Exclusive Interview

Mark Rudan – ‘Western United to become Australia’s next biggest club’

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Mark Rudan has always been a quiet achiever. He always let his boots do the talking either as a no nonsense central defender or fullback.

Mark Rudan, the Western United senior coach, has always been a quiet achiever.

As a professional player he always let his boots do the talking either as a no nonsense central defender or fullback.

Life after football can be very difficult for many former players but Rudan has made the transition to coaching with total aplomb.

After cementing his career with NSW NPL 1 club, Sydney United, where his teams won a number of honours, Rudan turned the fortunes of a depressed Wellington Phoenix in the 2018/19 A-League and recently completed an outstanding, maiden season with debutantes, Western United.

However, if you ask Mark Rudan whether life is easy in the cutthroat world of football coaching, he will confirm a consistent work ethic , detailed research, analysis and preparation and superior man management skills are essential in any coaching success story.

In this interview with Roger Sleeman, Rudan reflects on his playing career, coaching experience and football philosophy.

 

ROGER SLEEMAN

You were part of that amazing Sydney United production line of the 1990’s which included Jason Culina, David Zdrilic, Tony Popovic, Ante Milicic, Paul Bilokapic , Ante Moric and Sean and Mark Babic.

Can this ever be replicated?

MARK RUDAN

Football goes in cycles but a lot of things we do now on the pitch were done in the 1970’s.

However, these days, there are vast improvements in preparation, player welfare and diet.

People try to complicate the game but it can be a very simple if you treat it that way.

In relation to the golden era at Sydney United, you have to remember there was a strong tradition in the Croatian community and a way for our parents to integrate into the wider community through the football club.

Consequently, we gave everything on the football field in recognition of our heritage.

I remember the youth coaches like former Socceroo, Dennis Yaager who helped me so much and in particular,Maurice Sullivan, the legendary club flanker, who coached me in u14’s and was a great influence on my career because he told me if I put the work in I could make the grade.

 

ROGER SLEEMAN

When you first came through the Sydney United youth system, did you ever believe you would reach the pinnacle in Australian football coaching?

MARK RUDAN

When I first started playing, coaching was the furthest thing from my mind and I just wanted to be the best player I could be.

I wasn’t blessed with exceptional talent but I possessed an inner determination, resilience and a motivation to get the best out of myself which are qualities often more important than star quality.

Today, I regularly see young talented players who have the skills set but don’t have the necessary qualities to fight for success.

My identification with coaching really developed when I was in Germany at Allemania Aachen with Jorg Berger, my second coach at the club.

His understanding of the game and ability to adjust tactics and formation during a game and his man management skills, separated him from any other coach I’d known.

He was the first person who really made me think coaching could be an option after my playing days were over.

 

ROGER SLEEMAN

How much did Les Scheinflug, coach of the Young Socceroos, influence your philosophy of football at the 1995 finals?

MARK RUDAN

Les was good because he liked me and that does help when the player has the confidence of his coach.

Les made me vice captain to Mark Viduka which was a great honor.

Also, he played with a back three which I utilise as a coach today.

 

ROGER SLEEMAN

Who was the major influence in your playing career and early development?

MARK RUDAN

Yaager and Sullivan encouraged me to have the belief I could go so far in the game but you needed to follow certain steps to get there.

After the 1997 World Cup loss to Iran in Melbourne, I went up to my colleagues from the AIS like Muscat, Horvat, Viduka and Moore who inspired me.

At the AIS, Ron Smith and Steve O’Connor converted me from midfield to central defence and playing next to Craig Moore was a great plus because he coached me in that position.

 

ROGER SLEEMAN

What did you learn playing in Japan at Avispa Fukuoka during the 2008 season ,and can you relate your experiences?

MARK RUDAN

I was 32 years of age when Pierre Littbarski took me there after I was coming out of contract with Sydney FC. Fortunately, John Kosmina was prepared to let me go because there wasn’t a long term future at the club for me.

Japan showed me what true professionalism was. If they could train six times a day they would because you had to drag them off the pitch.

I wished I’d gone there when I was younger because it would’ve developed me as a footballer.

Their youth system intrigued me and in my first training session in Japan, their first touch, positional play and passing ability were incredible

I watched their Youth Academy players who played 50-60 games from 13’s up, while training every day.

We talk about overkill and overtraining here but you only have to go there to see how they’ve achieved so much which changed my ideas on the youth system as it should be presented in Australia.

Foe every youth player who we rate in Australia, there are a thousand like them in Japan.

 

Western United’s Mark Rudan exclusive with Soccerscene

 

ROGER SLEEMAN

How important was your coaching experience at Sydney United?

MARK RUDAN

Sydney United is a high pressure club and I believed if I could cut my teeth for 3-5 years, it would be ideal for my coaching preparation.

I wasn’t a player who had a big name and could get a job easily so I had to do it the hard way with the necessary work input to provide longevity.

The year before , the club avoided relegation by one point so I was able to change the whole structure of the club , including the youth team setup.

In the first year we became champions of the NPL and we won the Australian Championship.

All in all we won two Australian Championships, two Premierships and the Waratah Cup in the five years I was at the club.

It was a great grounding before I received the offer from Wellington which helped me not to be overawed and end up on the scrapheap in the first year.

 

ROGER SLEEMAN

Your efforts at Wellington Phoenix were remarkable?

Can you explain how you did it?

MARK RUDAN

At the moment I walked into the club , I could see both players and staff were down.

I spoke to each board member, including chairman Rob Morrison and asked, do you think we can win a trophy?

There wasn’t much belief but I was optimistic and I wanted to rebuild just as I’d done at Sydney United.

It was a matter of planning to change the objectives and culture of the football club.

 

ROGER SLEEMAN

Roy Krishna was a large part of your success at Wellington.

How did you extract maximum value from him?

MARK RUDAN

I knew Roy had natural pace and he could finish.

I got to know him well and particularly his background so I was able to gain his respect and assist in his self motivation.

I changed his role to more of a central striker rather than a winger.

I told him before the season started he would be the leading striker in the A-League but he didn’t believe it.

We worked hard every day on his positioning, different runs and their timing and his finishing.

The fact he won the A-League Player of the Year and the Golden Boot in 2018/19, followed by Diamanti winning the player of the year in the recently concluded season were proud moments for me.

 

ROGER SLEEMAN

Could you tell us about Diamanti?

MARK RUDAN

As a coach, I needed to get the best out of him.

Initially, he called me Mr. as all the Italian players do.

However, I had to earn his respect and looking at his record, it was no different when I brought Steve Taylor to Wellington who was managed by some great people like Sir Bobby Robson.

Dimanti fitted into the culture of the club but I needed to fit him into the team pattern which he proved many times over.

 

ROGER SLEEMAN

A feature of your season at Western United was your ability to blend experience with youth, e.g. Diamanti, Berisha, Durante, Calvert and Paine with Perias, Dillon,Skotidis and Cavallo.

It was a brave step so were you confident of achieving success?

MARK RUDAN

Long days up to twelve hours in establishing the new player structure was the norm but as a coach it’s my job to get the best out of all players and develop their full potential for the team

Risdon had been out in the cold for a few seasons but came back to his best and returned to the Socceroo squad.

Also Paine was challenged and had his best year yet and Burgess came out of his shell and really hit his straps.

 

ROGER SLEEMAN

Besart Berisha was a revelation during the season.

How did you achieve that outcome?

MARK RUDAN

We knew he hadn’t played much football in the last twelve months after Victory let him go.

One conversation with him in Germany convinced me I wanted him for the new club because he revealed the mentality I required for the team to succeed.

Berisha is a great professional who doesn’t like being taken off and he gave me the glare when he was replaced in one match. I spoke to him about the importance of working together which really resonated with him.

He has that winning mentality and was so important in the winning streak of seven wins in eight games post COVID-19.

Young players looked up to him because in every moment he demonstrated his quest to improve performance, despite his age.

 

ROGER SLEEMAN

That magnificent goal setup by Dylan Pierias for Steve Lustica against Sydney FC in the second last round of normal competition was a spellbinder.

Why didn’t Pierias get more game time during the season?

MARK RUDAN

Pierias was previously an out and out winger so we had to improve his aerobic capacity for the wingback position. There’s no doubting his electrifying pace as he cruised past King and Tzavellas to design that goal against Sydney F.C.

This took all year to develop because he had to be trained in the wing back position and we had to improve his defensive qualities.

These young players are used to playing a 4-3-3 formation and find it hard to adjust to a 3-5-2 system.

4-3-3 only allows you to play with one striker and this is the reason we’re not producing any good strikers at the moment.

 

ROGER SLEEMAN

What is the future of Western United?

MARK RUDAN

It will be the biggest club in Australia within 5 years because its located in the largest growth corridor in the country and some of the best people in Australian football are on the Board and employed in the Executive.

I have a three year deal and I’d certainly like to be there for the opening game of the new stadium which is two to three years off.

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“Break the ceiling”: South Melbourne’s A-League ambition

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Image Credits: South Melbourne FC

South Melbourne is knocking on the A-League’s door again. The four-time National Soccer League champions formally signalled their intention to enter the A-Leagues earlier this month, opening discussions with the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) over potential A-League Men’s and Women’s licences. The timing was significant; the announcement came a day after the APL terminated Western United’s licence.

But South Melbourne’s ambitions are bigger than simply replacing Western United. The club and its co-president, Bill Papastergiadis, believe its recent success has demonstrated that it is ready for professional football once again. South won the inaugural Australian Championship in 2025, is competing professionally in the Oceania Professional League and has continued to make its mark in the Australia Cup, including a 2-1 victory over Adelaide United in July.

Time to open up

For co-president Bill Papastergiadis, however, the push is ultimately about something bigger than South Melbourne.

“The aspirations of South Melbourne, regarding A-League football, are not just a story about South Melbourne. It’s a story for the football public and the football community,” Papastergiadis said.

“It’s a story for all of us because football is a metaphor for life’s aspirations and football revolves around the ability to inspire, to improve, and to succeed.”

Papastergiadis believes the current structure of Australian football has created a ceiling for clubs outside the A-Leagues, one that limits ambition and, ultimately, competition.

“At the moment, the glass ceiling stifles that competition and stifles those aspirations, and at that upper level, and it’s to its detriment,” he said.

South Melbourne’s argument is closely tied to the history of the NSL, when clubs could be promoted and relegated based on their performances rather than being permanently separated into different tiers. Papastergiadis remembers the intensity that came with that system when South resided in the top flight of Australian football.

“I myself remember the intensity of the matches for the clubs that were in the relegation zone. Back then during the National Soccer League,” he said.

“It keeps clubs on their toes. Everyone is engaged when they know that there are ramifications for their actions and conduct. If there are no ramifications for that, how do you have accountability?”

That philosophy sits at the heart of South Melbourne’s A-League push. The club does not simply want to join the existing system; it wants to challenge the idea that the highest level of Australian football should be closed off from the rest of the pyramid. South Melbourne won the inaugural Australian Championship but, unlike in other systems, is not rewarded with top-flight football. The club has continued strongly in 2026, knocking out A-League side Adelaide United in the Australia Cup.

South Melbourne and Bill Papastergiadis celebrate a win in the Australia Cup Image Credits: Bill Papastergiadis

“Where is it in the football dictionary that winning a title doesn’t give you the opportunity to progress within the football pyramid?” Papastergiadis asked.

“All of the matches involving A-League clubs have been incredibly tight, and the majority of them were knocked out in the earlier rounds by numerous NPL clubs.

“So we can compete on the field; our crowds in the Australian Championship were more than comparable to the A-League crowds, quite often far better.”

That, he argues, makes South Melbourne a viable proposition.

“We are a viable option. It’s time to open up football and give it back to the public. The public deserves it, and it belongs to everyone.”

A familiar ambition

This is not the first time South Melbourne has tried to enter the A-League.

The club was overlooked when the competition was established in the mid-2000s and again in 2018, when the licence ultimately went to Western United. The latest attempt therefore carries history. The club that missed out on the opportunity to join the A-League in 2018 is now pursuing a place in the competition following Western United’s exit. But Papastergiadis is reluctant to predict what happens next. For now, South Melbourne has done what it believes it needs to do: start the conversation.

“It’s very early for me to comment on our prospects in relation to the A-League at this point,” he said.

“What we’ve simply done is done the appropriate thing, which is to write to the APL. Advise of our intention, advise of our interest.

“It’s in their hands to tell us if they’re interested in this story, if they’re interested in this outcome, and if they’re interested in this conversation.”

Papastergiadis has already spoken with APL chief executive Steve Rosich, who responded to South Melbourne’s initial approach.

“I had a conversation with Steve Rosich. He responded immediately, and we spoke on the phone, and it was appropriate, courteous, and responding quickly is what I’m trying to say,” Papastergiadis said.

“We advised of our intention. He thanked us for that. I indicated that we would progress to an even more formal document and he said he’ll wait to see that.

South Melbourne is ready to make their bid Image Credits: Greek Herald

There is no guarantee that South Melbourne will receive a licence, and Papastergiadis is clear that the next step is not entirely in the club’s hands.

“There is no certainty in this process,” Papastergiadis said.

“If you don’t ask, you don’t get. It’s up to Football Australia too, to show us the path forward. We need a path forward, and it’s up to the governing body to also work with us.”

The sustainability for Melbourne

The collapse of Western United has inevitably changed the context around South Melbourne’s bid.

Western United announced that the APL had terminated its participation agreement on August 10, while saying it would seek new ownership and a pathway back into the A-League. The club also emphasised the importance of maintaining a professional football presence in Melbourne’s west and continuing its academy and community programs. South Melbourne is now one of the clubs looking towards the opening created by Western United’s departure. But Papastergiadis does not celebrate another club’s demise.

Western United’s fans are left without an A-League club Image Credits: AAP

“I do want to make the point that I’m not happy about any club folding,” he said.

“I believe in football and in the football product, and I believe in football clubs.

For the players from juniors to senior levels, they must be gutted at Western United. Their administration staff, their coaching staff, they must all be gutted. So I feel for them.”

It is a notable distinction. South Melbourne’s ambition may have been reignited by the circumstances surrounding Western United. But for South there is a new opportunity to add to Melbourne football rather than take something away from it. The prospect of South Melbourne joining Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory in the A-League would immediately raise questions about whether the market could sustain another club.

A benefit to all

Papastergiadis has little doubt and points to Melbourne’s size, sporting culture and existing interest in football as reasons for optimism.

“Absolutely. We won’t cannibalise the football-attending public. We will increase it.” He said.

“There is significant potential within the Melbourne market. We reside in the largest city in Australia, and we reside in the sporting capital of Australia, if not the world.

“We will add to the fabric of football and will increase the attendance through derbies. It’s a positive.”

That is ultimately the argument behind South Melbourne’s latest attempt to break into the A-League. The club believes the benefits would extend beyond Lakeside Stadium. South Melbourne’s recent Australian Championship success, professional status in Oceania and strong performances against A-League opposition strengthen it’s case. NPL clubs can compete at the highest level, even if promotion and relegation remain off the table.

For now, South Melbourne can only wait. The APL and Football Australia will determine whether that football product has earned it a place at the top table. But Papastergiadis believes the question is worth asking, not just for South Melbourne, but for Australian football itself.

“Whatever South can achieve in regards to breaking through that glass barrier, then that’s not just the win for South, but it’s a win for football across the board.”

South Melbourne’s A-League dream is still a bridge too far

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Image Credits: Soccerscene

The A-League has just lost a Victorian club. The death of Western United and the suspension of its license by the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) on August 10th was inevitable. The club says it wants to rebuild and eventually return to the competition. That is unlikely to happen considering the search for new owners has to begin.

But one day after the announcement from Western United, South Melbourne stepped forward. The four-time NSL winners announced their intention to begin formal discussions with the APL about joining the A-Leagues. They believe the timing is right. Their argument is understandable. Their football credentials and history are stronger than most A-League teams.

But there is a problem. South Melbourne may have the history. It may have the supporters. It may even have one of the most attractive potential derbies in Australian football. But that does not mean it will get an A-League licence.

In fact, the more realistic prediction from my perspective is that South Melbourne will once again be told no.

South Melbourne has never been better placed

There is plenty to like about South Melbourne’s position. The club is not simply relying on its history. South Melbourne returned to national competition through the inaugural Australian Championship in 2025. It did not merely participate. South Melbourne won it. The club defeated Marconi Stallions 2-0 in the final to become the competition’s first champion.

That achievement matters. The Australian Championship was created to bridge state-based football and the professional game. Whilst it is seen as a second tier, there is no promotion and relegation with the A-League. But it has also continued to perform on the national stage. In the 2026 Australia Cup, which South Melbourne qualified for, they reached the final rounds and then produced one of the biggest results of the tournament.

Adelaide United came to Lakeside Stadium. South Melbourne won 2-1. Adelaide had won the Australia Cup three times. South knocked them out in front of its own supporters. They’re now into the quarter-finals of the 2026 Australia Cup.

South Melbourne celebrating the Australian Championship Image Credits: South Melbourne FC

The club also has a much bigger story to tell than its recent results. Alongside its four NSL victories, the club also won the 1999 Oceania Club Championship and represented Oceania at the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship. The club has a dedicated supporter base and the history to deserve a place.

The club says its Oceania Professional League participation has helped make it Australia’s 13th professional football club. It has more than 150 businesses supporting it in 2026 and a long-term arrangement at Lakeside Stadium, in the heart of South Melbourne.

On the football side, it wants to continue competing in the NPL, Australian Championship and Oceania competition even if it enters the A-Leagues. It also has lofty ambitions to introduce an A-League women’s side.

On paper, it is difficult to argue that South Melbourne is not ready. The problem is that readiness and admission are two different things.

Third time’s the charm?

South Melbourne’s current push is not new. It has been here before. The club was pursuing an A-League return almost immediately after the NSL disappeared. In 2007, South announced its interest in becoming the second Victorian A-League club.

Then came the 2008-09 process. South Melbourne backed the Southern Cross bid for the second Victorian licence. The club proposed a new team based around the redevelopment of Bob Jane Stadium and involvement from the broader Victorian football community.

It lost. The Melbourne Heart bid won the race and eventually became Melbourne City. That was South Melbourne’s first major warning. Its football heritage was not enough. Its second major attempt came almost a decade later.

The 2017-18 expansion process produced the most serious South Melbourne bid yet. South made the shortlist for an expanded A-League licence. It ultimately lost to Western United. Bill Papastergiadis has since explained that he did not genuinely expect South Melbourne to win in 2018, despite believing strongly that the club belonged in the A-League. He also reflected on the barriers facing a traditional club trying to enter the existing Victorian professional football ecosystem.

That is important context for today’s bid. South Melbourne is not entering negotiations without understanding how difficult the politics and economics of the Victorian football market can be. The club has tried the direct route twice. Neither time worked.

The Western United lesson

This is where the current situation becomes complicated. In isolation, adding South Melbourne would be fantastic for the A-League. Imagine South Melbourne against Melbourne Victory. The atmosphere would be enormous.

There is a genuine football rivalry waiting to happen. South itself points to the potential for ready-made derbies and commercial interest. But the argument that Melbourne should simply have three A-League clubs because Melbourne is a huge city ignores what has just happened to Western United.

Western United was supposed to represent Melbourne’s rapidly growing west. Its original vision centred on a major project in Geelong. The club eventually moved into Ironbark Fields in Tarneit in 2024.

Yet the geographic separation never became as clear as the original concept suggested. Western United was not a Geelong club. It was not a regional Victorian club in the traditional sense. It was a western Melbourne club based and that matters.

The A-League already has Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory. Adding South Melbourne would give the competition three clubs operating within the same metropolitan football market. It is not necessarily brilliant for the business model, which has already lost a club operating on the outskirts of Melbourne.

The NSL offers an interesting historical comparison. The Falcons provide an even more striking Victorian example. They became the first and only regional Victorian club to play in the NSL, reaching the finals in 1996. The distinction is important.

A national competition can expand its footprint by adding genuinely new markets. That is different from adding another club inside an existing Melbourne metropolitan market. That was what was envisioned for Western United, and it failed quickly.

Will the APL see South Melbourne as a safe investment? Despite the fact they’re a well-established club, I’d argue the answer is no.

Promotion and relegation is the only realistic route

There is one scenario where South Melbourne could eventually force its way into the A-League, and that’s the great missing piece of Australian football. Promotion and relegation. South Melbourne would not need somebody to decide that Melbourne suddenly has room for another licence. It would simply need to earn it.

They would have done just that in 2025, winning the Australian Championship if the football pyramid was open. Football Australia originally designed the National Second Tier with the possibility of promotion and relegation being considered once the competition matured.

The format connects NPL clubs and established foundation clubs with national competition. It does not provide a sporting pathway into the A-League. South Melbourne can win the Australian Championship, NSL and Australia Cup but none of those achievements automatically produce an A-League licence.

South Melbourne in the Oceania Championship Image Credits: Oceania Championship

Opening the pyramid is far more complicated than simply announcing promotion and relegation. Australia’s football calendar is fragmented. The A-League operates primarily through the summer months. The NPL operates through the winter and early spring. For the 2026-27 season, the A-League Men runs from October to June, while the NPL begins in February and finishes in September.

That creates an enormous structural problem for a fully connected pyramid. The clubs below the A-League would need to operate at a level capable of supporting professional football. If the A-League aligned with the NPL and the lower pyramid, it would compete in a football calendar that already has to coexist with Australia’s other major winter sports. That is a difficult feat against bigger leagues such as the AFL and NRL.

Beyond that, clubs lower down would need travel budgets and to survive commercially would take real sacrifice from all parties to make that work. The A-League’s existing clubs also have something to lose. They have invested heavily in their licences and their businesses.

Historically, A-League licences were extended through to 2034, while those licence arrangements have included provisions allowing promotion and relegation to be introduced. But the existing clubs will do everything in their power to block it. Promotion and relegation removes certainty. An A-League club can finish last in the current system with no threat to their place. Under relegation, its place is no longer guaranteed.

That is a major commercial change for clubs that have invested in securing their position in the competition. It is therefore difficult to imagine the A-League opening the door. The A-League’s licensing system gives the competition enormous control over who enters, and for South Melbourne historically they’ve been left out in the cold.

South Melbourne deserves the conversation.

The frustrating part is South Melbourne has probably never had a stronger argument. It has history, supporters, infrastructure, commercial support and most importantly, ambition. Beating A-League clubs in national competition proves the capability is there.

It deserves to be in the conversation. But being in the conversation is not the same as being selected. The Western United experience should be a warning. If the A-League could not make the Western United project work, it is difficult to see why it would suddenly decide that another Melbourne club is the answer.

South Melbourne may be the better football story. It may even be the better football club. But the A-League is not simply selecting the best football story.

It is selecting a professional competition, and until Australia embraces a genuine promotion and relegation system, South Melbourne’s path back to the top flight will remain dependent on someone handing it a licence.

That is the part of the dream that looks unrealistic. South Melbourne can keep knocking and it should. They always say third time’s the charm. But unless the pyramid is opened, I expect the door to remain closed.

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