Melbourne City FC has today announced the appointment of Erick Mombaerts as its new A-League Head Coach on a three-year deal.
Hailing from northern France, Mombaerts’ experience extends far and wide having coached in France’s Ligue 1 with Paris Saint Germain (1987-88), Toulouse FC (2001-06) and Ligue 2 with Le Havre AC (2012-14), before three seasons in Japan including guiding Yokohama F. Marinos to an Emperor’s Cup final in 2017.
Sandwiched between Toulouse FC and Le Havre AC, Mombaerts took charge of France’s U-18 national team in 2007-08 before progressing to manage the French U-21s from 2008-12, coaching world-class talents including now FIFA World Cup winners, Raphael Varane (Real Madrid) and Antoine Griezmann, and current Manchester City players Riyad Mahrez and Benjamin Mendy.
Mombaerts’ appointment follows an international recruitment process led by Melbourne City City’s Director of Football, Michael Petrillo, and City Football Group’s Global Football team, led by Brian Marwood.
Announcing the appointment, Melbourne City FC CEO, Brad Rowse said:
“Erick has enjoyed success in France and Japan while playing the kind of attacking, progressive style of football that Melbourne City FC is striving for,” said Rowse.
“He has worked with some incredible talent during his career and has shown a commitment to the development of younger players which is critical to our success given the quality and depth of our youth development programmes.
“With the support of City Football Group, we conducted a wide-ranging and rigorous search of candidates in Europe, Asia and Australia, involving extensive background data and video analysis before meeting with Erick in person. His experience and knowledge of the game, and his values and passion to help take the Club forward make him the ideal person to guide our pursuit of a maiden A-League title.
“Our ambitions remain unchanged; we want to be constantly competing for silverware and playing in the Asian Champions League. We’re confident Erick can help us achieve this.”
New Head Coach, Erick Mombaerts said:
“I am delighted to join Melbourne City at this exciting time for the Club. I am here to achieve two main objectives – to implement a style of play that gives the team a clear identity, and in doing so to win silverware.
“Having worked in both Japan and in Manchester with City Football Group, I know the City style of play inside out. It is my challenge now to bring my experience to Melbourne, which has a different set of players and a different football culture, and to apply it so that we can win.
“It is also very important to me that fans can feel proud of how we play, and that they will enjoy the whole experience watching the game.
“We have some fantastic young talent, some exciting new signings and a solid existing squad. My focus now is on our pre-season preparation, together with my coaching team, who provide a fantastic combination of local and international experience. Our hard work begins today.”
Joining Mombaerts and existing Assistant Coach Patrick Kisnorbo, will be Australian Goalkeeper Coach, Neil Young. After a long-playing career in Western Australia and the A-League, Young has transitioned into coaching at A-League clubs and in Asia, most recently at Thai club, Buriram United.
Mombaerts and his coaching team will arrive in Melbourne for pre-season training in early July.
