But the Westfield Corporation senior executive, who is set to succeed his father Frank in  Australian soccer's top job, will seek to emulate Cruyff's impact rather than his individualistic style, working very much within the "football family" rather than forcing change through the strength of his character.

Lowy spoke to journalists for the first time publicly on Friday in a briefing that was, for the most part, off the record, as he is still to be confirmed in the position and does not want to be seen to be pre-empting the process.

But there is little doubt that he will be the next FFA chairman, and he gave some signals about the way he will tackle the job held by his father for the past decade.

"I intend to be a very consultative chairman, working with the new board ... [seeking] to leverage off the unbelievably good work that's taken place in the last decade ... [to] take that to another level," said the 53-year-old, who played social soccer until quite recently.

He was reluctant to list specific priorities for the first period of his tenure  — "It would be premature  at this stage. The new nominees haven't been elected or met as a board. I want to clearly respect the processes" —  but acknowledged there were obvious areas that needed to be addressed.

"It's well understood that the commercial sustainability of the game, the sustainability of the A-League, of the grassroots game, the importance of bringing through highly talented players at the grass roots level" are key areas of importance if the sport is to grow  "from the position it is now".

He is delighted to be given the chance to succeed his father, who has played such a key role in the restructure of the Australian game.

"I  am very proud to succeed my father, I have worked very closely with him for 30 years, it's a privilege to do that," Lowy said.

"Is it daunting? I don't see it like that. I see it as more of an evolution, a transformation at the board level because so many board members will change, it's a continuation and leveraging off all of the great work that's been achieved," he said, pointing to the success of the Socceroos, the development of the A-League and Australia's move into and then embracing of a role in the Asian Football Confederation.

"Much has been achieved but there is still much to be achieved," he said.

Until he is established in the job and able to put his own stamp on the role, Lowy will inevitably carry the public perception that he has got there because of who he is, rather than what he is.

That is something he cannot change, until he gets the chance to do so.

What cannot be contradicted is that he has an impressive track record in business, vast corporate experience and the sort of contacts in financial and international business and in the domestic political scene that a chairman of a major sporting body needs.

Lowy has also spent plenty of time on boards of major public institutions in the arts sector and the medical world, so there is no doubt he is well versed in the way boardroom politics works and the need to form consensus to get things done.

He is likely to focus on a broader based commercial engagement for the game, work hard to shore up the financial viability of the clubs and concentrate on the technological ways in which the game can broaden its appeal, especial in a digital economic and social milieu.

His father could famously pick up the phone and call the prime minister. Given that the current incumbent, Malcolm Turnbull, is his local MP, it might be expected that Lowy has the same capability.