Following the announcement of Australian Dario Vidošić as Brighton & Hove Albion’s manager, The Halfway Line looks at how he has developed as a coach, and the different challenges that the FA WSL presents. 

New Brighton & Hove Albion manager Dario Vidošić’s football philosophy can be best summed up in his own words, “When we don’t have the ball, I suffer.” 

This is what the Barclays Women’s Super League’s latest recruit said at the start of his Melbourne City tenure, and his outlook barely changed in two seasons on the way to the club’s first premiership since 2019. 

Tenure at Melbourne City

Vidošić’s move to one of the world’s highest profile leagues may come as a surprise, but so too did his appointment at Melbourne City. Although he was an assistant at the club and a former Socceroo, it was a controversial decision at the time for numerous reasons.

He replaced his father Rado Vidošić, after the well-regarded women’s coach made the move across to the men’s side. This was seen by some as Melbourne City viewing the women’s side as a second priority, especially after Rado had recruited aggressively and deliberately in for the 2022/23 season. 

The club’s previous success was built on signing the biggest names in Australian football, but he based this rebuild around the most promising young players in the country- it was a team of Matildas in waiting. 

When Rado moved to the men’s team, Dario replaced him without much delay. The appointment felt hurried, and an inexperienced coach was essentially handed control over many of Australia’s Under 20 and Under 23 national team players. There was some consternation. How would a rookie coach, eager to earn a winning reputation the demand for results, while developing the next generation of Matilda’s on a daily basis?

The next two years would see Vidošić learn and grow alongside his young side. To his credit, he placed trust in his side at his disposal, despite their collective inexperience. Daniela Galic was given key playmaking and attacking roles despite being just 16 in their first season together. As a former number 10 in his playing days, Vidošić gave Galic the freedom to express herself and develop her game along with her standing reputation as a match-winner. 

Vidošić also was unafraid to move players into varying roles. Bryleeh Henry was signed as a striker, but ultimately won the premiership as a full back. Kaitlyn Torpey was used in defence, midfield and attack on her way to a transfer to San Diego wave and senior Matildas debut. 

Although he was flexible with his players and formations, Vidošić was almost unwavering about his preferred playing style. Melbourne City would keep the ball for the majority of each 90 minutes. Over the past two seasons they dominated the possession stats, sometimes preferring to pass the ball endlessly in search of the perfect scoring opportunity. 

They would also play the ball out from defence or goal kicks and long clearing kicks were a last resort. They would knock the ball around the back four and midfield, daring the opposition to take it from them. 

The problem was, sometimes the opposition did dare, and sometimes they succeeded. Whenever City lost, it was through the same method,  pressuring the defenders as they tried to maintain possession. 

A New Era for the Seagulls

It feels unlikely that Brighton & Hove Albion can achieve 70% possession on a regular basis. Vidošić may need to compromise on his long-held beliefs about how successful football is played. Or, he may commit to this approach, recruit accordingly, and leave Brighton fans chewing on their fingernails as the defenders concoct another escape from deep in their own half. 

The challenge will be trying to dominate games without the most well financed and attractive clubs in the league behind him. No disrespect is meant to Brighton by this, but Melbourne City have the reputation, and facilities to attract almost any player in Australian football. Brighton will be underdogs on more occasions that City ever were given the calibre of their English counterparts. 

Although his overall game play barely changed over two seasons, Vidošićshowed impressive improvement. They finished third in his first season at the helm, but failed to defeat any of the other top four sides in 2022/23. 

This was rectified in the following year when they claimed the premiership on the final day of the campaign. Although a mid-season dip in form left the title in the hands of Sydney FC. They won their last match against Perth Glory to clinch top spot.

The scorer of the defining goal that day was 15-year-old Shelby McMahon. The Junior Matilda was just the latest youngster to be given an opportunity and delivered with it mattered. 

Vidošić’s faith in youth was not universal though. He preferred 44-year-old legend Melissa Barbier to Young Matilda’s custodian Sally James in goal, and highly regarded centre back Naomi Chinnama was too often overlooked for international recruits.  However in attack, he embraced the skill and enthusiasm of youth and many improved under his mentorship. 

This approach may have to change at Brighton. The modern A-League Women relies on young players, and City had many of the best ones. How he approaches recruitment and the use of the club’s academies will be interesting to watch. 

A new challenge awaits

Vidošić is one of Australia’s most interesting coaching prospects. He almost lucked into the role at City, but made the most of the opportunity and placed his own imprint on the team. He is uncompromising in his style, almost stubbornly so, but it has yielded results and although there was an obvious hap between City and the other finals contenders in his first season, this was emphatically rectified in his second despite minimal personnel changes. 

How he will fare under very different circumstances at Brighton & Hove Albion remains to be seen. But this appointment shows ambition by the club, and an indicator of how they want to play, which should excite fans. 

The prospect of Vidosic’s style mixed with the influx of class and experience delivered by Fran Kirby’s arrival could rocket Brighton up the table, or the flaws in his game plan could be ruthlessly exposed by the pressing teams in the faster-paced WSL.

It will be of interest to Australian fans to see how Vidosic progresses in this next stage of his career. During his time in the A-League Women he has helped guide some of the young rising stars of the game. Now at just 37 and in the international spotlight of English football, he has become one himself.