Last week, Mirabella made waves after reported comments about how Heart should seek the services of A-League grand final winning coach Ange Postecoglou.

The Brisbane Roar mentor has since signed a long-term deal with the Queenslanders with Heart chairman Peter Sidwell left to publicly reaffirm his support for incumbent Heart coach, Dutchman John van’t Schip.

However, Mirabella has told au.fourfourtwo.com that Krncevic could be the next ex-Socceroo to become a star coach in the A-League...and at the same he gives van’t Schip only lukewarm support.

Aside from coaching, Mirabella is adamant that fans of former NSL clubs need to be welcomed into the A-League fold as a way to boost falling attendances. He spoke with Aidan Ormond...

Joe, firstly the Mirabella Cup. It sounds like a forerunner to Australia’s first ever FFA Cup. Tell us more?

It’s like the old knockout Docherty Cup. It starts with regional, amateurs and divisional teams. We’ve got 118 teams who’ve applied plus the two A-League teams in Victoria. The hope is that every state runs their own old Docherty Cup style competition and then the top 16 teams in the nation – or the top 32 – play in a national knockout Cup with the final on Australia Day.

I believe Bozza has been instrumental in the Cup's vision?

I sat down with Mark about six months ago to talk about this idea and he said that was the only way to go ahead – that every state runs their own knockout competition with the top sides across Australia in a final 16 or 32 in a knockout.

It’ll be more economical for the FFA to run, easier to get a sponsor and you end up with an Australian champion on Australia Day.

Onto the A-League... are you happy with the progress made after Heart’s first season?

The club’s going alright. We would’ve preferred to have finished higher and in the finals in the first year. We were disappointed on that side but everything else is in place. There were teething problems in the first year.

There have only been two board members – myself and one other - who’ve really been involved in football [before]. The other ones are really learning about the game and the system.

Is it a good thing to have non-football people on A-League boards?

It’s good at the start but football people have the experience. It’s like the coaches, you say let’s bring in these overseas coaches ... but [this season] it’s been proven the Australian coaches know the system and know how to get results and get the best players in the country from young age and so on. The top three teams have been coached by three Australian coaches.

Are you happy with Heart’s foreign coach John van’t Schip?

Erm... I think he’s done alright but he’s got to learn more. Postecoglou for me has done the best job of anyone in Australia. He’s put in a system of play which he was criticised for at the start.

Our club knocked him [Postecoglou] back; one as a coach and one as a football manager.

Any regrets not snaring Ange?

On my side I’ve got regrets. But Ange wouldn’t have any regrets because he’s proven what he’s wanted to do. For all A-League teams this has been a wake-up call. They can see they can spend their money wisely as there are good coaches in this country.

There has been talk about Eddie Krncevic’s comeback to coaching. What’s your take on the former Socceroo as a coach?

To be quite honest, I think Eddie can be another Postecoglou. He’s played overseas and been under the best coaches overseas. He’s made an NSL final first year he took it on at Carlton – a first-year club. Eddie will be your next coach [to make a success in the A-League]. Eddie knows the Australian game and can pick players. I like Eddie. I always liked him as a player and a coach.

What’s the future for Melbourne Heart?

I think the future for the A-League and especially Melbourne Heart is to hook up with these clubs as sister clubs like they do in Europe.

For the Heart, to grow, there is still a lot of old NSL people who aren’t coming to the games. If they can grab South Melbourne, Melbourne Knights, Whittlesea Zebras and Preston and George Cross fans, it’ll generate more members and get a lot more people who aren’t going to the games – and their children and grand-children.

I see that as the future.

Why aren’t many of these so-called ‘old football’ fans presently not going to A-League games?

Melbourne Victory virtually kept them away at the start and didn’t want to know them.

Melbourne Heart’s come in and I think these clubs want to get involved but haven’t been asked. If asked they will jump up and down and grab the opportunity.

Playing devil’s advocate here, there is a view also that some of these fans may cause trouble. Is that fair?

That’s ridiculous. This sport has had bad media in the past. Melbourne Knights fans, South fans... Victorian clubs should kiss their feet to get them back because they have passion and soccer is a game of passion.

I don’t believe they will cause trouble. If anything they’ll bring emotion and colour into the game which we need.

And let’s not talk about trouble, what about the AFL?  Look what happens when Collingwood and Carlton play and there are punch-ons there.

Could you have say a South Melbourne and Melbourne Knights fan shoulder to shoulder supporting Heart in summer?

We need those old supporters back. There have been plenty of games between Knights and South in the VPL where there haven’t been fights.

We had to form the A-League but we do still need the supporters of NSL clubs. And they’d love to be involved in an A-League team. They wouldn’t be going there to argue with each other, they’d be going there to support their A-League team.

With five or six former NSL clubs in Melbourne... at Heart that could put an at least an extra 10,000 bums on seats.

The stadium [AAMI Park] is a selling point, it’s great. These people just want to feel part of it. A-League clubs in every state need to work out a network towards these former clubs from the NSL and state leagues to get them involved. 

The red and white colours are good for all six old NSL clubs [in Melbourne]. It’s a neutral colour.

How do you do that? What processes are put in place?

How you’d do it is approach their chairman and give them an involvement on a sub-committee or an opportunity to buy-into the club – in a small percentage of course.

Once they’re involved they see the club is involved they’ll drag sponsorship and their juniors – it’ll be a channel. Once they have a little involvement it’ll grow because everyone’s dream is to play at the highest level.

Now, their highest level is the VPL but it could be an A-League team and they should be developing players for the A-League. And it gives their fans a dream... to get to an A-League grand final. I think it can work.

Melbourne Heart doesn’t have juniors so that’s where these former NSL clubs come in. Their best juniors; get them developed and spend money on their academies and coaching and players.

Everybody looks at juniors today to make money out of them. It’s wrong. We’ve got to develop them.

Can A-League clubs make money?

I’ve told a lot of my business friends, football clubs won’t make money. It’s not a business to make money out of. It’ll cost you.

Why do it, then?

A lot of people have made good money in business and if you want to see the sport grow it can be like an investment and after five or six years you ask for your money back. But you’re not going to make a profit, I don’t think you can.

Soccer needs investment for the next five or six years and if they set up the companies properly, people can have them as a tax write off.

I’ve told four investors – personal friends of mine – you’re better off sponsoring because you’re not going to make money out of it. And in soccer you can get a lot back, it’s a network of business-to-business where your businesses will grow. So there are other benefits.

Your thoughts on broadcasting. How do you see free-to-air TV’s role in the future of the game?

Very important. I believe we should have FTA and Foxtel. I also believe they should delay the games and not show them live.

The only live games should be in markets where the game isn’t being played. Say, if Heart play in Sydney show it live in Melbourne.

The sport will grow as a result; you’ll get more money and more attendances.

Broadly speaking what’s the future of Australian football?

Very bright. We’ve got the Asian Cup to host in 2015 and if we can make the quarter finals of the next World Cup or the one after that, we’ll be on the right track to a bright future.