Peter Cklamovski was enjoying an extended family holiday in England, taking a break after Asian Cup qualifying with Malaysia. He, his wife and two children toured the country, taking in English culture and English football and falling in love with both.
In London, they met up multiple times with his old friend, colleague and confidante Ange Postecoglou, with whom they discussed just how the sport gets under your skin in England. The family had thoroughly enjoyed their sojourn and were getting ready for their flight home when Peter received a call from Gavin Fleig, CEO of Salford City. The rest is history, but the Cklamovskis delayed their flight home.
“I had no intention of being here to get a job, so to speak,” Cklamovski says. “We were basically on our way back out after a great holiday. Then the opportunity came to talk to the CEO and we connected really well. Along the journey, everything felt right: super people, a super project with a really strong purpose behind it and the ambition to chase promotions.”
Cklamovski has already forged a reputation as a manager in Asian football: seven successful years in Japan across three clubs and then 18 months in charge of Malaysia. But it was before that, under Postecoglou, that he really learnt his trade. Cklamovski was an assistant coach with Australia between 2014 and 2017 when Ange was the manager. He then followed him to Yokohama F. Marinos, where they won the J-League title.
