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Victory admit Kurz appointment didn't fit

Melbourne Victory chairman Anthony Di Pietro admits lessons will be learnt from the appointment of Marco Kurz after the club sacked the German just 13 games into his coaching tenure.

The A-League heavyweights confirmed the 50-year-old's dismissal on Wednesday after a board meeting on Tuesday sealed Kurz's fate.

Appointed in June after club legend Kevin Muscat's resignation, Di Pietro conceded performances and results were not what Victory had expected in 2019-20.

"We're going to look at what we did in this current process," Di Pietro said.

"You can never get every appointment right. No organisation gets every appointment right.

"The strategy doesn't change, but the appointments at times don't work."

It seems Muscat's decision to step down after 14 years and four championships as a player and coach caught Victory on the hop.

The ex-Socceroo defender had a year to run on his contract but confirmed his resignation in May.

Skipper Carl Valeri retired and several key players, including Japanese marquee Keisuke Honda and New Zealand striker Kosta Barbarouses, left the Victory along with Muscat.

Kurz, available after his two-year contract with Adelaide United ended, was appointed in June.

The German underwent a rebuild of the Victory squad, including the capture of Socceroos pair Robbie Kruse and Andrew Nabbout, but was under pressure after a poor start where the club won just one of their first seven matches.

Last Friday's dramatic 3-2 loss to Central Coast, which included the concession of two stoppage-time penalties to the Mariners and Kurz being shown a red card for dissent, left the Victory sixth on the ladder with just four wins and 15 points.

It equals the 2007-08 and 2011-12 seasons as the lowest haul in club history at the same stage of a campaign.

"We need results," Di Pietro said.

"This is the elite competition of football in Australia and our club has high expectations. We believe in the squad that we have.

"We're certainly not happy about where we're at and this decision was based on improving that."

Kurz's brief time in charge is not the shortest spell at the Victory helm.

Northern Irishman Jim Magilton lasted just 12 games in 2012 campaign, winning just two matches while Mehmet Durakovic was in the seat for just 14 matches that same season.

With Kurz and assistant Filip Tapalovic leaving, Spanish coach Carlos Salvachua will lead the club for the remainder of the season.

He'll start his reign with Friday's clash against Kurz's old club Adelaide at Coopers Stadium before an Asian Champions League qualiifier at home against Bali FC on Tuesday.

As to who will take over long-term, Di Pietro is promising a thorough recruitment process.

"We'll take our time to review what we've learned in the process for appointing a coach," he said.

"Time's going to be on our side, this time around."

MARCO KURZ'S A-LEAGUE COACHING RECORD

Clubs: Adelaide United (2017-19, 57 games), Melbourne Victory (2019-20, 13 games)

Overall: 28 wins, 17 draws, 25 defeats (40 per cent win percentage)

* Led Adelaide to two FFA Cup finals, winning in 2018