Arthur Papas could be viewed as the Tom Rogic of the manager stakes, one of the best up and coming managers in our country. After becoming the youngest ever coach of the year in the Victorian Premier League in 2011 Papas then moved onto assistant/youth coaching roles at Newcastle and Melbourne Heart respectively before a call from India came along. Papas is currently in a dual role as head coach of I-League side Pallian Arrows and the India u/23 national side. Arthur lives for coaching and our game, he recently just completed his Masters in Sports coaching whilst juggling the two head coaching roles. Hes a worker, a coach that does everything at 100% like Tony Popovic does with the highly successful Western Sydney Wanderers. We would like to thank Arthur for giving us the time and commitment with his interview, his answers are so detailed we had to do this interview in two parts.
Is it true that you began coaching at the age of just 16, if so what drew
you towards coaching?. (inside)
I didn’t actually coach a team at the age of 16, however I did enroll in
my first coaching course at that age. It wasn’t necessarily though
because I was eyeing a coaching career, at that stage I was a young
player who would always think about the game so I wanted to look at
other avenues to develop my game and increase my awareness.
Is it true that you Studied an official KNVB course when starting out?.
In 2008 I attended the KNVB Youth Course being held at the Australian
Institute of Sport. At that stage I was also completing my Exercise
Science Degree and working as an Assistant Coach with the Melbourne
Knights in the Victorian Premier League. This KNVB course was a great
learning experience and the instructors on the course were very
humble, open and knowledgeable, traits I consider necessary when
establishing a positive learning environment. In fact one of the
Instructors Arie Schans was so open that he made the time to meet in
Holland at the end of that year. Through him I was able to visit the
KNVB Training Centre in Zeist as well as watch Vitesse Arnhem and
Utrecht FC in their training environments. One of the best decisions I
made was attending that course! (AP)
The Dutch are sought after in the coaching world, why is that exactly?. (inside)
Based on my experiences it is a combination of understanding their
culture and then how their football has evolved. Dutch people as a given
seek adventure and new experiences, this is a given. Football wise you
only have to think about the size of their population and then reflect on
the level of football they have produced for so long to understand that
they have a system in place which optimizes their potential. I only can
go off my own experiences but some of the Dutch people I have had the
opportunity to work with have been a real breath of fresh air, it has
given me the extra motivation to believe I can carve out a future as a
professional football coach. (AP)
Your first big break came in the VPL with Oakleigh Cannons , which
ultimately you went on to win coach of the year that's no easy feat
considering the VPL is of a good quality what was it like finally being the
man in charge?. (inside)
It was definitely a break out year but it wasn’t what I consider my big
break. What I consider my big break was when I was offered the
Australian Institute of Sport/FFA Men’s Scholarship Coach Position. For
those two years I was able to work in an environment under two
excellent coaches in Jan Versleijen and Gary Van Egmond with the
focus being on developing my coaching on all levels, most pleasing part
of this period was that when I left I was certain I had soaked up every
possible minute of my time there. (AP)
Oakleigh was the place I wanted to put into practice all I had learned
over the years. It was a very enjoyable coaching experience as I was
responsible for all the decisions and that feeling of accountability made
me work even harder. It was a bold move by them at the time and I
always will appreciate the opportunity they gave me. It’s no coincidence
I guess that Oakleigh has sent nearly 10 players to the A-league in the
last few years because they are willing to give younger people a go. (AP)
Then you moved onto the Newcastle jets In a dual role of head coach of
the youth team and assistant to the first team was it a big step up from
Oakleigh?.
Not a big step up at all. Our State League system is underrated in
Australia and often not given the credit it deserves. Being a Head
Coach in the Victorian Premier League came with much more pressure
and need to learn on the job compared to being an Assistant in the ALeague.
Main differences though was that I moves back to full-time
football per se but I can assure you when I was Head Coach in the VPL
it culminated in full-time hours, also you work with on most cases a
higher level of player and within better facilities in the A-League. What I
did confirm though is that there are some very good players playing in
the State Leagues and if given the opportunity would forge very good ALeague
and possible international careers. There are to many examples
already in the past few years not to believe this is the case. (AP)
You've been quoted as saying that you only left Newcastle because of
the uncertainty hanging around the club now that is sorted do you wish
you had stayed?. Not true at all. I left Newcastle for three reasons, those being ambition,
challenge and opportunity. It’s always been an ambition of mine to
coach internationally as well as experience football as part of a different
culture. Challenge was to then prove to myself that I can take my
coaching style and adapt it to such a diverse country and culture and
lastly because the opportunity allowed me to fulfill these reasons and
there has not been one minute where I have looked back upon this
decision. I enjoyed my time in Newcastle and it’s a beautiful part of
Australia and the club was good to me, but I would have regretted not
taking on such a big challenge as coaching internationally at U23 level
with a National Team against the strongest countries in Asia. You
shouldn’t regret the moment you take on an opportunity that without a
doubt has made me a better coach, manager and person. If anything
having this experience should make me more valuable to any
organisation back home in the future because I am well educated on the
challenges of coaching in Asia. (AP)
Then came your interesting move to India, why India ?. (inside)
India because the opportunity to become a Head Coach of the Men’s
Olympic Team, to coach in the I-league and to learn more and more
about myself as well football in Asia was too good not to accept. I know
comfortably that I could have remained in Newcastle or Melbourne and
stayed within the A-League system as an Assistant for 6-7 years and
this in itself is something that is comfortable and enjoyable if you like to
live this way. However, there is something inside me that just wants to
push boundaries, have no regrets, challenge myself and maximize how
much I can learn. So I saw this as something exciting and decided this is what suits my
character best because I have never had anything come to me easy
and the moment you become comfortable or complacent you can go
stale and lose your competitiveness and desire. I’d rather not be
coaching if I reach this stage!. (AP)
I bet you have seen some interesting things? (inside)
Eye opening might be the best way of summating! India feels like many
different countries within the same country. It has really afforded me a
beautiful perspective on how good we have it in Australia and I keep
saying to anyone who will listen that the traits I will have developed by
the time I return home is ‘patience’ & ‘adaptability’. I have never been
the most patient of types but one of the areas you have to accept when
you work in a different country is that you are the one who needs to
adapt and not the other way around, for this reason alone it has
developed my human side and improved my coaching. Living in India
humbles you as a person, and humility is a trait I admire and I will return
home a much more patient and worldly human, football is secondary in
comparison to what I have experienced as a person. (AP)
You are coach of the I league team Pallian Arrows and u/23 India coach
is it difficult to juggle the two roles?. (inside)
It only becomes difficult when you want to scout players around the
country but instead need to be coaching day in, day out for an I-League
match on a weekly basis. It also has its positives though because the
bulk of my Olympic team is signed to the Arrows so this continuity in
training, coaching and system allows us to maximize our development
as a team for AFC Tournaments. All remaining equal this will bode very
well for the next qualifying campaign. (AP)
For interested football fans back home can you describe the standard of
the I - League?. (inside)
I have limited background knowledge regarding the history but my
understanding is that the level has increased very quickly in the space
of 2-3 years. There is strong financial support in many I-League clubs
and the challenge for the clubs is to invest in facilities, infrastructure,
coaching and youth development. Once the clubs adapt a holistic
approach to football then only then can I see the league making greater
strides. In saying that when you now have players such as Carlos
Hernandez joining it shows that the level is maybe higher than
perceived externally. (AP)
Sean Rooney and Tolgay Ozbey play there I'm sure it's not the last we
see of Aussie footballers plying their trade over there?. (inside)
I have been asked many times to recommend players from Australia as
the clubs here appreciate the mentality that the Australian player brings.
I can’t see why there will not be more and more Australians join the
likes of Tolgay in India as it can be very lucrative and the attention and
adulation you receive from the fans is something you have to see to
believe. Supporters over here are as passionate and fanatical as I have
seen anywhere, you won’t go many places around the world where you
have the domestic league derby drawing 100,000 such as the one in
Kolkata! (AP)
Do you model your mangement style of any particular manager?. (inside)
This is such a unique profession that it’s impossible to model yourself
on one person in particular. You need to be your own person and forge
your own identity that suits your personality. However, as a manager
you are always looking for sources of inspiration or ways to enhance
yourself and from that point I like to learn about the various ways the
best managers have evolved their management style. (AP)
Stay tuned for part two.
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