Dressed to the nines and with swagger in every step, new Melbourne City boss Erick Mombaerts says his job is simple – implement the “City style of play.”
The Frenchman spent time at Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan – another club owned by the City Football Group – and seeks to integrate a style at Melbourne City consistent with CFG ideology.
Mombaerts intends for his impact to be immediate – having the next few months of pre-season to prepare his squad and inject an identity and style “fans can be proud of.”
“The main objective we want to achieve is to give our team an identity…we are in the City Football Group and I want to set up our style of play [as] this offensive style,” he said.
“This is difficult to set up on the field but I am very confident our players will be able to do this, I also want to give this identity of play and I hope our fans would be proud about this.
“We want this identity to be [implemented] immediately not after many years, I want to change a lot of things, the identity hopefully in a few months.
“I want to set up our style for the first team but as to help our whole academy to develop this style of play.
“It is important for our academy players to reach this level so in the future we could have players who can play this style of way.”
Mombaerts – who signed a three-year-contract with the club – believes success will come as a result of correctly implementing the CFG style.
City are yet to win an A-League Premiership or Championship and have never qualified for the Asian Champions League, something which has frustrated fans.
While Mombaerts says he will recruit players who fit his system, he will work to develop players to be tactically aware and capable of making the right decisions under pressure.
“We think at the City Group the best quality for a player tactical decision making to play right and in well-timed movements which is the most difficult.
“Maybe it is in this way the young Australian players need to improve, tactical pressure also to reach higher levels a player needs to have good tactical decision making but under pressure.”
“It’s a big challenge to achieve this but we work hard to achieve and to win something, the title for example and the [Asian Champion League] we want to do this.
“But the best way to do this is to set up our style of play so we are confident to do this in this way, we want to win something and reach this level.”
Mombaerts’ first opportunity in charge will come later this month when Melbourne City meet Campbelltown City in the FFA Cup Round of 32.
