Coleman back to NZ as Phoenix assistant coach
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The Wellington Phoenix have brought Steve Coleman home from North America to help usher in a new era for the men’s first team.
Coleman has been appointed Chris Greenacre’s lead assistant coach for the upcoming A-League season.
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The duo coached the men’s reserves in 2022 and 2023 before Coleman left his role as the academy’s technical director to coach in the United States.
He worked at the academy for seven years and had a hand in developing the club’s top young players.
Greenacre is looking forward to working alongside Coleman again.
“First and foremost Steve is an excellent coach,” Greenacre said. “He’s got a great knowledge of the game, and he knows the club inside out.
“We hit it off immediately when we worked together. We see the game in a very similar light, and we agreed and disagreed on a lot of things.
“Having someone that is going to question and challenge you is what you need as a head coach.
“Steve also has a long history with the club. He understands what it takes to align an academy with a first team and he understands the demands of what’s needed for young players to step into the professional environment.
“And he’s been a head coach so he knows what the responsibility is like. Steve has a wide skillset which will be valuable for me, the staff and the players.”
Steve Coleman served as an assistant coach at Loudon United and Tampa Bay Rowdies in the United Soccer League Championship before moving into the interim head coach role at Tampa Bay for 15 matches.
Coleman left the Rowdies at the start of the year and has been an assistant coach for the Halifax Tide in the Northern Super League in Canada since February.
He returns to Wellington a different and better coach.
“I’ve got some pretty cool experiences underneath me now and return with a much wider scope of skills that I’ve developed in different environments,” Coleman said.
“I had to learn on the job a lot last year as the interim head coach at Tampa.
“My experiences sitting in the chair that Greeny’s sat in is valuable for him because I give a different perspective to the one I brought two or three years ago.
“I have some lived experiences which have helped shape me and hopefully I can put them to good use when required at the Phoenix.
“I’m pretty excited to get back to work at the club I started at and with the people I love.”
Coleman’s also looking forward to renewing relationships with a number of first team players he previously worked with at the academy
“It’s a lot easier to coach players who know you and you know them, that’s for sure.
“There’s almost a multi-generational family tree of the academy now playing in the first team.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity having the beating heart of football club be homegrown players who understand the Phoenix and the way that the club wants to play and operate.
“I’m looking forward to helping those young players kick on.
“The reality is we’re four years away from a world cup and those players should be targeting the opportunity to get in that squad as well as the Olympics in 2028.”
He’s also driven to see the men’s team succeed after a disappointing couple of seasons.
“Watching from afar it hasn’t been the most fun but that’s the nature of football sometimes.
“You go through these peaks and troughs, but the club’s been bold enough to go in this new direction.
“I’m delighted to be part of that and contribute to some more happier times and more entertaining times on the field.”
The Wellington Phoenix are also thrilled to announce Luke Tongue has re-signed as the men’s head analyst and second assistant coach.
Tongue was appointed to the role on the eve of the 2025-26 season after two years at the academy.
The men's squad have reassembled for testing this week ahead of the start of pre-season training on Monday.