A-League: Josep Gombau quits as Adelaide United coach
A-League club Adelaide United have reluctantly agreed to release Spanish coach Josep Gombau from the remainder of his contract and installed former Barcelona midfielder Guillermo Amor in his place.
Gombau, who is reportedly set to embark on a New York-based coaching job, had a year remaining on his A-League contract with Adelaide but has been released on compassionate grounds as he seeks a move closer to his family.
Gombau, a former Barcelona youth team coach, joined Adelaide in 2013 after a spell in Hong Kong and helped the South Australian club to third place in the A-League and the inaugural FFA Cup title last season.
The Catalan built a possession-based team according to the Nou Camp template in Adelaide and said the same style of play would remain under former Spain midfielder Amor, who Gombau brought to the club as technical director last year.
“When I came I wanted to put a new philosophy into the club, we wanted a new style,” Gombau told a news conference in Adelaide.
“We wanted to introduce more South Australia-born players into the club and we wanted to bring more people to our games.
“These are the things we have done and we have achieved our goals so far.
“I am leaving but the club will keep the same philosophy and they will keep all the coaching staff. At this moment, no one would do the job better than Guillermo.”
Club chairman Greg Griffin said it was with “deep regret” that he had agreed to cancel Gombau’s contract after the coach had “revolutionised” the club.
Amor said he was excited by the opportunity but sad that Gombau would be leaving.
“It’s been a year since I got here and I came because of Josep and he’s my close friend,” he said.
“Regarding our philosophy, it’s well known that Josep and I share the same idea stemming from Barcelona. We’re focused on producing football that is beautiful to watch and successful.”
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