The Most Famous
COACHES from Australia
Top 3
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Australian Coaches of all time. This list of famous Australian Coaches is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.
1. Graham Arnold (b. 1963)
With an HPI of 58.81, Graham Arnold is the most famous Australian Coach. His biography has been translated into 47 different languages on wikipedia.
Graham James Arnold (born 3 August 1963) is an Australian professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of the Iraq national team. Arnold was first appointed to work as a head coach of the Australian men's national soccer team (the Socceroos) in 2000. After head coach Frank Farina was sacked in 2005, Arnold worked with Guus Hiddink for the 2006 FIFA World Cup campaign, in which they made the second round of the finals. After Hiddink left, he became interim coach of the Socceroos. Arnold went on to qualify Australia's U23 men's national soccer team (nicknamed the Olyroos) for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Arnold then went on to assist Pim Verbeek for qualification of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Arnold's next move was to take the manager role at struggling A-League club the Central Coast Mariners between 2010 and 2013, where he guided the club to a Premiership and a Championship. He is a member of the Football Federation Australia Football Hall of Fame. Arnold went on to win two Premierships, one Championship and an FFA Cup with Sydney FC. In 2018, Arnold replaced Bert van Marwijk as Australian coach after the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Under Arnold, Australia qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, during which Australia achieved their most successful World Cup campaign: after recording multiple group stage wins for the first time, with their only group stage loss being to eventual runners-up France, Australia qualified for the Round of 16 for the second time in their history, where they narrowly lost to eventual champions Argentina. He resigned from the role in September 2024. He was appointed head coach of the Iraq national team. Arnold holds a number of A-League records: he has managed the fourth most games of any manager in the A-League (211), he has achieved the third most wins in the competition's history (116), he has the third-best career winning percentage of any A-League manager with 30+ games managed (54.9%), he has the best career unbeaten percentage of any A-League manager (81.5%), and he is one of just three managers to have won multiple A-League championships. Arnold also holds the records for most games coached, and most games won, as manager of Australia.
2. Peter Cklamovski (b. 1978)
With an HPI of 39.20, Peter Cklamovski is the 2nd most famous Australian Coach. His biography has been translated into 14 different languages.
Peter Cklamovski (Macedonian: Петар Чкламовски; born 16 October 1978) is an Australian football manager of Macedonian descent who is currently the Head Coach of Malaysia national team. Cklamovski built one of the most respected coaching partnerships in Australian football history as the trusted right-hand man of world-renowned Manager Ange Postecoglou, which spanned over 15 years and multiple continents. Cklamovski began his professional journey in 2004 with Australia’s National Youth Teams, working under Postecoglou at FIFA Youth World Cups and AFC Championships, before moving abroad to Greece’s Panaxaiki FC and later joining Melbourne Victory FC in Australia’s premier competition, A-League. In 2014, Cklamovski joined Postecoglou’s staff with the Australian National Team (Socceroos), serving as Assistant Coach through one of the nation’s most successful periods ever. As part of the wider coaching and support team, they led the Socceroos at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, guided the team to success at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup becoming Champions in what was Australia’s first ever continental title, secured their place at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and earned qualification for the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018™. Cklamovski also managed Australia under-17 team in 2017, guiding them through 2018 AFC U-16 Championship qualification. He later joined Postecoglou at Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan as Assistant Coach in 2018, helping the team secure the 2019 J1 League title, their first since 2004. In 2020, Cklamovski became Head Coach of Shimizu S-Pulse in J1 League. He then managed Montedio Yamagata in J2 League, where he is credited with transforming the team's style into an attacking, win-focused approach. His tenure saw the Club achieve its best win percentage and points-per-game record in history while avoiding relegation and nearing promotion in 2022. Cklamovski was then signed by J1 League outfit FC Tokyo in 2023, where he would reshape the Club's footballing DNA with attendance surging to an all-time home Club record of 57,885 and an average home attendance of 33,225 which was second highest in the J.League for season 2024. Cklamovski brought to an end a successful seven year spell in Japanese club football at the end of the 2024 J1 League season, taking up the position of Malaysia national team Head Coach in January 2025. As of 19 November 2025, Malaysia are undefeated from eight matches under Cklamovski and sit top of Group F after Match Day 5 of the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027™ Qualifiers.
3. Ante Milicic (b. 1974)
With an HPI of 35.08, Ante Milicic is the 3rd most famous Australian Coach. His biography has been translated into 14 different languages.
Ante Milicic ( AN-tay MIL-ə-chitch; Croatian: Ante Miličić [ǎːnte mîlitʃitɕ]; (born 4 April 1974) is an Australian soccer manager and former professional player who currently is the head coach of the China women's national football team.
People
Pantheon has 3 people classified as Australian coaches born between 1963 and 1978. Of these 3, 3 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Australian coaches include Graham Arnold, Peter Cklamovski, and Ante Milicic. As of April 2024, 2 new Australian coaches have been added to Pantheon including Peter Cklamovski, and Ante Milicic.
Living Australian Coaches
Go to all Rankings
Graham Arnold
1963 - Present
HPI: 58.81
Peter Cklamovski
1978 - Present
HPI: 39.20
Ante Milicic
1974 - Present
HPI: 35.08
