Football West News
Football West is pleased to announce Ivan Zuvela as head coach of the WA Men’s State Team.
The former Western Knights and Perth Glory Academy head coach will take charge for the upcoming fixtures against Football Tasmania and Indonesian side Persebaya Surabaya.
Football West is also in talks regarding a match against the Perth Glory A-League side.
Zuvela will have two ex-Socceroos on his coaching team, with David Williams as his assistant and Brad Jones as goalkeeper coach.
“I’m really excited, this is a terrific opportunity. I was born here in Perth; I’ve lived here my whole life and was fortunate enough to play for the State Team. I didn’t hesitate to accept,” Zuvela said.
The first match is against Tasmania at Inglewood United’s Proto DPS Stadium on Saturday 19 September.
Should the Challenge Cup clash against Glory get the go-ahead, that will likely take place in October.
Then the State Team will travel to East Java to face Indonesian top-flight professional team Persebaya.
This fixture is scheduled for Sunday 15 November and follows last year’s meeting between the two sides at the Sam Kerr Football Centre, which was watched by approximately 20 million viewers on TV in Indonesia.
With potentially three matches to prepare for, each a month apart, Zuvela is up for the challenge.
“We’re obviously limited by player availability. Those from clubs in the NPL Top Four Cup and promotion-relegation play-off may not be available (for the Tasmania game),” he said.
“And the Australian Championships will be a factor. So whether it’s Bayswater, RedStar or Kingsway who win the league, you’d expect those players won’t be available. For me, you’ve got to respect the NPL clubs and do the right thing by them.
“So it’s likely we will name a squad for the Tasmania game and that will evolve. But that’s part of the challenge and looking at the league, I’ve no doubt we will have a very strong side.”
As a player, Zuvela helped Western Knights win the State league title in 2004 among other successes. After going into coaching with his boyhood club, he was named State League Coach of the Year in 2020 before moving to Glory.
“I played my whole life with Western Knights, the old North Perth Croatia, and spent the majority of my time there,” he said.
“I did my coaching with Western Knights senior team. I spent four years with them before moving to Perth Glory. I was there for three years as part of their senior Academy, coaching the U20s and then the senior NPL team, and even spending a few months with Kenny Lowe as part of the A-League coaching team.
“I loved it, working with the likes of Kenny and Danny Milosevic. That was for the whole of the pre-season, including the Australia Cup qualifier and the West Ham game. It was fantastic. I’ve a lot of time for Kenny, who I learned a lot from.”
While at Glory, Zuvela coached the likes of Daniel Bennie, James Overy, Jaylan Pearman and Robbie Cook, who have all signed for top English clubs.
“Kenny gave James Overy his debut in that game (against West Ham) and he’s obviously gone on to Manchester United. There was Daniel Bennie and Jaylan Pearman, who are both at QPR, and Robbie Cook (Leeds United). I’m just personally proud to have played some part in their journey.
“Since I left Glory, I’ve taken a break from coaching, so I am very excited and grateful to be offered this opportunity.
“I stay across the NPL and will do so even more now. I’ve got an extremely supportive family, so I can go to whatever games I want. You’ve also got Streamer, so you can watch games back in detail.
“And having worked with the NPL coaches in the past, I’ll communicate with them and get their buy-in about who they suggest.”
Football West General Manager – Football David Lewis said: “Football West is delighted to appoint Ivan as the head coach of the WA Men’s State Team.
“He has great knowledge, energy and passion and was very impressive when we spoke to him. We look forward to what he will bring to the role.
“We are also pleased to have David Williams and Brad Jones involved. They are two very high-profile figures who bring top-level experience to the team.”
- The State Team’s trip to Indonesia is part of Football West’s Memorandum of Understanding with the Persebaya Surabaya club. Football West would like to acknowledge the support of the WA Government for its Asian Engagement Strategy.
