The club has also welcomed back defender Richie Alagich in a coaching capacity, the 32 year-old veteran of 121 Adelaide United appearances taking on an assistant coaching role with The Reds’ Women’s League Team.

Tony Vidmar will assist Youth League Coach Joe Mullen in managing The Reds’ crop of young talent for the inaugural season of the National Youth League.

Vidmar hung up his boots from professional football at the end of the Hyundai A-League 2007/08 Season while with the Central Coast Mariners and now enters the next stage of his life by returning to his home town of Adelaide.

He said: “I’m very excited and I am looking forward to being involved with the club. It will be a new phase in my life and career and I’m really looking forward to it.

“In football it can take you anywhere and fortunately Adelaide United has brought me back to my home town and I’m thrilled to bits about it.”

Adelaide United Football Director Michael Petrillo said it was a significant coup for the club securing Vidmar’s services with his expertise, experience and knowledge of the game, while he also explained that Vidmar’s role would expand outside the Youth Team setup.

He said: “Tony’s role is quite diverse as he will not only assist Joe Mullen with the Youth team but he will also assist with the Hyundai A-League squad as a specialist staff coach in particular working with the younger players along with Carl Veart."

It may not be in an on field capacity but Tony will rejoin older brother Aurelio at the same club after they both played in national teams together and also at Adelaide City in the former NSL. Tony said he was looking forward to starting his coaching career learning from Aurelio and that it would be a beneficial step in his life after playing.

“It’s funny, all those years we’ve played together and now we’re involved in coaching. It will be a learning phase for me to be with Aurelio and the rest of the coaching staff,” Tony said.

Vidmar is currently Australia’s third highest capped player (76 appearances), while he also played 106 games for Scottish heavyweights Glasgow Rangers, winning two Scottish championships, two League Cups and three FA Cups along the way.

Alagich, who currently works as a Football Development Officer for Football Federation South Australia, will take on the part time Assistant Coaching role and work alongside Women’s Team Head Coach Michael Barnett for the inaugural season of the Westfield W-League.

Petrillo conveyed the club’s delight at having both Vidmar and Alagich at the club.

“Richie Alagich’s experience will be of tremendous benefit to the W-League players and coach Mike Barnett. This appointment continues the club’s policy of developing a pathway for the best players to have an input into the club beyond their playing careers,” Petrillo said.

“Tony and Richie will be terrific assets to both the men’s and women’s teams and we are delighted to have two real legends of the game join our coaching panel.“

”The future of our club, our young players, now have two of the finest players to have graced the field in Adelaide and two former Socceroo greats to guide them through these important formative years.

Vidmar is expected to relocate to Adelaide in the coming weeks while Alagich’s position will take effect immediately.