John Aloisi was coaching in front of 1000 fans. Now he could become a hero to millions

September 4, 2026 — 5:00amJohn Aloisi estimates the size of the community who “really cared” about Western United, the now-defunct A-League club he proudly coached to a championship in 2022, at about 1000 people. From his dugout at Ironbank Fields, he remembers being able to hear individuals clapping from the stands during matches.His next job has provided the ultimate contrast.The Socceroos legend is on the cusp of clinching the Chinese Super League title in his first season with Chengdu Rongcheng, his first experience of coaching outside of Australia.Chengdu, a city of 23 million people, is the capital of the Sichuan province, which is home to 83 million people. Two months ago, when Chengdu hosted their fiercest regional rivals at their brand new 41,000-capacity stadium, around 700,000 people tried to get tickets.“It’s hard, because wherever you go, people know who you are,” Aloisi says. “You’ll find spots where people might not know who you are. I don’t stray too much far from my house and from the training base.”But even there, refuge is scant. Before and after training, there are usually between 50-100 fans waiting outside the gates of their facility, seeking autographs and photos. Whenever they travel through an airport, there are several hundred of them, at least. He cannot escape.The expectations of Chengdu Rongcheng’s enthusiastic fans have risen dramatically this season.Future Publishing via Getty ImagesNever before has a team from western China won a top-flight title, but with a 14-point lead on their nearest rivals, just one more win from any of their last five games will do it for Chengdu, and so the atmosphere around the team is peaking in anticipation.Most Australians have formed a dismissive view of what the Chinese Super League is based on the lowly reputation of the Chinese men’s national team and very little direct knowledge of the competition itself. But Aloisi reckons the sheer scale of the thing - if people back home could experience it up close - would blow their minds.In his seven months working in China, he has already run through the full gamut of emotions when it comes to Chengdu’s big, passionate and hard-to-please fanbase. He was nicknamed “Master Aloisi” by Sichuan fans as Chengdu tore through the first half of the season, and was named the CSL’s coach of the month three times. But the masses turned on him during a six-game winless run as he became, in the words of one Chinese newspaper, a “scapegoat facing criticism from all sides”.Two weeks ago, after a 5-4 defeat at home to Shanghai Shenhua, fans called for him to be sacked, a reflection of just how swiftly their expectations have risen.“I haven’t learned Mandarin, but I understand what’s going on, because they make it known and felt, that you understand,” Aloisi says.“The second half of the season hasn’t been as good in terms of results-wise. That can happen when you’re so far in front. A lot of the players and the club haven’t been in this position before: top of the table, really looking like favourites to win it. They’ve always been the underdogs. It’s a different position for everyone here, not only the players but the club, the supporters. Sometimes they get so nervous about it that the nervous energy can go on to the players, so I have to try and keep that at bay.“There’s been some tough moments in the second half of the season where the crowd have got on our backs and made it known they weren’t happy with us, or happy with me. You do feel it, but that’s part of being a coach. I just have to deal with that.”For Aloisi, the opportunity to coach in China came at precisely the right time. Weeks out from the 2025-26 A-League season, Western United’s licence was suspended and they were placed in ‘hibernation’, leaving players and staff stranded. Last month, their licence was terminated, spelling the end for a club whose vision for a self-funded stadium in Melbourne’s western fringes Aloisi fully bought into.John Aloisi is on the cusp of glory in his first season coaching in China.Getty ImagesHe is pleased that most of his players have been able to find new clubs, but disappointed at how United’s demise reflects on the A-League, which is in a tough spot financially.“I was really upset because there was a lot of good people involved in the club,” Aloisi says.“I enjoyed my time there. We had success. We won a championship. It should never get unnoticed that we won a championship only in the third year of being in existence. But for them not to be around any more, it’s sad, for all the people that were involved, but it’s also sad for the game that it got to that stage.”Aloisi reckons the only time during his A-League coaching career when he felt anything approaching the intensity of Chengdu was a decade ago, at the peak of his tenure at Brisbane Roar, during what he now regards as a high-water mark for the competition: big crowds, strong media exposure and squads stacked with experienced Socceroos and high-quality imports.John Aloisi is celebrated after winning the 2022 A-League grand final with Western United.Getty ImagesA decade later, one of his former clubs no longer exists, the other is a shadow of its old self, crowds have dropped across the competition, investment has fallen, and many of Australian soccer’s best people have sought opportunities elsewhere.“We didn’t realise how good we had it,” Aloisi says.“It’s a pity that we didn’t actually go the other direction, because I thought that the league was heading in the right direction at that stage.”Australian coaches are in high demand in China thanks to the success of Kevin Muscat, the coach of two-time defending champions Shanghai Port. He has opened doors for them in the same way Ange Postecoglou did in Japan, inspiring several rival clubs to take a punt on an Aussie. This season, A-League alumni are everywhere.Kevin Muscat cops a beer shower after Shanghai Port won the 2025 Chinese Super League.Ross Aloisi, John’s older brother and Muscat’s former assistant, has branched out on his own with Zhejiang Professional; John won both of their matches against each other this season. Nick Montgomery, an A-League champion who worked under Postecoglou in England, is at Beijing Guoan. There’s also Marko Rudan, though his future as an assistant coach at Dalian Yingbo is clouded after he grabbed Montgomery by the throat during an ugly incident at the end of their match last weekend, copping a three-match stadium ban and a hefty fine.Muscat’s shot at a three-peat with Shanghai Port was hampered before the season even began. Nine of the league’s 16 teams – including the clubs of Muscat, Montgomery and Ross Aloisi, plus last season’s runners-up Shanghai Shenhua – were hit with deductions ranging between 5-10 points as part of sweeping anti-corruption investigations, giving John a taste of the perennial dysfunction of Chinese football.But even without the deductions, Chengdu, who finished third in the previous two seasons, would still be nine points clear of Montgomery’s Beijing Guoan with five games remaining, illustrating the merit behind Aloisi’s pending achievement. They also boast the competition’s best attack and second-best defence, stats which are not impacted by the punishments meted out to their rivals.Tony Popovic and John Aloisi during their playing days together at Sydney FC.Getty Images“It was a bit of a shock, because we were in pre-season when that came about, and I was like, ‘OK, at least my team didn’t get any points deductions. We’re in a good starting position,’” Aloisi says. “Now we have to go on and finish the job. But at the moment, a lot of people also not only want us to win the league, but do it without the points deduction as well.”The achievement would grant Aloisi entry into an exclusive club of Australian coaches who have won major trophies abroad, including Postecoglou, Muscat and Joe Montemurro – which could bring greater opportunities elsewhere.“I’ll feel privileged if I do win it, because it’s my first year abroad. Having won in Australia, it would be nice to win something abroad and know that very few people have done it,” he says.“I don’t know what that will do for my coaching future. At the moment, I’m just focused on making sure we win it, because even though it’s touching distance, you want to get the job done, and hopefully we get it done this weekend.”Aloisi is cagey about whether he will be at Chengdu next year, but said he expects to have his future sorted soon, hopefully after they celebrate the title. But another role he has long coveted could be about to open up, and he may have timed his run perfectly.Tony Popovic’s contract as Socceroos coach expires at the end of January’s Asian Cup, and it remains to be seen whether he has the appetite for another cycle, if Football Australia decides to go in a different direction, or if Australia’s performance at that tournament shapes either side of the discussion.Aloisi doesn’t shy away from the fact that the Socceroos job is on his bucket list, and sources familiar with FA’s thinking say that, in the event Popovic doesn’t re-sign, he and Muscat will be their top targets to steer the team on the road to the 2030 World Cup in Spain, Portugal and Morocco (and Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina).But Aloisi says he would actually prefer that his old teammate went around again, offering a strong defence of Australia’s recent campaign and Popovic overall as coach.“I really hope Popa stays another cycle. I actually think that he deserves a lot of credit for these young boys that have come through,” he says.“What he did with Herrington, what he did with Okon, a lot of other coaches might not have done that, and Popa did that. They performed really well at the World Cup and deserve the moves that they got. I feel that Popa’s going to, if not win the Asian Cup, but go very close to winning it.“A lot of people were upset about the World Cup, in terms of they didn’t think that we achieved what we could have achieved, but I actually think that we achieved a lot. In Australia, people see it a little bit different, but the rest of the world really sat up and took notice of the Socceroos.“I was obviously over here watching it, and I was so excited and happy, and then obviously disappointed like everyone when we got knocked out by Egypt on penalties. But then you have to take a step back and go, ‘Okay, Egypt. Look at the players that they have, and what level they’ve been playing at for a number of years. We’ve got a young squad.’ It’s not a given that you’re going to beat Egypt.”News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport are sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.More:Australian soccerA-League MenSocceroosWestern UnitedFrom our partners