Building the entity in a short time was not a simple job.
"We focused on the football department and employed coaches[head coach Mark Rudan and assistant coaches John Hutchinson and John Anastasiadis] and other staff.
"We quickly recruited a commercial team,executive officers,a CFO and whilst all that was happening we found office space,computer equipment,phones. We had to find a logo,create our colours,find a name all the while connecting to the community.
The fact that we are able to really define a demographic was very important. I am not sure Victory or City have really identified with a specific demographic.
Maurice Bisetto
"There were probably seven streams of activity running concurrently that dealt with resourcing,people,football,technology,branding and the legalities around structures and shareholder agreements and all the important contracts,charters,constitutions – it's been a whirlwind."
Finding a training ground and venue to play at were also logistical issues that needed to be dealt with.
"We looked at many options for training grounds and partnering with clubs before deciding to go with Sunshine Georgies at Caroline Springs. They designed it to our requirements,which was a godsend. Outside of Wyndham Council it's a really key partnership."
The club will play most of its home games at Geelong's GMHBA Stadium,with a handful at Mars Stadium in Ballarat.
"We have no concerns about that. We have no base line for attendances;I am expecting a bit of a variation of crowds but I expect the derbies will be reasonably well-attended.
"We are in a results-based business. If we start to win some games,and we have a pretty interesting first five games,then crowds will grow."
Tribalism is,he says,important in the west.
"The fact that we are able to really define a demographic was very important. I am not sure Victory or City have really identified with a specific demographic,"Bisetto says.
"Victory had first-mover advantage and it was going to be really difficult to stuff that one up.
"City – there are a lot of question marks within the football community about who identifies with them. We have marked the boundary and our demographic is clear. I think that's what won us the bid."
Building the squad
Lou Sticca was the man,along with Horvat,who was responsible for driving the vision of a team from the west.
As an experienced soccer businessman and player agent,Sticca knew the ins and outs of recruitment and how to attract players.
He had done it before when he had recruited the first Sydney FC team,including former Manchester United star Dwight Yorke,which went on to win the inaugural A-League championship.
He had worked closely with Sydney to get Alessandro Del Piero,probably the biggest star to have played in the competition,some years later.
He quickly set about building a squad and finding a coach for Western United.
"As soon as we got the licence we looked to identify the coaching staff and then the players. Working in the industry as a player agent and having done this numerous times before I was pretty comfortable with what we were going to be able to put together,"Sticca says.
"Given the potential rebuild at a number of A-League clubs and the scarcity of new talent the pool to recruit from is small.
"We decided was that we would have to move real quickly. We couldn't wait until the end of the A-League season to start recruiting,so we did a lot of work while it was going on."
He explained his methodology in creating a new roster.
"I tend to recruit in groups. You have 23 players on the roster. You have four or five visa spots,out of the 23 you can have up to two marquees.
"Then you look at established A-League players,Socceroos playing in other markets that might want to come home,other players in the A-League,young ones,NPL level players who could step up.
"It's quite strategic,it's not ad hoc.''
Then there was the matter of recruiting head coach Mark Rudan,who quit one year into a two-year deal with Wellington Phoenix to take the Western job.
"I started down the path of foreign coaches. I have done that before[having recruited Pierre Littbarksi for Sydney's first season] and I had a number of meetings overseas with candidates.
"I was watching the A-League and the usual suspects like Kevin Muscat and Tony Popovic were doing so well and Rudan was winning rave reviews with what he was doing at Wellington.
"It became apparent very early on that we wanted to hit the ground running and it would be more straightforward with a local. It's a tough job to bring someone in from overseas who is not used to salary cap,roster sizes.
"When it became clear in my mind and I thought about money,assistant coaches,money to invest in support staff,money to invest in players,it was becoming clearer that we needed to look at the Australian option better.
"They would know more about the opposition teams and what would be required to be competitive."
Creating the right club culture was also essential,Sticca says.
"We are very strong on culture,on a proper football environment,proper football people starting from the head coaches through to strength and conditioning,football manager:no gimmicks.
"We interviewed coaches in the first week of January. I recruited a general manager of footy ops,interviewed John Anastasiadis and John Hutchinson and others as early as January.
"As I worked in the industry I knew who was available,who was not available,what the expectations were.
"Scott McDonald was easy,he wanted to come home,Connor Chapman wanted to come back from Korea,BJ Haill and Josh Risdon were coming out of contract at Wanderers.
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"Filip Kurto had an outstanding season[at Wellington];he was only on a one-year deal. Given the scarcity of established No.1 keepers I had to jump all over that one,he was a no-brainer.
"There was a young player in the NPL that was doing very well,Valentino Yuel,I had a word with John Anastasiadis[who coached successfully in the NPL];he said this boy had something and I asked could he go to A-League level and John said yes."
Signing foreign players – outside of Wellington's Polish goalkeeper Kurto – took more time.
"I was really aware of[Italian-based Greek international] Panagiotis Kone's situation,"Sticca says.
'"He had missed the January transfer deadline so we got into his head about Australia. That was the end of February. I think we got him out here in March to do his medicals and sign up."
Kone was a solid get but the jewel in Western United's crown is Alessandro Diamanti,the newly appointed club captain.
He too had to be sold on the idea of coming to Australia,especially with a wife and three school-age children,but Sticca's dealings with Del Piero and the fact that he spoke Italian was an obvious help.
How hard was it to sell players on the idea of a start-up club,one that had no home ground,no supporters and no identity to speak of at the time?
"It wasn't a hard sell,"says Sticca.
"Once they listened to me,the coaching staff and Mark[Rudan],we were all pretty passionate about selling the club and the geography of the area.
"Most Australian players have experienced some sort of start-up exposure,and we sold the whole vision of the club.
"We have a massive population to win over. We have our own identity to create,it's very much the west and new football fans.
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"We told them about playing in two stadia,not being in the CBD,and nobody red-flagged it. I think everyone is excited about the journey and sees the bigger picture,how it's all real football people involved.
"We hadn't sugar coated it. It's going to be a challenge.
"You negotiate the money,but everyone goes into these deals with eyes wide open."