While Popa's sudden retirement came as a shock to most, few were surprised at man named to fill his shoes.

"It is an honour to be captain of Sydney," said Corica. "Tony did a fantastic job for the club and Australia and it’s obviously a privilege to take over the captaincy role from him."

It’s far from the first time the 35-year-old has captained his club, with the midfielder stepping up during Popovic's injury-enforced absences this-season, but no-one was more shocked than Corica himself when he was thrust permanently into the position.

"With Tony having another year left on his contract, I definitely didn't expect it now," Corica said.

"It's nice though and a great privilege to lead one of the nation's biggest football clubs."

The attacking midfielder starred for the Sky Blues in the opening half of the season and believes his change in status won’t impact on his own game.

He added: "I always try to lead by example and do my best on the field, giving it one hundred per cent all of the time and I am sure all the boys will try to do the same."

"We have had some good results and a couple of bad results. If we want to challenge for the title we can’t lose too many more games, especially those against the bottom teams."

Corica and his men will enjoy a rest this-weekend due to the FIFA international break, and his first chance to officially lead the Sky Blues will come against the Reds next Saturday in Adelaide.

"After the boy's were given a big shock from Poppa's retirement we've had a good week in training," said Corica.

"We are now fully focused on one thing, and that is winning next week."