In the world of the Socceroos, V is for victory, Verbeek and now Vidmar.

Socceroos and Adelaide United goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic believes Aurelio Vidmar's similarities to Pim Verbeek make him an ideal candidate to one day coach the national team.

The Asian football blueprint used by Vidmar with United - not unlike that of Verbeek with the Socceroos - certainly impressed Football Federation Australia, with chief executive Ben Buckley saying it played large part in his appointment.

Vidmar has quit his A-League post at Adelaide United for a significant role in the national set-up.

He will be a Socceroos assistant coach and head coach of Australia's under-23 team for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Vidmar enjoyed stunning success in Asia with the Reds, twice guiding the club into the knockout stages of the Asian Champions League and making the final in 2008.

"Aurelio's demonstrated that he can manage and work with a team that has to confront very diverse conditions," said Buckley in Sydney.

"He is a very experienced footballer, he's now got a really solid grounding in coaching, and what he's been able to achieve throughout Asia with Adelaide United was certainly a factor that demonstrated he can work with our national teams as they confront similar challenges."

Galekovic, whom Vidmar took from a reserve team goalkeeper at Melbourne Victory and turned into an international, said the 43-year-old's appointment could eventually lead to the senior job.

"It's definitely the first step. One day when they maybe decide to go for an Australia-based coach, obviously he's then the first option," Galekovic said.

"Getting all the inside information from Pim and whoever coaches the next Socceroos team, he's definitely going to have the inside running.

"He's very similar to Pim in that you can be very comfortable going and talking to him about anything, and also similar to Pim in the system he plays.

"He implements things well, and you could see that through the Asian Champions League."

Vidmar will arrive in South Africa on Tuesday as an official observer at the Socceroos' training camp and he will help compile a technical report for the FFA on several World Cup matches.

Buckley said the FFA's ultimate goal was to have a highly respected Australian in the role of Socceroos coach - a heartening thought for Vidmar.

"Our focus still is on appointing a Socceroos coach, and we've got a number of international prospects we're talking with," Buckley said.

"Having said that, we want to continue to expose Australian coaches to international football and tournaments, and partner the best of Australian coaches with international expertise and experience.

"Over time we will be developing our own Socceroos coaches."

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