Brisbane Roar Appoint 27-Year-Old Johnathan Clemente as Youngest-Ever A-League Women's Coach

Brisbane Roar have made A-League history, announcing the youngest-ever manager to lead the women's side moving forward. At just 27 years of age, Johnathan Clemente has been named the new Roar coach ahead of the ALW season. He arrives at Brisbane on a two-year deal, coming from Melbourne Victory where he was an assistant under Jeff Hopkins with the ALW side. "I am incredibly honoured at the opportunity to lead one of the most successful clubs in the country, with one of the best squads in the league and to do it in one of the most beautiful places in the world," Clemente said in a statement. "I see exciting parallels between Brisbane Roar and my own journey. We've been hungry, ambitious and have spent the past few years building strong foundations. Now it's our time to come together and establish ourselves at the pinnacle of women's football in this country." Despite his young age, Clemente has plenty of coaching and managerial experience. He was the youngest ever head coach of a National Premier League side when he took over Heidelberg United at the age of 20. During his three seasons with the club, 10 players were developed and signed to A-League squads. During his time with Victory, Clemente also led the NPLW, Female Pathways and the Melbourne Victory Afghan Women's Team programs. Brisbane Roar finished fourth on the ALW table last season, and lost their two-leg semifinal to Wellington Phoenix 3-2 on aggregate, going to extra time in the second leg. "Alex Smith and the squad were tremendous last season, finishing fourth and were one game away from a grand final, with a host of exciting, young, local talent. "I'll be looking to build on the great work, create consistency and continue the upward trajectory of the program," Clemente said. "Our team will be built around shared principles, not set structures, with the objective being not how we play, but how we feel. "We want our fans to believe in the fluid football they'll see, we want our young girls in the crowd to believe they can represent Brisbane one day and we want our squad to believe that when you represent our team and our state, anything is possible." The previous youngest managers were both 29 years of age, when Jess Fishlock took charge of Melbourne City in the W-League during the 2016-17 season, and Alex Epakis when he became manager of Perth Glory ALW side in 2020. The youngest manager of an ALM side was Des Buckingham, who was 31 when he became manager of Wellington in 2017. The Roar are not worried about Clemente's age, with sporting director James Gow stating the 27-year-old impressed when the club was recruiting for a new manager. "Johnathan is a coach with a very clear idea of how he wants to play, train and develop his team. We conducted a thorough recruitment process, and his desire for the role and clarity in how he works stood out," Gow said. "Despite his young age, he has a lot of experience in the A-League Women's space. He really buys into the strategy we as a club wish to execute. We are looking forward to welcoming him and seeing him get to work." The ALW and ALM seasons will both begin in mid-October.