Durakovic oversaw the final five matches of Melbourne's AFC Champions League campaign, leading them to a win, three draws and a loss after the sudden departure of foundation coach Ernie Merrick.

The 45-year-old had been Victory's youth coach before being given his chance to audition for the job in the ACL, where his tactical nous won praise from those both inside and outside the club.

After an almost complete changing of the guard in the football department, Durakovic's former South Melbourne and Socceroos team-mate Francis Awaritefe will take over as football operations manager, the role vacated by Gary Cole.

"In Francis and Mehmet, we have two young and respected former Socceroos who we believe will take this club to the next level, both domestically and Asia," said Victory chairman Anthony di Pietro.

"They have extensive experience in Australian football and both are incredibly driven to succeed.

"Mehmet did a fantastic job in a short space of time in our recent Champions League campaign and demonstrated that his management and coaching skills were of a quality we were seeking.

"It became clear that he was the right person to take this club forward. His drive and passion were critical. He was second to none in the end and a clear choice for this job."

He added: "We are also very excited about what Francisbrings to this football club.

"He assumes a newly created role, Football Director, which will involve fostering our club-centred football philosophy. He will also drive our creation of youth football pathways.

"It is an unbelievably exciting time at Melbourne Victory. We have a strong belief in the squad that we are compiling and we have great faith in the key personnel.

"It is fresh apporach that we take and we eagerly await the 2011/12 season."

Former West Ham and Reading goalkeeper Steve Mautone and former skipper Kevin Muscat are the only other previous members of the football department to remain.

Durakovic is highly regarded in the Australian football community having represented his country 64 times and played for nearly 20 years in both the former NSL, mainly with South Melbourne, as well as spending three years in Malaysia.

He takes on a Victory outfit which will enter a season without Muscat for the first time.

"I'm looking forward to the challenge," said Durakovic. "Melbourne Victory are a huge club, if not the biggest in Australia, probably the biggest in Asia.

"I'm confident in my ability and I'm very excited by the coaching staff we have implemented and looking forward to the big year ahead of us."

The club is set to take on a very new-look this season having already signed a new keeper, Tando Velaphi, two young attacking midfielders, Marco Rojas and Isaka Cernak, as well as a striker in Jean Carlos Solorzano.

Awaritefe added that he would be aiming to bring a Barcelona-esque mentality to Victory through his new role.

"I bring a deep understanding of football and Australian football," he said. "I have a vision of how I think the game should be played. It's not just about winning, it's also about developing a unique style.

"That's something the board and the club believe in. We aim to take that to another level.

"We're looking to safeguard the future by developing an academy and make this the club of choice for the best talented players in Australia."

But he warned: "It does require patience, it does require time.

"Barcelona have their own particular philosophy and that philosophy took 30 years to produce the generation that we're seeing today.

"So this isn't something that is just going to happen over the next couple of years. It's going to take a while to bring us up to the sort of level we're talking about."

The biggest signing in the club's history is still in the wings with Harry Kewell linked to the club in what would be his much-anticipated return to Australia.

Kewell, one of the most popular players in the country, has never played senior club football in Australia.

He is currently in the US and believed to be in talks with MLS clubs about a possible move there, but Victory are understood to have asked Kewell for a final reply on their offer by mid-July.