With no previous playing or coaching experience in professional football, few would have predicted Giancarlo Italiano's start at the helm of the Wellington Phoenix.
Tomorrow, the A-League leaders could extend their unbeaten start to the season to seven games after Italiano, who took over the side after the departure of successful gaffer Ufuk Talay in the offseason, has now overseen the Phoenix's best A-League start in their 17-year history.
He told 1News even he was a little surprised.
"It's going far beyond where I thought we would be," Italiano said.
"I thought we'd be competitive this season — I just didn't know to what level."
In saying that, he was one of the only ones who believed they'd be decent with a lot of commentators and pundits alike writing him and his team off at the start of the season.
Italiano said that noise has been a motivator in camp.
"It's given us a platform for something to work off and I know that sounds counter intuitive but if people write you off, the only people that can get you out is the group itself so we use it as fuel."
And it seems that people-first approach has been critical to Italiano's early success.
His nickname might be "Chief" but the Australian's anything but authoritarian.
"I want them to be in an environment where they're happy to come and the best version of themselves, that's my style," he said.
"I look back at all my coaching seasons, yes, the tactical side is great but for me it's about building relationships. That's the most rewarding thing."
But funnily enough, he never actually intended to coach.
The trained lawyer reluctantly got into it after his Sunday league coach failed to turn up to a game. He found a new passion and soon after was impressing in Sydney's football scene before joining forces with Talay at the Phoenix as an assistant in 2019.
Four years later, he's taken the reins from his good mate.
"I'm just trying not get sacked at the end season mate."
Judging by how well things are going, there's no danger of that.
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