Western United is counting down to the start of the Academy season and Andreas Papanicolaou is set to lead the Club as Senior Academy head coach in 2025.
After guiding the Under 23’s to the league title last season, Papanicolaou will make the step up to the Senior’s this year in a bid to continue the progression of the Club’s young stars into the first team, with Diogo Ferreira continuing in his full-time assistant coach role with the Isuzu UTE A-League Men team.
Alongside his head coaching duties, Papanicolaou will also continue in the role of Academy Mental Performance Lead to help elevate players on and off the pitch.
Luca Andreacchio will serve as the Senior Academy Assistant Coach with Gian Tapia performing Goalkeeper Coach duties and Michael Hombsch and Pete Vamvakas filling the medical and high-performance team. Khan Sayers continues as the Senior Academy Team Manager.
Philippe Bernabo will lead the Under 23’s this year with support from Sean Vah, working closely with the senior side.
A change to the JBNPL structure had removed the Under 18’s group in place of an Under 17’s squad which will be coached by Matthew Conversano, with Daniel Hutchison as his assistant.
Turgut Fanoscu is the Under 16’s head coach while Nick Glavan will guide the Under 15’s side this season, the pair being supported by Rex Vo and Omar Abdo respectively.
As well as coaching the Under 14’s squad, Sai Gottipati will continue as the Talent Pathways lead, taking ownership over the WUFC Development Centre program and the overall progression in the Junior Academy.
Sakaria Hersi will be the Under 14’s assistant coach, while Scott Watson will work as the goalkeeper coach for all four Junior Academy teams.
It’s set to be a massive year for the Western United Academy with a full season at Ironbark Fields and high ambitions to sustain the early success of the program over its first three full years.
The season kicks off this weekend with all four junior teams in action at Ironbark Fields, while the senior sides travel to FC Bulleen Lions on Monday 10 February to kick start 2025.
Full 2025 Western United Academy staff
| Academy Director | Anthony Frost |
| Academy Operations Manager | Michael Ireland |
| Academy & Community Administration Officer | Jessica Bos |
| Senior Academy Head Coach | Andreas Papanicolaou |
| Senior Academy Assistant Coach | Luca Andreacchio |
| Senior Academy Goalkeeper Coach | Gian Tapia |
| Senior Academy Physio | Michael Hombsch |
| Senior Academy Strength & Conditioning Coach | Pete Vamvakas |
| Senior Academy Team Manager | Khan Sayers |
| Under 23’s Head Coach | Philippe Bernabo |
| Under 23’s Assistant Coach | Sean Vah |
| Under 17’s Head Coach | Matthew Conversano |
| Under 17’s Assistant Coach | Daniel Hutchison |
| Under 16’s Head Coach | Turgut Fanoscu |
| Under 16’s Assistant Coach | Rex Vo |
| Under 15’s Head Coach | Nick Glavan |
| Under 15’s Assistant Coach | Omar Abdo |
| Under 14’s Head Coach & Talent Pathways Lead | Sai Gottipati |
| Under 14’s Assistant Coach | Sakaria Hersi |
| Junior Academy Goalkeeper Coach | Scott Watson |
