The 50-year-old German comes with experience of both international and the A-League football, and Victory say he was "..the standout candidate to take the helm."

Kurz’s playing career spanned 16 years and 311 appearances in the Bundesliga and included a league title with Borussia Dortmund in 1994/95 and UEFA Cup title with Schalke 04 in 1997.

He then stepped into management in the German first and second divisions between 2005-2016 and led 1.FC Kaiserslautern to the German second division title in 2009/10 and promotion into the German top-flight.

In 2017, he took charge of Adelaide United and guided them to two FFA Cup Finals, winning one in 2018, and two A-League Finals Series.

He joins Victory in the wake of Kevin Muscat's exit at the end of last season, ending a 14 year era for the club, and follows Kurz's fractious exit from Adelaide who chose not to renew his contract.

Victory chairman Anthony Di Pietro said he was thrilled to announce the appointment of Kurz, the sixth head coach in the club's 14 year history.

“Our panel of experienced football people including Mark Bresciano, Paul Trimboli and Rob Sherman, undertook a comprehensive recruitment process,” said Di Pietro.

“Coupled with his international and domestic experience, Marco demonstrated outstanding qualities throughout. Importantly his passion for success and desire to win is aligned with our clubs’ ambition.

“We look forward to working together to bring excitement and success for the Victory family and are confident Marco will do an outstanding job in the high-pressure role.”

Set to arrive at the club within the next fortnight, Kurz is looking forward to getting started and begin building towards the upcoming season.

“It’s an honour to be named as head coach of Melbourne Victory, a big club with a strong history, passionate fanbase and true drive for success,” he said.

“I’ve got to know Melbourne Victory from afar, and had tremendous respect for them during that time, so it is exciting to join the club.

“During the interview process we had aligned beliefs about the direction forward which was very important. I can’t wait to join the team and get underway.”