Jesper Olsen and Ante Milicic head to Melbourne

The Melbourne Heart Syndicate have named former Manchester United midfielder Jesper Olsen and former Australia international Ante Milicic as assistants to head coach John van 't Schip for the club's debut in the 2010/11 A-League season.

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John van't Schip is happy with new assistants

Olsen played in two European Championships with Denmark and spent time at United under Sir Alex Ferguson and at Bordeaux under Aime Jacquet. He has spent the past few years developing the next generation of stars with his own academies in Australia and Europe but this appointment is his first as a coaching professional.

Milicic enjoyed a solid playing career, making six international appearances and also representing teams in both the old NSL and the A-League as well as spending time in the Netherlands, Croatia and Malaysia before turning his hand to coaching.

The 35-year-old combined playing and coaching with his original club Sydney United in the NSW Premier League this season and recently worked as an assistant under Young Socceroos coach Jan Versleijen at the Under-20 World Cup.

"I am excited to be working alongside Ante and Jesper," Van 't Schip said. "They bring qualities to the table, which are important to build a successful football club, and will help us into the future.

"Ante's knowledge of youth football, development and the A-League will prove important, while Jesper's experience in the Dutch system will reinforce the football style and philosophy I hope to integrate."

Club chief Scott Munn added: "Melbourne Heart Syndicate has deliberately set out to build a coaching panel that is capable of delivering exciting football. Encouraging both devotees of the game as well as newcomers to the sport to get on board and support our team (is our goal)."