The man who denied Australia direct progression to the World Cup will take charge of the Socceroos in Russia.
Bert van Marwijk, who led the Netherlands to the 2010 final the last time he coached at a World Cup, has been appointed coach OF the Australian team on a short-term contract that expires at the end of the tournament.
His last job was in charge of Saudi Arabia, where the Dutchman pipped Ange Postecoglou's Socceroos to second place in their Asian qualifying group, sending Australia into playoffs with Syria and Honduras.
Postecoglou's resignation a week after his qualification triumph sparked a global search for his successor.
Former Socceroos Mark Schwarzer, Stan Lazaridis and Mark Bresciano were drafted in to provide assistance to FFA and consulting firm SRi Executive.
According to FFA chief executive David Gallop, who agreed on terms with van Marwijk this week in Amsterdam, they settled on the Dutchman.
The 65-year-old claimed the role ahead of Jurgen Klinsmann, Slaven Bilic, Roberto Mancini and Louis van Gaal.
A foreign coach was preferred in the position to local hopes Graham Arnold and Kevin Muscat, with FFA executives hoping a heavyweight name would calm players still upset by Postecoglou's decision to move on.
Van Marwijk's biggest coaching achievement came in 2010, losing the final of the World Cup to Spain 1-0 in extra time.
He enjoyed two successful stints coaching Dutch club Feyenoord, where he counted Brett Emerton as one of his players, before taking over as Dutch national team boss.
Van Marwijk has less than five months in charge ahead of Australia's opening match with France.
He said, however, his ambition at June's World Cup went beyond making up the numbers.
"We are not going to Russia just to be competitive. I want to win our matches," he said in a statement.
"I know a lot about the players and how the team has been playing after coaching against them for the two World Cup qualifiers, in 2016 and in June last year.
"I have also been impressed by the national team set-up that the FFA has developed over the past few years."
FFA chairman Steven Lowy trumpeted his appointment, calling it a "great result for Australian football".
"Bert Van Marwijk is world class," he said.
"He took the Netherlands to the World Cup final in 2010, he led the Saudi Arabian team to qualify directly for this year's finals and, most importantly, he knows a lot about our team and how they play because he studied them closely as an opposition manager in the same group.
"These experiences make him a compelling choice."
Van Marwijk will have five friendlies before the June 16 opener with France.
The first will be against Norway on March 23 in Oslo, with a second against Colombia four days later in London.
His appointment continues a trend of Dutchmen taking charge of the Socceroos.
Guus Hiddink led Australia to the 2006 tournament, reaching the second round and earning the moniker of 'Aussie Guus' for his impressive tenure.
Pim Verbeek enjoyed less success in charge of the side from 2007-10, failing to get out of the group at the South Africa tournament.
