Now seven years after his last coaching stint in Australia, Krncevic is the new man in charge at VPL outfit South Melbourne. It's a tentative step back into management after he left the profession to work as an agent around 2003.

“I’d like to be successful with South Melbourne and for me the bigger picture is eventually if it’s not in the A-League then I’ll go abroad," he told au.fourfourtwo.com.

Quizzed on his views about the A-League, Krncevic had some candid insights into some overseas coaches but said the competition was growing each year.

“It’s good to see our local coaches doing well," he said. "Guys like Postecoglou and Branko Culina – for me he’s done a good job. It goes to prove we’ve got some good local coaches.

“I don’t think we need to rely on foreign coaches. The other question is these foreign coaches really need to be scrutinised more than ours.

“I’ve seen stuff happen, tactical moves by some foreign coaches in the A-League, they’d be crucified, sacked on the spot in Europe, but they get away with it in Australia because they’re not scrutinised with some of the decisions they make tactically speaking.”

Krncevic knows plenty about European football. He was an Aussie pioneer, becoming one of the first of the modern generation of Australian born players (he hails from Geelong) to leave Australia and play professionally in Europe.

He was a star at Anderlecht in the mid-80s scoring 52 times in 84 matches. It was a 16-year European career that also took in Cercle Brugge, Duisburg, Dinamo Zagreb, Mulhouse, Liege and Charleroi.

He ended with over 115 goals across Europe and was the first Australian to be crowned top scorer in a European league.

By the mid-90s the 35-times capped Socceroo returned for a final season in the NSL with Gippsland aged 36.

In the late 1990s Krncevic began his new career as the inaugural coach of NSL ‘super-club’ Carlton. With the backing of the AFL club the blues made it to the grand final in their first season.

Three young Carlton stars brought through by Krncevic were Mark Bresciano, Vince Grella and Simon Colosimo. Later Krncevic guided Archie Thompson and Michael Beauchamp’s careers at Marconi Stallions and Massimo Murdocca at South Melbourne. 

Now with South and on an initial one-year deal, Krncevic sees developing the next generation of players as his key task. 

“It’s the way to go. Youth. My past record shows I’m willing to give youngsters a chance with guys like Bresciano, Thompson, Grella and Colosimo,” he said.

One player to keep an eye on is left-sided South teenager Brad Treloar who, says Krncevic, has a bright future.

“The committee’s quite and focused on taking the club forward," said Krncevic. "All that combined with the experience behind me and I’m excited about what lies ahead.

"We’ve got a good bunch of boys. I’m excited about the future and hopefully we can produce another Grella, Bresciano and Colosimo [at South].”

Some may have forgotten that Krncevic was one of the four contenders for the Socceroo coaching position at the turn of the new millennium.

The other candidates were Frank Farina, David Mitchell and Ange Postecoglou. Farina got the post although it’s believed Krncevic was exceptionally close.

While the inexperienced Farina opted for a similarly young assistant in Graham Arnold, Krncevic put up the smarter plan of having an experienced Belgian assistant as a trainer with him in a managerial position.

It's the model he's using now at South with an assistant taking the role of trainer - in South's case the highly rated Joe Montemurro who holds a UEFA "A" Pro licence - with Krncevic slotting in as manager.

He added: “I think ten years ago a lot of the things I did were quite advanced for the time. Maybe my views were too advanced when I look back now. But I’ve got no regrets.

"It’s quite ironic doors are open in Belgium for argument’s sake but it’s harder to get access into your own country's coaching. It wouldn’t faze me.

"I did it as a player and I’d be doing it as a coach but ideally you’d love to stay in your own country.”