Former Palace man Tony Popovic has been crowned AFC Coach of the Year.
Western Sydney Wanderers boss Tony Popovic has been named AFC Coach of the Year during a glitzy ceremony in Manila.
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Popovic lead the Wanderers on an incredible run which saw them win the AFC Champions League – just two years after the club’s inception.
The former Crystal Palace defender became the first Australian to win the award.
“It is a great feeling, a little bit surreal,” Popovic told AFC.com.
“It comes down to a little personal recognition, but it is difficult to accept as I feel like I am accepting it on behalf of the club and definitely the playing group that has made this possible for me.
“We are a very young club just over two years old, and it is our first attempt at the AFC Champions League and we have won it.
“It is a special achievement that will go down in history and just the resilience of the group, the belief when you think that it wouldn’t be possible to get through the group stages, here we are where we have won the AFC Champions League and this is recognition for great work that everyone has done.”
The highly-rated 41-year-old will now begin to turn his attention to the FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco, beginning on December 10.