Aussies Abroad Month in Review August 2014

Here is the Aussies Abroad Month in Review for August 2014 compiled by Damian Davies. Email Damian for any updates or new info damiandavies@ymail.com

The European season is back for 2014/15, the Asian leagues continue, the transfer window has just closed and the Socceroos are getting ready to play a few friendlies - football is back and plenty to review for the month of August!!

Transfers:-  the number of Aussies Abroad continues to swell with some more interesting destinations like Uzbekistan, Kenya and The Maldives now seeing Aussie expats plying their trade.  Some notable movements with several Aussies such as Davidson, Demetriou and Gallifuoco joining the English Premier League. Current Socceroos Ivan Franjic and James Troisi finding new homes, along with recent Socceroos in Luke Wilkshire and Jackson Irvine.  Of the more notable players seemingly still searching for a club are Lucas Neill and Kerem Bulut.

Additions/changes to player database:

Evan Alexandrow-Ridley (19 Jun 1994) - transferred to Ekranas, Lithuania

Mitchell Austin (3 Apr 1991) - loan from Cambridge Town to Brackley Town, England

Emre Balci (5 Apr 1987) - transferred from Inegolspor to Diyarbakir Buyuksehir Belediyespor, Turkey

Andrew Barisic (22 Mar 1986) - transferred from South China to Kerala Blasters, India

Brandon Chin (14 Feb 1995) - transferred to FC Hennof 05, Germany

Daniel Collins (15 Jun 1995) - transferred from Bala Town FC to Wrexham, Englanf

Jason Davidson (29 Jun 1991) - transferred from Heracles Almelo to West Bromwich Albion, England

James Demetriou (14 Aug 1995)  - transferred from Nottingham Forest to Swansea City, England

Kenny Dougall (7 May 1993) - transferred to Telstar 1963, Netherlands

Jonathan Faerber (15 Mar 1988) - transferred from FSV Erlangen-Bruck to TSV 1860 Rosenheim, Germany

Ivan Franjic (10 Sep 1987) - transferred from Brisbane Roar to FK Torpedo Moscow, Russia

Petar Franjic (7 Apr 1992) - transferred to Olmaliq, Uzbekistan

Rocci Gabey (TBC) - transferred to Kaya FC, Philippines

Giancarlo Gallifuoco (12 Jan 1994) - transferred from Tottenham to Swansea City, England

Sam Gibson (11 Nov 1988) - transferred from SV Bergisch Gladbach 09 to TSV Germania Windeck, Germany

Carter Glockner (16 Sep 1994) - transferred to 1. CFR Pforzheim, Germany

Tom Glover (24 Dec 1997) - transferred to Tottenham, England

Liam Graham (14 Aug 1992) - loan from Monza to Pro Partia, Italy

Alex Grant (23 Jan 1994) - loan from Stoke City to Macclesfield Town, England

Max Haubus (8 Mar 1993) - transferred from TuS Koblenz II to SV Rot WeiB Hadamar, Germany

Jackson Irvine (7 Mar 1993) - loan from Celtic to Ross County, Scotland

Luke Kairies (4 Mar 1995) - transferred to FC Eindhoven, Netherlands

Josip Konyit (29 Apr 1992) - transferred from Trento Calcio to Inter Zapresic, Croatia

Evan Kostopoulos (7 May 1990) - transferred from Sydney Olympic to South China, Hong Kong

Theo Markelis (24 Jun 1992) - transferred from Hercules Alicante to PAE Veria, Greece

Josh Macdonald (TBC) - transferred from Sydney FC to Nottingham Forest, England

Ian Niva (1994) - transferred to Gor Mahia, Kenya

Richard Porta (1 Aug 1983) - transferred from Nacional to Independiate del Valle, Ecuador

Alistair Quinn (1 Jun 1993) - transferred from NAC Breda to Telstar 1963, Netherlands

David Rowley (6 Feb 1990) - transferred to Club Sportif Grevenmacher, Luxembourg

Mario Simic (28 Dec 1989) - transferred to Lucko, Croatia

Brad Smith (9 Apr 1994) - loan from Liverpool to Swindon Town, England

Roko Strika (12 Feb 1994) - transferred from Velika Gorica to GNK Dinamo Zagreb, Croatia

Dean Tomeski (4 Feb 1991) - transferred to FY Makedonija GJP, Macedonia

James Troisi (3 Jul 1988) - loan from Juventus to SV Zulte Waragem, Belgium

Luke Wilkshire (2 Oct 1981) - transferred from Dinamo Moscow to Feyenoord, Netherlands

Removed from player database: 

Luis Abadia (Kaya FC) - uncontracted, whereabouts unknown

Dario Al Saad (B&I Svebolle) - uncontracted, whereabouts unknown

Matthew Bonasera (CF Badalona) - uncontracted, returned to Australia

Bryan Bran (FC Chabab) - uncontracted, whereabouts unknown

Kerem Bulut (Akhiser Belediyespor) - uncontracted, whereabouts unknown

Billy Celeski (Liaoning Whowin) - transferred to Newcastle Jets

Christian Esposito (Novara) - uncontracted, whereabouts unknown

Matthew Fletcher (Hull City) - uncontracted, whereabouts unknown

Charlie Fuller (Balzan Youths) - uncontracted, whereabouts unknown

Iain Fyfe (Mes Kerman) - transferred to Campbelltown City, SA

Ryan Go (Feyenoord) - uncontracted, whereabouts unknown

Calvin Lovric (Hercules Alicante B) - uncontracted, whereabouts unknown

Ben McNamara (Northampton Town) - uncontracted, whereabouts unknown

Jordan Nadalin (Balzan Youths) - uncontracted, whereabouts unknown

Lucas Neill (Watford FC) - uncontracted, whereabouts unknown

Conor O'Neill (Middlesbrough) - uncontracted, returned to Australia

Stepehen O'Neill (Middlesbrough) - uncontracted, returned to Australia

Robert Paratore (Leicester City) - transferred to Barwell, England (non-league)

Adam Parkhouse (Stalybridge Celtic) - uncontracted, whereabouts unknown

Steve Pepper (FCV Dender) - transferred to Croydon Kings, SA

Connor Thurston (Blackpool) - uncontracted, returned to Australia

Sebastian Usai (Cowdenbeath FC) - uncontracted, returned to Australia

Daniell Zeleny (Churchill Brothers) - uncontracted, returned to Australia

Club Level:-

England (Premier League) - Mile Jedinak has continued as captain at Crystal Palace, playing 90 minutes in each of the club's first three fixtures.  Jason Davidson has made his starting debut after a prolonged transfer from Holland.  The only other Aussie that has made a match day squad to date is Liverpool reserve keeper Brad Jones.

England (Championship) - making their senior debuts for Fulham were young defender Cameron Burgess and Ryan Williams.  To recap, Williams had a fantastic loan spell at Oxford United last year and has returned a better player.  Great to see Scott McDonald on the scoresheet early in Millwall's new campaign.  He seems to have moved to an attacking midfield role, and initial reports were positive on his involvement level.  Great to see Adam Federici back between the sticks at Reading after a disappointing last season.  Also featuring for Reading has been Ryan Edwards after returning from a loan in the A League.

England (League One) - of the Aussies in this league, Brad Inman has possibly started the strongest at Crewe, scoring twice in six league/cup appearances.  The boys at Swindon are also impressing with young defender Brad Smith joining on loan from Liverpool, complimenting our other young Aussie Mass Luongo who will be looking to build on his World Cup experience.  Another returning Socceroo is Bailey Wright, who will also be looking for a career defining club season.  Neil Kilkenny has had a good start to the new season at Preston North End.

England (League Two) - early days but Shane Cansdell-Sheriff's Burton Albion sit top of the table with Shane playing centre back in a miserly defence.

Italy (Serie A) - a rapid rise to fame with Josh Brillante debuting for Fiorentina in the first game of the season.  Some negative press after the game but tipping Josh to bounce back strongly after featuring in the Socceroos camp this week.

Germany (Bundesliga) - Mitch Langerak started the first game in goal but was promptly relegated to the bench for the second game.

Germany (2. Bundesliga) - an impressive start to Mat Leckie's Inglostadt career with goals and assists flowing.  A mixed start for Ben Halloran as he tries to nail down a starting berth at Fortuna Dusseldorf.

Netherlands (Eredivisie) - a few great stories with Tommy Oar showing great form after returning from injury at Utrecht.  Trent Sainsbury is moving towards a regular centre-back role at PEC Zwolle after several starts, and Luke Wilkshire may have a new lease of life after starting his career at Feyenood strongly.

Austria (Bundesliga) - James Holland has returned to the starting eleven but Austria Wien have had a terrible start to their season.

Belgium (Pro League) - Mat Ryan may not have started with a high number of clean sheets, but qualifying for the Europa League group stage would be arguably more satisfying.

Croatia (1. HNL) - great to see Tomislav Mrcela scoring on debut for his new club NK Lokomotiva Zagreb.  He was rewarded with a starting position.  Another to start the season in the senior squad is Steven Ugarkovic at NK Osijek.

Greece (Super League) - a bright start for Apostolis Giannou with two starts and two goals at Panionios Athens.  A debut as well for Robert Stambolziev at Niki Volos.

Iceland (2. Deild) - the amazing run continues at club level for Kile Kennedy.  KF Fjardabyggd have 13 points up their sleeve as they look for a second successive automatic promotion while Kile is in goal each week.

China (Super League) - plenty of minutes for veteran Jonas Salley at Guizhou Renhe.  Another who has seemingly worked his way back to a regular starting role is Harbin Yiteng midfielder Adam Hughes. 

Korea (K-League Classic) - the standout Aussie in this league for August would have to be defensive midfielder Aleksander Jovanovic.  He has now made 19 starts for Jeju United in a tough league.

Thailand (Premier League) - mixed results for our Aussies with Michael Beauchamp and Matt Thompson starting regularly for PTT Rayong.

Maldives (Dhivehi) - nearing the end of the season, journeyman Dane Milovanovic has featured prominately on the scoring charts for New Radiant as they push for the title.

Injuries:-   a fair number of Aussies in the medical rooms. Socceroos Curtis Good (hip), Adam Taggart (abdominal), Rhys Williams (achilles), Robbie Kruse (knee) and Tom Rogic (Abductor) all yet to appear this season.

Club Competitions:-

Europe                             

(UEFA Champions League) – no Aussies appeared during August, however Leverkusen (Kruse) did progress to the group stages.

(UEFA Europa League) – a bit of Aussie action with Mat Ryan appearing as Club Bruge progressed to the group stages.  Similar story for Luke Wilkshire as he started both legs that saw Feyenoord progress.  Trent Sainsbury also played both legs for PEC Zwolle who lost their playoffs and failed to enter the group stages.

North Amercia

(CONCACAFChampions League) – Tim Cahill started in the 2-0 win against FAS (El Salvador).

South America

(Copa Sudamericana) – Richard Porta was an unused sub for Independiate del Valle.

Asia

(Asian Champions League) - no Aussies Abroad remain.

(AFC Cup) - no Aussies Abroad remain.

Reserves and Youth:-

Youth leagues just recommencing, next report in September

International level:- preparations begin now for the Asian Cup in January.  Most notable inclusions for me were Josh Brillante who was close to the WC Squad, but has had a great pre-season in Italy.  Brad Smith has been recognised for a strong season at Liverpool and after appearing for the England youth team, would be great to lock him away.  Chris Herd hasn't been able to break into the Villa squad, so he is an interesting pick.  He has had injuries preventing him from appearing in the green and gold before now, hope to see how he is travelling now with a position at both club and national level seemingly on his agenda.  He certainly looked very promising a year or two ago so reason to be optimistic.  The last player I wanted to mention was Carl Valeri.  Certainly a player that has given his all to the Socceroos over the years.  With a transfer back to Melbourne Vicotry, I hope he has a fantastic six months at both club and national level. All in all, great to see Ange continue to look to build the depth of Australian football.

Socceroo (capped) of the month – on hold

Nov - Ryan, Dec - Jedinak, Jan - Jedinak, Feb - Ryan, Mar – Kennedy, Apr - Jedinak

Under the radar (uncapped)  - on hold.

Nov - Luongo, Dec - Mrcela, Jan - Giannou, Feb - Wright, Mar – Lowry, Apr - Halloran

Young player (U21) of the month – on hold.

Nov - Ryan Williams, Dec - Cooper, Jan - B.Smith, Feb - Grant, Mar – Tanner, Apr - Ugarkovic

Aussies Abroad Month in Review -September 2013

Compiled By Damian Davies

All systems go across Europe with club competitions hotting up and the group stages reached for the Champions and Europa Leagues.  The leagues in the Middle East are back in season as the football in Asia nears the end of their seasons. Fairly quiet on the transfer front given the window is closed, but a few more players that were released over the northern hemisphere summer were able to find a new club during the month.  The Socceroos played Brazil in a forgettable game as the WC squad starts to takes shape.   

Transfers:-  some players with European experience moved to new clubs. Interesting to note the transfer of young forward Matthew Fletcher to current EPL club Hull City. Will see how he progresses in the Development Squad as he looks to get back into the national picture.  After playing his junior international football with Australia, Ersan Gulum has now debuted for Turkey.

Additions/changes to player database:

Shane Cansdell-Sheriff (10 Nov 1982) – loan from Preston North End to Burton Albion, England

Matthew Fletcher (12 May 1992) – transferred to Hull City, England

Billy Konstantinidis (21 Apr 1986) – transferred to Panserraikos, Greece

Removed from player database: 

Ersan Gulum (17 May 1987) – represented Turkey Sept 2013, congratulations.

Daniell Zeleny (19 Oct 1988) – uncontracted, whereabouts unknown

Club Level:-

England (Premiership) – Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace) continues to be the only Aussie starting in the Premier League at the moment.  He has been playing every minute each game.  Mark Schwarzer (Chelsea) and Brad Jones (Liverpool) continue on the bench waiting for their opportunities.  Chris Herd is yet to play this season at Aston Villa.

England (Championship) – a fairly disappointing start to the season for our Aussies with their clubs generally sitting in the mid to lower places on the table.  Adding to that is the red cards recently received by Shane Lowry and Rhys Williams, resulting in some missed games.  Scott McDonald opened his scoring account at Millwall, hopefully the first of many as he tries to cement a starting position.  Not much else to report with Cisak (Burnley) and Federici (Reading) also on the bench.

England (League One) – more positive for our Aussies in this league with Bailey Wright continuing to get rave reviews for his performances in defence at Preston North End.  James Meredith has continued his strong start to the new season at Bradford City.  Massimo Luongo (Swindon Town) had a dream cup tie against Chelsea and continues to play 90 minutes each game.  Similar game time for Bradden Inman at Crewe Alexandria.  James Wesolowski (Oldham Athletic) has been also seeing good minutes while Neil Kilkenny is in and out of the Bristol City team.

England (League Two) – Ryan Williams made his debut at Oxford United during the month and marked the occasion with a goal.   

Germany (Bundesliga) – the big story in September was the Robbie Kruse brace for Bayer Leverkusen.  His performance in his debut start was outstanding and will hopefully translate to more game time in the coming weeks. Mitch Langerak continued on the bench at Dortmund.

Germany (2.Bundesliga) – Mathew Leckie’s good form at FSV Frankfurt was rewarded with a Socceroos call up. After scoring his debut goal at the same club, Rukavytsya was also rewarded with a call up.

Netherlands (Eredivisie) – continuing on that theme, Jason Davidson’s strong start to this campaign at Heracles Almelo saw him get the nod for the national team.  Tommy Oar has continued to grow at FC Utrecht were he has cemented his starting position.

Austria (Bundesliga) – James Holland is starting each game at Austria Wien, who are finding the going a little tougher this season.

Belgium (Pro League) – Mat Ryan remains as first choice keeper at Club Brugge.  Keeping an impressive number of clean sheets and being named in the team of the week on several occasions.

Scotland (Premier) – two young players receiving good minutes in this league are Jackson Irvine (Kilmarnock) and Dylan McGowan (Hearts).  Both are playing in the midfield.

Switzerland (Super League) – the conditions in Switzerland appear to be favourable to Aussies with Oliver Bozanic (FC Luzern) and Dario Vidosic (FC Sion) carrying on the success that Scott Chipperfield and Ljubo Milicevic experienced in that league.

 

Greece (Super League) – young keeper Dean Bouzanis made his debut for Aris during the month, hopefully the first of many appearances this season.

Cyprus (1. Division) – Robert Stambolziev is impressing early in his new club career at AEK Kouklion, starting most games and scoring as well.

Iceland (3. Deild) – a mention to Victorian keeper Kile Kennedy who took the chance of moving to Iceland.  He played every minute in a season where his club KF Fjardabyggd gained promotion.  Hopefully that form will see the former US college player transfer to a higher level.

USA (MLS) – the legend that is Tim Cahill continues to grow.  His scoring feats at New York Red Bulls over this season continue to be crucial in the run up to the finals.  David Carney is getting his match fitness back as he starts each game at the same club.

China (Super League) – the Aussies in this league continue to play full games and impress.  Most notably over September being Eddy Bosnar (Guangzhou R&F), Jonas Salley (Guizhou Renhe), Michael Marrone (Shanghai Shenxin) and Erik Paartalu (Tianjin Teda).

Japan (J League) – importantly for the national team, Josh Kennedy remains fit and playing each week at Nagoya Grampus.  Lucas Neill has made his way into the starting eleven at Omiya Ardija which is also great news for the Socceroos.

India (I-League) – this league has just commenced the new season, but plenty of Australian interest with ex A-League players Sean Rooney, Simon Colosimo and James Meyer all joining Tolgey Ozbey on opening day.

U.A.E (UFL) – also resuming a new season, Brett Holman, Billy Celeski and Milan Susak, all debuted for their new clubs.

Thailand (Premier League) – journeyman Danny Invincibile has returned to the pitch at Army United after injury delayed his start to the season.  Joining Kyle Nix (Chiangrai United) and Goran Subara (Bangkok Glass) who are both starters and frequent scorers in that league.

  

Injuries:-   World Cup hopefuls Carl Valeri (Sassuolo) and Adam Sarota (FC Utrecht) are both nearing returns after long periods out.   Kofi Danning (knee) continues his rehabilitation under the watchful eye of the Brisbane Roar medical staff. We are yet to see Eli Babalj make an impact at AZA Alkmaar with his groin injury sidelining him for several weeks now.

Club Competitions:-

Europe                             

(UEFA Champions League) – several Aussie players featuring in this competition.  James Holland (Austria Wien) was the only starter, but Mitchell Langerak came off the bench for the red-carded Weidenfeller. Tom Rogic (Celtic) and Mark Schwarzer (Chelsea) sat on the bench for their respective teams.

(UEFA Europa League) – no Aussies appeared.

Asia

(Asian Champions League) – no Aussies remain.

(AFC Cup) – no Aussies remain

Reserves and Youth:-

A fairly decent represention of Aussies in the English U21 league again this season.  Starting with Aston Villa, and after appearing in the NextGen Series last season, 17 year old midfielder Jordan Lyden now finds himself in the U21’s.  Alex Grant has transferred to Stoke City and has been playing 90 minutes each game for the U21’s.  The recovery of Dylan Tombides is gathering momentum as he now starts for West Ham U21’s.  Players like Aaron Lennox (QPR) and Rob Paratore (Leicester City) continue to progress.

International level:-  A 6-0 drubbing from Brazil was not the greatest result, but seems to have forced a bit of a shake up to the squad.  Several new faces to the Socceroos squad for the upcoming friendlies against both France and Canada with numerous players rewarded for demonstrating strong club form.  The World Cup squad is certainly taking shape, and these games will be a great opportunity to assess the abilities of the likes of Davidson, Langerak and Leckie.  The U20’s have gathered in Malaysia for an upcoming tournament in October.

Socceroo (capped) of the month – I talked him up but why not, Tim Cahill continues to amaze.  He is an Everton legend, and will be forever be prominent in their history.  His recent performances for New York Red Bulls continue to defy those critics that thought he was aging and slowing down.  He is creating a legacy there, and his ability to recovery quickly from injury and return to make a significant impact was demonstrated again in September.  Not bad for a 33 year old, and will have a huge role in Brazil.  

August –

Under (uncapped)  – seems to be a lot of former Central Coast Mariners doing exceptionally well abroad.  This month I want to highlight former skipper Alex Wilkinson, now in Korea at Jeonuk Hyundai.  After a fairly slow start, he has hit his straps recently and put in numerous quality perfromances.  May be too late for the WC squad, but the next Asian Cup would have to be on the radar for the 29 year old.

August -

Young player (U21) of the month – the talent that is Chris Ikonomid is is starting to get some deserved recognition.  After progressing through the youth teams at Atalanta, Italian giants Lazio saw enough potential to sign im up.  Now featuring in their Primavera team each week, he is touted to move through the ranks quickly. Fantastic that the FFA have also acknowledged this by bringing him into the national set-up.  Like the rapid rise of Jackson Irvine, watch this space

Alessandro Del Piero (Sydney FC) - Perth Glory Preview

There is a world famous Mural in King Street Newtown Sydney which is adorned by a huge portrait of Civil Rights legend Martin Luther King featuring the infamous  “I Have A Dream” line  from one of his speeches. Recently a companion piece Mural was added with the words “we have the dreaming”. It’s two Murals having a conversation with each other. 





We have the dreaming pic found 

 MLK mural pic by jesstheres  

                                                                           

No disrespect to both Murals but I think another Mural should be added add to the conversation with the words and picture of a certain little Italian number 10 that says:

 .....and we have Del Piero

Some Points from the Sydney FC/ Western Sydney FC Derby

• No more naming roads after Derbys! Where is your sense of Theatre?
• Sarcasm Alert: Who would have thought a local derby based on geographical lines would ever work in Sydney? Everyone Farken!
• Sarcasm Alert: Who would have thought a team based in Western Sydney would engender so much pride & passion for their team? Everyone Farken!
• “One Team Per State” shouldn't be uttered within the realms of Australian Football again. Rugby Toffs and undercover AFL Agents shouldn't be allowed near our game again.
• Sydney FC looked to have finally woken up from their opening season slumber and it was 1 million Western Sydney fans hate of them that did the trick.
• For ADP’s first home game there was 35 thousand at the SFS and for the first Sydney Derby 22 thousand at Parramatta stadium with both sets of fans singing and dancing. Is this a dream? Don’t wake me up.
• AFL would love such passion.
• NRL would love such crowds

Western Sydney is the Socceroos Factory

• Ignoring the West of Sydney for so long with its rich history of supporting teams and producing Socceroos is a Royal Fark Up. One which only Rugby Union and AFL administrators could have achieved. Frank Lowy must have been blinded drugged and kidnapped.
• Rugby said one team per city. AFL said Townsville and Gold Coast. Yet Western Sydney was still ignored.
• The same hacks who shit on the idea of WSW, who said "it was never going to work" They gushed over the AFL & GWS are now singing its praises!
• Just consider what kind of players would be playing in the A-League if we had some of that AFL or NRL TV Money
• More money should be invested in Marquees and Promotion of the A-League. What else you going to spend the money on? Invest it in education of coaches who play with no Strikers and try to teach un-coordinates kids how to play with both feet?

The Perth Preview

Alessandro Del Piero has slow feet but a fast mind. He has been carrying the Sky Blues so far this season and he will do the same for Sydney FC against Perth Glory for ADP’s 800^th game.

Someone needs to warn Alessandro Del Piero about Jacob Burn and Steve Pantelidis both players have a tendency to dive in early and often.

I wonder like Wellington Phoenix if Perth Glory has a raffle going in who can butcher ADP and get away with it the most?  

Imagine a Billy Mehmet type player for Sydney FC? The Perth Glory Striker is dangerous in the box with his feet and head. It’s a novel experience watching an endangered species take the field and score goals like that.

Paul Reid has the midfield ticking for Sydney FC. Ali Abass is wasted in DM and the Striker issue seems to be the running gag at Sydney FC this season.

But all that is prelude to what Alessandro Del Piero will do next.

Generation Next: Costa Andricopoulos

Here is the raw Q & A I did with Aussie youngster Costa Andricopoulos who plays in Cyprus for Anorthosis Famagusta.

In 2009 Anorthosis Famagusta, made the groups stages of the Champions League and at the time that was the greatest achievement in Cypriot football.

Now another Cypriot club Apoel  Nicosia has gone much further having made it out of the group stages then going on further and beating French team Olympique Lyonnais for the right to face Real Madrid in the quarter’s finals.

Australia too has a football connection with Cyprus. Former Socceroo great Paul Okon spent the latter stages of his career at Apoel and recently young Aussie Costa Andricopoulos a former Apoel player is currently playing with Anorthosis Famagusta.

I spent some time with Costa to find out about football and life in Cyprus.  

1) Can you give us a brief synopsis of your time in Cyprus Like opportunities you have had with Anorthosis playing wise and experiences that you have had living in Portugal that changed you?

 During my time with Anorthosis I have been very fortunate to get a few games with the 1st grade squad. I played a full game in a Cyprus cup charity match as well as two other pre-season matches against 1st division teams. Also playing friendly matches against teams like Lokomotive Moscow reserves and getting an assist, Dynamo Kiev reserves, FC Tuggen (Switzerland) 1st grade and FC Luch Energia Vladivostok (Russia) 1st grade has also been a great experience to play against these high profile clubs.

I’ve been in Cyprus nearly 1.5 years now and have adapted well to the European way of life which is very different to back home. Living in Cyprus has made more independent, focused and more determined to achieve my goals. Living by myself and having to fend for myself in another country has been a great experience. Doing things on my own has really opened my eyes.

I don’t have the luxury of my mum to do the chores around the apartment (laughs), so I’m the one that has to do all the cleaning, washing, cooking and shopping which has made me grow up quickly and be more independent.

2) Can you give us some background on yourself like how you got into football, where you played local football in Australia?
 Growing up I was always in the backyard and at the park kicking a football around with my dad, who also played in the NSL in the 1980's. My dad was the one who first introduced me to football, ever since I was a young kid he used to always take me to watch games, also showing me videos and pictures of football. He is the one that made me start playing football and the one I go to anytime for advice. I started playing local park football at the age of seven for Kingsgrove all Stars.

I played local association football up until the age of 10 until Division 1; Super youth and Premier Youth league was introduced. My junior years were with ST George F.C from u13's up until u16's in the NSW Premier Youth League. U18's and u20's were with Apia Leichhardt Tigers F.C were we won the u18's NSW Premier Youth League final and then I signed for West Sydney Berries u20's were I made my 1st grade debut.

3) How did the move to Anorthosis come about?

 The previous season, I signed for Apoel F.C reserves (1st div) were my current coach at Anorthosis reserves had the under 17's at Apoel. That's how it came about. Towards the end of my season at Apoel I got loaned out to their feeder team, Ethnikos Latsion F.C 1st grade for two months along with another player from my team for 1st grade experience.

When the season finished with Ethnikos I went for a three week trial at Doxa Katokopias 1st grade squad (1st div team at the time). I had a very good three week trial, which included friendly matches and team training and the coach was impressed with me and wanted to sign me for this season (2011-12').

I couldn’t sign a contract at that time as he wasn’t officially re-signed as manager yet for the following season as the club were in a state of turmoil as they had just been relegated to 2nd division for the new season, but it looked very positive that he was going to resign as coach. It was offseason in Cyprus so I was told to go back to Australia for two months and to return on the 16th July 2011 to go to preseason camp in Austria for two weeks with the squad.

In Australia around middle of June I found out that the coach didn’t re-sign as the club had changed their whole board of directors and management from the previous season because they got relegated from 1st div. I got a call from my current coach now at Anorthosis asking if I wanted to sign with the reserves there for this season, so here I am.

4) What is it like living in Cyprus? What do they think of Aus football? I know Paul Okon played in Cyprus for a little bit.

 The lifestyle in Cyprus is very relaxed. The people here are very laidback and carefree. There are a lot of cafes here and they’re full of people pretty much every day at any time. They view Aussie footballers as very tall and physical players. They don’t know a great deal about Aussie football like the A League because it does not get show n on TV here, but they know a few of the big name players like Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill and Mark Swarzcher because they play in the English Premier League. I showed a few of my team mates some pictures and videos of the some of the A League and NSW premier league matches and stadiums on the internet and they were really impressed with the level of quality.

Yes Paul Okon played here in Cyprus for Apoel Nicosia F.C (team I was at last season) for about one season in 2005. He is well known and rated very highly here in Cyprus. When he was coaching at Apia Leichardt Tigers F.C 1st grade three  years ago in the NSW Premier League I was in the u20's squad and was training up with 1st grade team under him and played a few pre season matches with them. During that time Paul invited me to be part of the train on squad of the u18's Australian National Team for the Australian Youth Olympic Festival that was held in Sydney. He was the head coach of that squad.

5) What do you hope to achieve in your football career?

 Since a young kid my dream was to play professionally overseas in Europe so I’m very happy to have played nearly 1.5 years now in Cyprus in a full-time professional environment.

I would like to stay in Europe another couple of years and keep progressing and getting more 1st grade experience and then would like to try my luck in the A-League or in Asia. I got a taste of the u18's Australian national team set up at the AYOF a couple of years back so I would like to represent the national team at some international level.

6) There are a lot of young players like your good self that are going straight to Europe and by-passing the A-League. Can you tell us if any A-League teams approached you? If not what was the reasoning for you to play in Cyprus compared to playing in the A-League?

 I have not been approached by any A League clubs as yet, I have been to a few sessions over the last few years with a few A League youth clubs like Sydney FC for 2 months and the Newcastle Jets when I was 17. A lot of young players are bypassing the A League and going straight overseas because there are more opportunities for players to play professionally abroad.

I think once players in Australia reach a certain age in their careers they get frustrated and decide to try their luck overseas. There are not enough teams in the A League for players to go to and the ones that do generally come from AIs or NSWIS. I think the A League is getting better and better each year with the amount of quality players that are coming from Europe and Asia. I think it still needs another three-four teams to give more home-grown players opportunities as well as another couple of years for the league to keep progressing and growing.

 I would love to play in the A League someday, but for now I have to keep focused and keep working and progressing here in Europe. After my season finished with the West Sydney Berries in 2010 I sent my football DVD and resume to Cyprus to a contact through the AESFA and got a few trials. Nothing was happening as far as A League opportunities so it was an easy decision for me to go overseas and see if I could a gig in a professional set up. I've loved every minute of it, waking up every morning and training in a professional environment is a dream come true. I can’t imagine doing anything else. 

7) How do you relax away from football?

 In my spare time away from football I like to relax on the computer by watching movies and Skyeping with friends and family. I also enjoy going to the city centre of Limassol and go for a coffee or dinner with some friends. The people are very friendly and it’s also very helpful that I’m fluent in Greek so I can understand the Cypriot language pretty well most of the time. 

8) What kind of person are you? Describe yourself in a few words?

 I would describe myself as dedicated, hardworking and ambitious. I always put in 100% in whatever I do and always want to strive for more.

9) What is a usual week for you? Can you give us an insight into a week as a player for Anorthosis on and off the field?

 I usually wake up at 8:30 every day except for Sundays. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursday mornings the first thing I do is I go training at the park (not with the team) and do my own programme of running and sprint work. 

A usual week of training consists of Monday- Morning session at the gym with the team (stretching and recovery session), followed by afternoon team training, Tuesday- Afternoon team training and video session, Wednesdays- Afternoon team training, Thursdays- day off, usually just do a light gym session or a yoga class followed by a massage,

Fridays- Short afternoon team session in preparation for weekends match. It’s usually a Saturday match so we have a pre match meal at our club before every game regardless if it’s home or away. In the odd occasion that we play on Sundays we have a very light session on Saturday morning. Sundays is usually a free day so I tend to hang out a cafe in the city centre of Limassol with a few friends watching the football.

I also spoke to newly appointed Young Socceroos coach Paul Okon about his time in Cyprus and what he thought of Andricopoulos.

"Cyprus was a very different experience but one I'm grateful to have had. Apoel is a big club with great supporters.

Costa is a good kid with a great attitude who is more than capable on the ball."