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Frank Farina will be announced as the new coach of Sydney FC later this afternoon. The announcement will be made by the club's chief executive Tony Pignata at their Macquarie University headquarters.


The former Socceroos and Brisbane Roar manager is understood to have accepted a short-term offer that will see him take the reins of the Sky Blues until the end of the season.


Farina, 48, will take charge immediately and is expected to arrive in Sydney tomorrow as Ian Crook's replacement. He will take charge of the team in Sunday's match against Melbourne Heart at Allianz Stadium.


Negotiations with Farina have been stalled as a result of his inaccessibility at times, for he is currently in Papua New Guinea, where he is coach of the national team.


Farina most recently coached in the A-League with Brisbane Roar and took them as far as a preliminary final in 2008-9 before being dismissed for being caught for drink-driving.


Prior to that he was coach of the Socceroos between 1999 and 2005, a role he took on after impressing in his first two coaching stints at Marconi Stallions and Brisbane Strikers in the NSL. He famously guided the Strikers to their one and only championship win as player-coach in 1997.


His playing career was highly decorated, scoring 14 goals in 67 appearances for the national team. He also starred in the NSL with Canberra Arrows, Sydney City and Marconi before embarking on a successful career in Belgium and France.


Farina already has a close relationship with Sydney's assistant coaches Zeljko Kalac and Steve Corica, who he played with and later coached during his time with the national team.


The Sky Blues are currently last on the A-League table with two wins from their first eight games. However, they are only four points off sixth place, meaning there's plenty of time for Farina to turn the season around.