Kevin Muscat has joined 2019 J-League champions Yokohama F Marinos after a move to Indian Super League failed to materialize.
For six years, the Australian had been the manager of Melbourne Victory in the A-League. Previously, he was a player for Melbourne Victory from 2005 to 2011. Muscat won his first A-League title in just his second season at the club. They had also won the A-League premiership that year. Continuing his success as a coach, he won the FFA Cup in 2015 and another title in 2018.
The longest-serving coach in Melbourne Victory’s history left in 2019 after a disappointing season. Despite spending big money, Victory failed to advance through the AFC Champions League group stages and lost 6-1 to Sydney FC in the A-League semi-finals, with former Mumbai City player Adam le Fondre scoring two goals.
Following his departure from A-League, Muscat joined Sint-Truidense VV in the Belgian Pro League- his first foray in a top European league. An unfortunate start ensued as Muscat’s European adventure flopped after just 14 games into the season. Sint-Truidense was struggling at 16th place, battling relegation with only 2 wins out of 14 matches.
As a result of two consecutive disappointing seasons for Muscat, he began looking for opportunities in Asia. A source close to the developments revealed to IFTWC, “Kevin Muscat was interested to come to ISL and was close to signing with a couple of clubs but the deal didn’t pull through.”
Kerala Blasters, Chennaiyin FC, Bengaluru FC, and Odisha FC were among the teams looking for new coaches for the upcoming season. While Bengaluru signed Marco Pezzaiuoli back in March, Kerala and Odisha FC have also finished signing their new coaches Ivan Vukomanovic and Kiko Ramirez respectively.
IFTWC can confirm that Kevin Muscat has now joined Yokohama F Marinos in the J-League. He will be replacing former Australian head coach Ange Postecoglou at the Japanese club. Postecoglou accepted a lucrative offer from Celtic and will join them for the 2021-22 Scottish Premiership.
The J-League champions from 2019 failed to replicate their performance in 2020, finishing in 9th place. However, this season, they are in the second position ahead of Vissel Kobe with 19 matches still to go. It is expected that Yokohama will pursue a title charge under Muscat’s leadership. Hideki Matsunaga is currently serving as their caretaker manager.
Follow our website for latest updates on Indian Football.