John Aloisi and Hayden Foxe joined forces at the Melbourne club in July 2021 – and led them to the A-League championship in their maiden season.
To achieve the impressive feat, they had to overcome defending holders Melbourne City in Saturday’s grand final.
And they achieved it courtesy of a 2-0 success in front of 22,495 fans at AAMI Park.
United had gambled on Aloisi as coach, who hadn’t coached for three years following his dismissal at Brisbane Roar in 2018.
The 46-year-old linked up with Foxe, who serves as his assistant, and they were challenged to transform a side which had lost eight successive games to finish 10th in a 12-club league the previous campaign.
After steering them to third, United had to beat Wellington in an elimination final and then see off Melbourne Victory in a two-legged semi-final to reach the championship game.
Finally, they prevented Melbourne City becoming the first side to retain their title, to cap quite a success story for the duo.
Pompey fans will, of course, be familiar with Aloisi, who netted 29 goals in 66 matches following his arrival from Italian side Cremonese in August 1997.
Just six days after his £300,000 signing, the striker was handed a debut in a 2-2 draw at Manchester City in the 1997-98 campaign’s opener.
Recruited by Terry Venables, also coach of the Australian national team, he eventually was sold to Coventry for £690,000 in December 1998 at a time when Pompey were in financial trouble.
By that stage, he had netted 17 goals in 26 appearances that season, ensuring he was hot property outside the Premier League.
Aloisi also struck 27 times in 55 appearances for Australia, where he encountered Foxe as a team-mate.
Foxe, of course, was a key figure in Pompey’s promotion to the Premier League under Harry Redknapp in 2002-03.
He competed with Arjan De Zeeuw, Linvoy Primus and Gianluca Festa in a back three which formed the backbone to the Blues’ First Division title triumph.
Following ongoing injury problems, the former West Ham centre-half was subsequently released by Alain Perrin in June 2005, after 46 games and two goals for the Blues.
‘It was an amazing feeling, amazing night. I am so happy for the football club as a whole.
‘Not even for that game were tipping us. $5 (the oddsmakers) were giving us!’
‘If I could bet, which I’m not a betting man, but if I could bet I would’ve put so much money on that. They must’ve lost a lot of money on that!’
A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron
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