Diles adamant he's right man for Victory, hopes Mata returns alongside him
Off-contract following his side’s elimination final defeat Arthur Diles believes he is “definitely” the right coach to lead Melbourne Victory forward – a future he hopes Juan Mata will be a part of.
Off-contract following his side’s elimination final defeat against Sydney FC, Arthur Diles believes he is “definitely” the right coach to lead Melbourne Victory into the future – a future he very much hopes Juan Mata will be a part of.
Pouncing on an error from Franco Lino to fire home in the 80th minute, second-half substitute Patrick Wood fired the Sky Blues to a smash-and-grab 1-0 triumph over their bitter Big Blue foes on Saturday evening, setting up a two-legged semifinal with premiers the Newcastle Jets.
It ended a Victory season that showed moments of promise, but that, ultimately, was weighed down by an early-season run that saw them win just one of their opening seven games, repeatedly let down by an inability to convert control of games into goals, and multiple failures to hold onto leads.
Initially appointed as caretaker following Patrick Kisnorbo’s surprise move to Yokohama on the eve of the Christmas Derby in 2024 – Kisnorbo coming back to haunt his old side at the helm of Sydney in the elimination final – Diles signed a full-time contract midway through that season, which saw him through to the end of a 2025-26 campaign that has now ended.
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The coach has previously indicated that he wants to return to Victory next season and reiterated on Saturday that he felt he was the right person to lead the club into 2026-27.
“I do. I definitely do,” said Diles. “I’m really proud of everything I’ve achieved so far. It comes with a lot of hard work, a lot of expectation, and a lot of pressure.
“I’m very proud of everything I’ve done to date and moving forward. I think there’s so much more in me, a lot of growth in me, as well, as a person, as a coach. The offseason is going to be a good opportunity to do some personal development, some reflection, recharge batteries and make sure I improve as well.
“We’ll see what happens in the coming weeks.
“We’ve got our awards night on Monday night, which is going to be a little bit sour, but we’ll fulfil our commitments for this season and address everything; we need to speak with the playing group. We’ll look beyond that once our commitments are finished.”
Skipper Roderick Miranda, for his part, said that 44-year-old mentor, who is in his first head coaching role at Victory, had plenty to offer the club moving forward.
“Of course,” he said. “We had glimpses during the season that things can go really well. Maybe early in the season, [we were] still waiting for the right players to fit, trying to figure out the best way of playing.
“His record in finals has been good tonight. Tonight, we deserve to win. He’s still young, still in his first year and a half, but he has a brilliant future ahead of him.”
Regardless of what Victory opts to do with Diles moving forward, it’s safe to assume that everyone at the club will be hoping that Mata will opt to return for another go-around in navy blue.
After a difficult stint with Western Sydney in 2024-25, the Spanish maestro emerged as a leading contender for the Johnny Warren Medal after moving to AAMI Park, winning multiple games off his own boot as he led the league in assists with 13, contributing to an A-League-leading 18 goal contributions.
The World Cup winner had previously batted away questions on his future by citing the ongoing nature of Victory’s season, but now, with their campaign at an end, faces a decision to make.
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“I was hoping we’d give him more game time so he can keep thinking about it,” said Diles. “Now he’s going to start thinking about it as of tonight, unfortunately.
“[We’ve had] no discussions with Juan. He knows how we feel, he knows how the club feels, and we know what his intentions are at the moment, in terms of giving himself time and space to come up with whatever decision he sees fit.
“Whether that’s his last game or not, I don’t know. I hope it’s not, not just for our sake as a club, but for his sake, because I think he’s still got a lot to offer.
“But, again, that’s something that’s a discussion and a thought process that he’ll go through now that the commitments are finished for this season. And we’ll wait and see how we how it comes back from that.”
And while Miranda probably won’t go buying Mata wagyu steaks like Auckland skipper Hiroki Sakai did for his teammates – although he is willing to learn how to make paella – he too is hopeful he will be able to continue to call the Spaniard a teammate.
“First of all, I hope that he keeps playing. Second, I hope it’s with us,” Miranda said. “Because I think he still has something, not to prove -- he has nothing to prove to anybody -- but he still has something that he can show us.
“For the fans, for everybody who loves football, he should keep playing for us.
“But in the end, it’s his own decision. I know this year was really important for him. He felt really happy with us on the pitch after the pitch.
“And, in the end, it will be his decision.
“But if you would ask me, I’d just put a paper in front of him and say sign and put whatever he wants.”