A-League

No worries ... Kosmina is relaxed despite his ban. Pic: Kelly Barnes

Coach makes mockery of ban

By Andrew McGarry
February 16, 2007

AS John Kosmina waited for the almost inevitable news he would be banished to the grandstand for Sunday's A-League grand final, he was in good humour.

Kosmina was a picture of calm at Hindmarsh Stadium, cracking jokes about Adelaide's plans for him and assistant coach Aurelio Vidmar to communicate if he were banned from the touchlines.

"We've got a long piece of string and two jam tins," Kosmina said.

Kosmina's outburst at referee Matthew Breeze after last Sunday's win over Newcastle led to a five-match ban from the touchline, starting with the grand final against Melbourne Victory.

Coming after he was banned for four matches (two suspended) for grabbing Melbourne captain Kevin Muscat by the throat in a sideline confrontation last October, it only added to his reputation as a fiery, combative coach.

Kosmina's actions have drawn harsh criticism - one newspaper ran a headline 'YOU IDIOT', but the Adelaide coach said in an interview with The Australian that the flak did not affect him.

"No, I've been around too long for what happens in the media to bother me too much," Kosmina said. "My focus is on what we do at training and then assessing what we do at training and what we need to do for the next session and ... for the game on the weekend.

"The media - good, bad or indifferent - doesn't really bother me. They're an integral part of the game and players and coaches have to learn how to live with it."

Kosmina would not discuss his indiscretions, preferring instead to discuss his side's chances on Sunday and its recent performances. He conceded that his side deliberately pulled back when it took the lead against Melbourne in the major semi-final and Newcastle in the preliminary final.

"It was probably a more conscious thing, especially in Melbourne. I think we took the lead too early in that major semi-final at Telstra Dome," he said, referring to Travis Dodd's fourth-minute strike.

"To score that early it's like not scoring at all ... you can't withstand pressure for 90 minutes, games ebb and flow, and it doesn't matter who the team is, the best teams in the world concede ground for periods of time during any match."

Kosmina got a big buzz out of making it to the grand final the hard way, via extra-time and penalties against the Jets.

You get the feeling he would like nothing better than to grab a last-minute winner over Melbourne or even another heart-stopping win on penalties.

"To get to the grand final (was great) ... penalty shoot-outs are always dramatic, and to do it that way in such a game (was great) as well, because it was a fantastic game of football from both sides, fantastic performance," he said.

"To make it through to the grand final, back to Telstra Dome, in front of a full house, we're really looking forward to it. It's up there among the best (moments of my career), if not the best."

Kosmina is excited about the emergence of new talent in Adelaide's ranks this year, including Jason Spagnuolo, 22, and Olyroo duo Nathan Burns, 18, and Bruce Djite, 19. His undoubted passion for the game extends to the league's future.

He is concerned about the limited talent pool for A-League clubs, which would become even smaller if the league expanded.

"We've proved in the past with the likes of Mark Viduka, your Frank Farinas, our own Aurelio and Tony Vidmar as well, they were all recognised (NSL) players before they went overseas," he said.

"That stood them in good stead, the old NSL was a good competition and the A-League is a better one. It's far better in terms of the quality and the intensity. But we need to be pushing the kids through the system, and that's why my biggest beef at the moment is that we don't have a youth league.

"We're not far behind Europe. What we need to do now is spit the numbers out, get the kids through the system and get them up and playing as quickly as possible - and we'll have a healthy league for years to come."

Kosmina has been linked with Sydney FC for next season even though he is contracted to Adelaide for another year, and has said he hopes to stay at Adelaide well beyond the end of his contract.

Asked whether his long-term dream would be to coach the national side he once captained, Kosmina said the Australia coaching spot would be "icing on the cake" if it happened.

"I've had an opportunity and I appreciate Graham Arnold and the FFA for giving it to me.

"I enjoyed that but it's only been, as far as I'm concerned, an interim or a part-time role," he said. "The club's always come first ... your bread and butter's your club and that's where your heart and your soul has to be."

Kosmina's heart and soul will have to make do in the stand on Sunday.

The club said last night that it would not appeal against Football Federation Australia's decision, but left open the way for Kosmina to do so.

Chief executive Michael Petrillo said Kosmina wasn't backing away from the fact it was wrong to verbally confront a referee, but that he was still considering whether to appeal.

"John's certainly aware of that, and he's disappointed at his reaction, he's apologised to the club," Petrillo told ABC radio last night. "He's not denying he had a go at the referee, (but) he believes the words he's accused of using weren't the words he used."