Poletti 
Ante Juric on the sidelines coaching a Sydney FC game at AAMI Park. Photo: Marcus Robertson/Round Ball Australia
After a run of poor form culminating in a 3-2 loss in the Sydney Derby, Ante Juric will depart Sydney FC after eight and a half years in charge.
Juric will be replaced by James Slaveski, who is the assistant coach for the clubs NPL side, for the remainder of the season as the interim coach.
Despite his trophy success in the A-League Women as the Sky Blues’ most tenured coach, which included three Premierships and three Championships, the club failed to qualify for the finals for the first time in club history in the 2024/25 season.
He leaves Sydney FC as the clubs most successful coach, with six major trophies and seven consecutive A-League Women Grand Final appearances, as well as developing a number of players who have gone on to have success overseas and for Australia, including current Matildas Cortnee Vine, Clare Wheeler, and Remy Siemsen.
Sydney FC Executive Vice Chairman Sebastian Gray said that Juric will be remembered as one of the most important figures in Sydney FC’s history.
“On behalf of the board, we want to sincerely thank him for everything he has given to this club over eight and a half seasons, including an incredible run of success that delivered six major trophies and seven straight Grand Finals,” Grey said.
Mass changes were made to the squad in the most recent off-season, with 15 new arrivals and 12 players departing, with all four goalkeepers being replaced.
The problems which impacted last season have continued into the 2025/26 season, and see Sydney currently sit in 10th spot, one place above the bottom on the table Western Sydney Wanderers on goal difference, and only two wins for the season, the most recent of which was a 1-0 win in November over the Central Coast Mariners.
Whilst the side has been impacted with injuries to key players, including a season-long ACL injury to star midfielder Indiana Dos Santos picked up during the off-season, an ongoing injury to Shay Hollman, and club captain Nat Tobin announcing her pregnancy, it does not explain the lack of results for a club that still has a wealth of talent available.
With just seven games to play this season before finals, the team would need to go on a monster run if it wanted to make finals and hope that other results would fall their way, and with just seven points separating 1st to 9th spot on the table, it wouldn’t be an impossible task, albeit an unlikely one.
Juric also had to balance his commitments with Sydney FC with his head coaching role at Sydney United 58 through the 2025 NSW NPL season and the Australian Championship, a position he departed at the conclusion of that campaign.
Slaveski has previously been at multiple A-League clubs and the Matildas as an analyst. At Sydney, he has also been working within the clubs academy and women’s pathway programs.
Gray said the club was excited to promote from within and give him the opportunity to coach the A-League Women squad.
“The board has been impressed by James’ work within our Academy and NPL programs, where he has demonstrated some outstanding coaching and leadership characteristics,” he said.
“We are excited to see James step into this role and lead the group for the remainder of the season.”
Slaveski’s first game in charge will be against the Brisbane Roar on Wednesday February 4 at Leichhardt Oval.
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