Brisbane Roar captain Matt Smith has revealed his bold ambitions for his footballing future, including the option of a two-year coaching deal at the club on the end of his newly-signed playing contract.
Brisbane Roar captain Matt Smith has revealed his bold ambitions for his footballing future, including the option of a two-year coaching deal at the club on the end of his newly-signed playing contract.
Fresh from penning his three-year extension, currently bringing his playing career until the end of the Hyundai A-League 2015/16 season, Smith explained the details of his new contract which include an additional two-year playing option as well as progression into a coaching role after that.
“I want to try and play for as long as I can,” the English-born central defender said.
“That might be three years, five years, eight years – who knows?
“My biggest priority is making sure I can still be competitive within the first team squad.
“I-m 29 now and I think I can certainly go throughout those five years and we-ll see what happens after that.
“The option of continuing to build the culture of this club, not only from a playing perspective but from a coaching perspective, really appealed to me.
“When the club asked if I-d be interested in coaching here after my playing career, it was something I was very excited about.”
While he-s completely focused at the footballing task at hand, including guiding Brisbane to a third straight Hyundai A-League Championship, it hasn-t stopped Smith from developing his coaching skills in his own time – starting at grassroots level.
And as part of his new contract, he-ll have to fulfil all requirements of a Hyundai A-League coach before taking up any role in the Roar coaching department.
“While I-m still playing, the aim is to get my C, B, A and Pro Licenses so that when I finish playing football, I can jump straight into a coaching position,” Smith said.
“I do some coaching externally through the SAP [Skills Acquisition Program] and I do coaching, particularly in the off-season, at local clubs around Brisbane.
“I enjoy coaching kids who want to learn, I enjoy coaching kids who have that passion and that determination and want to get better.”
But mostly, Smith-s motivation and drive to succeed stems from within the Brisbane Roar set-up and he admits he-s increasing his knowledge base on a daily basis.
“I-ve learnt a lot from the management over the past two years with Ange [Postecoglou]-s style, Rado [Vidosic]-s style and even the way Kenny [Stead] works,” he said.
“I-m picking up things every day, which I-m preaching to my kids that I-m coaching in the off-season.
“Every single day, I go home and I write down everything we do in training.
“For all players, you-re only one game away from an injury so it-s important to try and plan your future.
“Ideally, one day, I-d love to be the first team coach here.
“I-ve got to start somewhere and that-s here.”
Smith-s contract extension was announced, alongside that of teammates Shane Stefanutto, Michael Theo, Thomas Broich, Henrique and Ivan Franjic, in Brisbane Roar-s mass re-signing press conference at Mount Coot-tha yesterday.
Brisbane Roar continue their pre-season campaign with a fixture against Sydney FC at Virgin Australia Stadium in Mackay on Sunday. The match kicks off at 3pm. Tickets available at www.mackaytix.com.au.
