Tony Popovic crowned AFC Coach of Year after leading Wanderers to Asian Champions League title Australia has dominated the Asian Football Awards, with the Wanderers crowned Team of the Year Tony Popovic Coach of the Year. Matildas star Katrina Gorry was named Women's Player of the Year and Mile Jedinak won International Player of the Year. Nikolai Topor-Stanley and Tony Popovic with the ACL trophy. WHEN Tony Popovic arrived in Manila for the AFC Awards, FFA boss David Gallop says it was like Steve Jobs pitching up to a mobile phone convention - everyone wanted to know his secret. It came as little surprise when the Wanderers coach was named Coach of the Year at a glitzy function, where FIFA president Sepp Blatter was present, after guiding Western Sydney to Asian Champions League glory at the first attempt. Popovic hopped on a plane hours after the Wanderers were held to a 1-1 draw by Sydney FC in Parramatta and arrived in Manila just in time for the ceremony. Head coach of Western Sydney Wanderers Tony Popovic recieves his award. Gallop, who attended the event with FFA chairman Frank Lowy, says he has been approached by several Asian associations interested in learning more about how Popovic has taken the Wanderers to the top of Asia in less than three years. "People want to know how the Wanderers have done it, so having Popa come here is like Steve Jobs coming to a mobile phone convention,"Gallop said. He's regarded as having the Midas touch and people want to know how he's done it. I've certainly had approaches from a few associations who have wanted to sit down with him and talk about how he turned a blank sheet of paper into Asian champions in just two and a half years. Asian teams want to tap into Tony Popovic's expertise. It's a great credit to him that he's helped lift our whole status in terms of the game. It's a very diverse group of people in Asian football, but being good at the actual game can never be underestimated. Not only have the Wanderers been in existence for less than three years yet have already claimed the prized continental trophy, but FFA have only been part of the Asian Football Confederation since 2006. As well as being an awards night, Sunday's event was also a celebration of the AFC's 60th anniversary. Despite Australia being newcomers on the scene, Gallop says they are growing in stature. "We're seen as a nation that's on the rise," he said. Nikolai Topor-Stanley and Tony Popovic with the silverware. Despite our FIFA ranking (102) at the moment the skill level of our game is beginning to be recognised more and more from what it might have been previously. We're relative newcomers to Asian football and winning the ACL has further put us on the map across the region, which is such a diverse and enormous part of football. When you couple that with the upcoming Asian Cup then Australia is really front and centre in terms of prominence. FFA's association with Asia is an important one, both on and off the field. And Gallop says Australia hasn't yet grasped how beneficial football can be in laying the foundations for further partnerships. "I think one of the things that the nation still doesn't quite comprehend is how useful football can be for us politically and economically," he said. So being part of this awards night celebrating 60 years is an opportunity for us to put in place not only things for football, but for the country's free trade agreements with the likes of Japan and China. Originally published as Popovic crowned coach of the year