Former Wellington Phoenix head coach Ufuk Talay has joined Australia’s Socceroos to help them prepare for Thursday’s friendly international against FIFA Men’s World Cup winners Argentina.
Talay (47) has joined the national squad in Beijing, where the match will take place, helping Socceroos coach Graham Arnold.
Main photo: Ufuk Talay (left) reunited with former Phoenix midfielder Cam Devlin at the training camp in Beijing. Photo credit: Subway Socceroos.
He says he’s happy to help while he figures out his next move in his coaching career.
“There’s a few things happening still. I’d love to be able to have an opportunity to go overseas,” he told AAP.
“For me, it’s very important, that I go to an environment where I’m still going to develop and still going to grow.
“I don’t want to go into an environment and take the first opportunity that jumps out.
“I still want to build a career, be a career coach, not jump at the first opportunity.”
Meanwhile, the appointment of Talay’s mentor Ange Postecoglou as Tottenham Hotspur’s manager might help open some doors.
“I have a great relationship with Ange. When I got the job here at Wellington, I think they spoke with Ange before they appointed me,” he said.
“I had the luxury of being able to work beside him with the national teams and see how he works and how he handles things.
“But with me, honestly, I can’t answer the question that say this or that’s going to happen.”
Socceroos squad
The Australia squad to face Argentina:
Goalkeepers
Joe Gauci
Tom Glover
Maty Ryan
Defenders
Nathaniel Atkinson
Jordan Bos
Alessandro Circati
Joel King
Kye Rowles
Harry Souttar
Gianni Stensness
Ryan Strain
Midfielders
Keanu Baccus
Cameron Devlin
Denis Genreau
A|din Hrustic
Riley McGree
Connor Metcalfe
Aiden O’Neill
Alex Robertson
Forwards
Brandon Borrello
Mitch Duke
Mathew Leckie
Jamie Maclaren
More football stories
