Patrick Kisnorbo has ambition to become one of the best managers in world football – and this is how he plans to get there, writes Matt Comito.
Get an inside look at the methods of the meticulous Melbourne City boss in the latest episode of KEEPUPs ground-breaking docuseries, A-Leagues All Access. Don’t miss the full episode, which premiered 7:30pm AEDT Thursday night, on KEEPUP.
It’s half-time in the Melbourne Derby. Patrick Kisnorbo’s Melbourne City are up 2-0 against the 10 men of Melbourne Victory, after Josh Brillante’s early send-off.
The City boss has Tony Popovic’s Victory in a vice. But that’s not enough.
“The reason why you’re in this position is because you fight,” he tells his players, punching right fist into left palm. “But that’s not enough. It’s not enough. I want more, and more, and more.”
He then gathers his team in a tight huddle. The A-Leagues All Access cameras hone in on the intimate City circle, as Kisnorbo delivers the stirring speech which sets the tone for Melbourne Derby triumph.
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“45 (minutes),” Kisnorbo says. He repeats it twice. Then, he darts at Marco Tilio. They stand centimetres apart, Kisnorbo’s eyes wide, Tilio’s head down.
“Are you going to let [Stefan] Nigro dominate you? Huh?” Kisnorbo asks. It’s an individual challenge set for the diminutive City creator to face all on his own in the second half, as part of his side’s collective mission to orchestrate a Derby win.
He continues around the circle.
“Are you going to let the full-back dominate you? Are you going to let anyone come in that box? Huh? Are you going to lead?” Onward he goes around the huddle, with each message catered to the individual he goes eye-to-eye with.
“Are you going to let the centre-back push you? Are you going to let the number six boss you, and run past you?”
Kisnorbo faces up to Aiden O’Neill: “Are you going to let [Jake] Brimmer get in between, and dribble?” He then grabs a hold of Jordan Bos’ shirt: “Are you going to let Nani touch (it)?”
“Are you going to let [Nick] D’Agostino win a header?” He asks Thomas Lam. “Are you?”
Kisnorbo returns to the centre of the circle. “Individual battles,” he claps once. “Let’s go.” The amped up City squad respond with vigour, and head out for the second half.
Episode 3 of A-Leagues All Access, titled No Hours in Football, follows the City boss in the build-up to, and all the way through last weekend’s 2-0 Melbourne Derby win over Victory.
Intensity is a well-known aspect of Kisnorbo’s approach to management, but for the first time, viewers will see how that intensity is directed at his players in the change rooms, and for what purpose.
Kisnorbo uses his steel as a motivator; he’s aggressive and assertive, yet controlled and measured – and the City players revel in it.
Kisnorbo’s meticulous preparation for the Melbourne Derby is another key feature of the episode; the 41-year-old is relatively new to management, but his record speaks for itself. The former Socceroo first joined the club as a player in 2013, going on to captain the side before joining the club’s youth team coaching staff. He then took the reins of City’s Liberty A-League side in 2017-18, winning the Championship at the first time of asking.
A role presented in the club’s Isuzu UTE A-League set-up as assistant to Erick Mombaerts, who he succeeded after the Frenchman’s departure at the end of the 2020-21 A-League Men campaign.
Mombaerts took City to the cusp of the club’s first piece of silverware in the A-League Men that season, falling to Sydney FC in the Grand Final. His win rate of 53.85% was the best of any City manager in the club’s history – until Kisnorbo replaced his mentor ahead of the 2021-22 campaign.
He’s since broke City’s silverware hoodoo with back-to-back Premierships and the 2021-22 Championship – and sits on a 54.39% win rate after 57 games in charge.
In the change rooms before kick-off to Round 2’s Melbourne Derby, the All Access crew captured the essence of Kisnorbo’s committed approach to management, and the bar he sets for his players to reach in what was his 31st win as City manager.
“Tonight you’ve got to come off the (ground) thinking: ‘F*** me, actually, you know what? I might collapse here. Mentally and physically’,” he said.
“Why? Because you’re at it, at it, at it, at it. Every ball, high or low, it doesn’t matter. Individually, you’ve got to win your battles. You’ve got to win it. Then collectively, boom, strong.
“But who’s the one (that’s) going to set the tone. Who? All talk – but who?”
Produced by KEEPUP Studios and JAMTV, each new episode of the docuseries will debut on Thursday at 7:30pm AEDT on 10 Play, KEEPUP.COM.AU, the KEEPUP app and KEEPUP on YouTube. It will be available on Australia’s fastest growing streaming service, Paramount+, and will then be broadcast on 10 Bold at 2:00pm AEDT on Saturday afternoons as an appetiser for the evening’s Isuzu UTE A-League Men game on the same channel.
