Malaysia Cup. The team were knocked out in the semi-final of the Malaysia Cup by penalty shoot-out by Pahang. In 1996 Sabah won the 'M' League for the first time in the club's history and reached the Malaysia Cup Final, losing to Selangor in a penalty shoot-out in front of 82,000 spectators. In 1997 Sabah came third in the 'M' League. Smith was voted Coach of the Year in recognition for his achievements in 1996, the trophy presented by Kevin Keegan. Smith coached Johor FC in 1998 and 1999 laying the foundation for the first club team ever to be promoted to the "M' League in 2000. Smith served as Technical Director to the Football Association of Malaysia
Football Association of Malaysia
The Football Association of Malaysia is the governing body for football in Malaysia, responsible for organising the Malaysian national football team and the major football and futsal tournaments within the country. The Football Association of Malaysia main headquarters is located at Wisma...
between 1999 and 2002 and established the Bukit Jalil development program based on the Australian Institute of Sport model.
Perth Glory
In July 2006, Smith resigned as full time Technical Manager with the FFAFootball Federation Australia
Football Federation Australia is the governing body for the sport of football in Australia. Before 1 January 2005, it was known as the Australian Soccer Association , which succeeded Soccer Australia in this role in 2003...
to take on the vacant coach's job at Perth Glory FC
Perth Glory FC
Perth Glory Football Club is a professional football club in Perth, Western Australia, Australia, competing in Australia's top football competition the A-League. Perth Glory is one of only three clubs to survive from the now defunct National Soccer League...
. David Mitchell served as Smith's assistant and the two planned to rebuild the squad for the 2007–08 season
A-League 2007-08
The A-League 2007-08 season was the third season of the Australian A-League football competition, won by the Newcastle Jets. Football Federation Australia hoped to build on the success of the previous two seasons and on the interest generated by and playing in the 2007 AFC Champions League, and...
.
On 3 November 2007, Ron was sacked as Perth Glory's coach, after 11 matches without a win that season and 5 points adrift at the bottom of the A-League table. Perth Glory were under administration financially, crippled with the injuries to key players and unable to recruit new players until an owner was found. During this time two key talents were unearthed from the local league whom have since gone on to sign with clubs overseas. Nikita Rukavytsya and Jimmy Downey. Perth reached the final of the Pre-season Cup at the start of the 2007-08 season losing to Adelaide Utd. The club sent him to Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
afterwards for a well earned holiday.
Technical Manager
Smith spent time in 2003 at Liverpool FC assisting Gérard HoullierGérard Houllier
Gérard Houllier, OBE , is a French football manager, who was last manager of Premier League club Aston Villa. He stepped down on 1 June 2011, following hospitalisation over heart problems towards the end of the 2010-2011 season....
with video analysis before returning to his adopted Australia in 2004 to serve as Technical Manager to the Australian national football team.
"My function with the national team is to provide information to the coaches. To be able to break a game down into pieces and to say if you want to quickly look at all of the possession that a team has, then you can. One thing that I found from looking at isolated parts of the game is that you can see patterns emerge very, very quickly, because it is happening more frequently than in watching a normal game over a ninety minute period."
In June 2005 Smith was appointed interim coach of the Australian national team until the appointment of Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink is a Dutch football manager and former player. He was the most recently manager of the Turkish national football team. He is considered to be one of the best managers of his generation and was the best-paid coach in international football in 2009...
when he resumed his position as Technical Manager. Ron Smith uses "Sportscode" digital video analysis software that allows coaches to analyse football video by breaking the play down into its component parts.
From January 2008 Smith assisted Graham Arnold with the Olympic team through to the finals in Beijing in August that year and worked as the technical analyst to Pim ver Beek to the World Cup Finals in Germany in June 2010.
Smith continues his role as technical analyst to the Socceroos and Olympic team for the current campaigns.
He was linked to a technical director's role at NSW Premier League club Sydney Olympic and signed in December 2009 as a Technical Consultant.
Smith provided advice to Sydney Olympic during the 2010 season.
In the 2009-10 'A' League season the 'Coaching Clinic' series on Fox Sport's Match Day Saturday program, was written and produced by Ron Smith.
In August 2010 Ron Smith was the chief scout for Nike, in "The Chance" and nominated Tommy Rogic, who was voted in the top eight from one hundred trialists from all over the world, to spend a year at the Nike Academy in England in 2011.