‘Work hard and fight hard’: how Melbourne City stopped flattering to deceive | Jonathan Howcroft
24-May-2021 17:30:07 | The Guardian
The newly crowned A-League premiers are on an upward trajectory. Jonathan Howcroft speaks to the main architects behind a transformative season
Melbourne City’s march to this year’s A-League premiers’ plate began in defeat. “You don’t want to feel like this again,” said coach Patrick Kisnorbo as City’s players licked their wounds after falling to Sydney FC in last year’s grand final. “You learn most through your darkest times.”
At that point Kisnorbo was assistant to Erick Mombaerts. Now he has the top job, and less than a year into it, with largely the same squad, his team are finally living up to the lofty expectations that come with City Football Group ownership – on Saturday, City secured their first premiers’ plate, thanks to a 1-0 win over Central Coast.
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There were times in pre-season when the boys were pushing themselves hard, right to their limits
My demands aren’t just for the derbies. My demands are the same every day at training
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