Sydney FC CEO Danny Townsend has either taken a leap of faith, or rested on his laurels in appointing Corica, but after his first coaching appointment as Sky Blues executive, Townsend believes the club has made the right choice. 

"We shortlisted an exceptional list, (assessed) each candidate, then went through two interviews," Townsend said.

"What became unanimous to all of us was Steve was the standout."

The history

Corica is a former 32-cap Socceroo and English football stalwart, with appearances for Wolverhampton, Leicester and Walsall before returning to Sydney FC for the club's debut A-League seaon.

After joining newly-founded Sydney in 2005, Corica spent the next five years with the Sky Blues until injury forced his retirement in 2010. During this time, he captained Sydney to two A-League Championships, a Premiership and an Oceania Club Championship.

Upon retirement, he took charge of Sydney's Natonal Youth League (NYL) side in 2010, leading them to fourth place before taking on the role of assistant coach to Vitezslav Lavicka the following year.

In 2013/14 he returned to the NYL with immediate success, leading Sydney's youth side to the Championship, before again returning to the assistant role under Graham Arnold, winning two A-League Premierships and a Championship with the Socceroos boss-in-waiting.

The future

It's assumed Corica will retain a steady hand at Sydney, maintaining Arnold's tactical approach and working relationships with the squad's experienced players, while continuing the slow rejuvenation of an ageing side.

But there are a few spanners in the works. 

Sydney's defence is of particular concern going forward. Alex Wilkinson is still one of the A-League's greatest centrebacks, but at 33-years-old, is approaching the end of his career, while the departures of Jordy Bujis and Luke Wilkshire will force reorganisation at the back.

Likewise, David Carney, Alex Brosque and Milos Ninkovic are all yet to re-sign, while Trent Buhagiar is Sydney's only off-season addition so far.

The issue for Corica may be the wealth of expectation.

A more reserved figure than Arnold, it will be interesting to see if Corica adopts the mental strategies of his predecessor - the bravado and siege mentality that led to so much pressure, and success.

In his first season in management, he's following one of the most successful coaches in A-League history. It's a dream job for a newbie, but Corica will have to bear a substantial burden if things go awry.