Victoria’s Patrick Kisnorbo has become the first Australian to coach in one of Europe’s top-five leagues, joining Ligue 1 side ES Troyes AC.
Kisnorbo has joined the sister City Football Group (CFG) club on a five-year deal following a successful run as Melbourne City head coach in the A-League Men's.
The centre-back started his footballing journey as a junior at the Thomastown Devils (now Whittlesea Rangers) before moving to North Glenroy and Essendon City. He also spent time at the Fawkner Blues and the Bullen Zebras (now Lions) prior to finding his first taste of senior football at Richmond SC.
In 2000, NPL giants South Melbourne snapped him up and he went on to make 67 appearances for the club until he received an opportunity to play for Scottish Premier League side Heart of Midlothian FC (Hearts) in 2003.
In the following years, Kisnorbo made a name for himself in the English Championship, playing for Leicester City, Leeds United, and Ipswich Town before coming back to Melbourne where he captained and then coached Melbourne City, leading them to consecutive premierships across the past two seasons as well as the 2021 championship.
Since the announcement of his move to ES Troyes AC, Kisnorbo said he was “very excited” for the opportunity to take the next step in his coaching career.
“The support that I have had through the journey has been fantastic and nothing but positive,” he told the Melbourne City FC media.
“I can’t thank the City Football Group (CFG) enough for giving me this opportunity but eager to show that people down here and people in Australia if given a chance to fulfill their dream. It has all aligned so I am very excited.”
“I am lucky I have had the support I have had here, but what makes it easy for me is that it is in the CFG group and we are very clear on what we want to do and the solid football we want to have and the people we want to have in the environment and culture that we share.”
Kisnorbo will reunite with mentor and former Melbourne City coach Erick Mombaerts, who he worked under in 2019-20.
“I have a great friendship to this day, where we speak a couple of times a week,” he explained.
“It is a sort of crazy, weird, quirky but it works friendship where you have this man that doesn’t really speak a lot of English and you have a guy who is born in the west.
“I am forever grateful for what he has taught me and I can’t thank him enough.”
Melbourne City CEO Brad Rowse said the club considered themselves “lucky” to have been able to hold onto him for so long.
“He has been instrumental in establishing our club’s philosophy and methodology in a way that it is now sustainable and can be built upon further,” he said.
“Our success has come because we are all committed to the way we approach the game and the resulting ways in which we train and play.”
Melbourne City Director of Football Michael Petrillo said he was pleased to see Kisnorbo be rewarded for his impressive results in recent years with the club.
“To see how Patrick’s journey has evolved over the last few years fills me with immense pride and satisfaction,” he said.
“There is nobody more deserving to be given an opportunity such as this and I am sure he will continue to be successful and build on the work he has already done.”
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)