Brisbane Roar is proud to announce we have appointed Johnathan Clemente as Head Coach of our Ninja A-League Women team on a two-year deal.
With this appointment, Clemente becomes the youngest head coach in A-League history, at just 27 years of age. He now takes over a young and exciting women’s squad oozing with Queensland talent that finished fourth last season, reaching the semi-finals.
Clemente joins the Roar from Melbourne Victory, where he spent four seasons as assistant to Jeff Hopkins, the most successful coach in the history of the Australian women’s competition. During his time at Victory, Clemente also led the NPLW, Female Pathways and the Melbourne Victory Afghan Women’s Team programs.
Before Victory he was a head coach in his own right. He took over a recently relegated Essendon Royals women’s side at 19 years old and won promotion in his first season, which kickstarted the Royals rise towards the top of Victorian Football. At 20 years old, he became the youngest senior head coach in the NPL, taking charge at Heidelberg United, where over three seasons he delivered the club’s highest league finish in twelve years at the time and developed ten players into A-League squads, a tenure which elevated Heidelberg as one of the powerhouses in Victorian Football.
Speaking on joining the club, Johnathan said, “I am incredibly honoured at the opportunity to lead of one of the most successful clubs in the country, with one of the best squads in the league and to do it in one of the most beautiful places in the world”
“I see exciting parallels between Brisbane Roar and my own journey. We’ve been hungry, ambitious and have spent the past few years building strong foundations. Now it’s our time to come together and establish ourselves at the pinnacle of women’s football in this country.”
“Alex Smith and the squad were tremendous last season, finishing fourth and were one game away from a Grand Final, with a host of exciting, young, local talent. I’ll be looking to build on the great work, create consistency & continue the upward trajectory of the program.
“Our team will be built around shared principles, not set structures, with the objective being not how we play, but how we feel. We want our fans to believe in the fluid football they’ll see, we want our young girls in the crowd to believe they can represent Brisbane one day and we want our squad to believe that when you represent our team & our state, anything is possible.”
“Being the only professional pathway for Women in the state is a great responsibility and it is a great honour to help continue Queensland’s traditions of developing the next generation of Matildas.”
Speaking on the appointment of Johnathan, Brisbane Roar Sporting Director James Gow said, “Johnathan is coach with a very clear idea of how he wants to play, train and develop his team. We conducted a thorough recruitment process and his desire for the role and clarity in how he works stood out.
“Despite his young age he has a lot of experience in the A-League Women’s space. He really buys into the strategy we as a club wish to execute. We are looking forward to welcoming him and seeing him get to work.”
Brisbane Roar now looks forward to further announcements to come soon regarding players for the upcoming season.
