The future of Australia......

[bobmac]

Name: Robbie McAndrew
Nationality: Australian
Position: Central Midfielder

Despite football not being the major sport in Australia, a young lad decided to take up the sport none the less with Scottish heritage in his family.

Playing in the local leagues from a young age, it wasnt until he was 15 that young Robbie hit the big time. He was awarded MVP in the local league, leading his local side to the title. He was the youngest to win the award ever. His teammates said he was going to star in Europe one day but he laughed it off with them. When he repeated this the next year, his coach pulled him aside. "You should go and have trials in Europe. I have a few contacts that can help you out."

When he was 17 he decided that he should give it a go.

The first trials were in Germany......

[DS]

cool...but its time to watch Australia v Qatar now!

[bobmac]

yep. good game as well. Aus 3 - 0 Qatar

[DS]

Good first half...boring 2nd half. Carney has improved a lot. Holman still sucks.

[bobmac]

The first trial was with 1860 Munchen. Despite the nerves, Robbie put in a good showing and had a great trial. Then again, so did many of the other players there. It would be a nervous wait.

After 3 days, it was getting really nerve wracking. Then the phone rang. It was the manager. "I like what I saw and we want to discuss a contract."
A deal was structured and he had signed to 1860 Munchen.

Weekly Wage: 900
Goal Bonus: 525
Assist: 375
Expires: 1-6-2010

The first training session was hard and it would take time to adapt to the new league. To help adapt quicker, Robbie was putting in extra time on the training pitch. With the first game around the corner, Robbie wasnt expecting anything at all. The extra training hadn't gone unnoticed. He was in the match day squad !!! Come match day, he wasn't just in the squad, he was in the starting 11 !!!!!

News Report: .... And in the Bundesliga 2 results today, 1860 Munchen defeated Unterhaching 1-0. Newly signed youngster Robbie McAndrew had an assist and set up the goal on his debut. Some are saying that hes showing glimpses of the future and that he made an excellent debut.

Robbie was ecstatic. He had played brilliantly after the nerves had died down.

[bobmac]

Despite a promising debut, Robbie was not selected for the next few matches. When he was again finally selected, it was as a sub. During the match it became obvious that his stamina was simply not up to scratch.

After the match, the boss came over and had a quiet word. Extra training to improve stamina would start next week.

[DS]

Comeon, we need you for 2010 world cup! Australia FTW!

[bobmac]

The weeks ticked by and Robbie continued his extra training. His stamina and pace were visibly improving, but it still was not good enough for the manager. Robbie was also showing some promising signs with free kicks and was instructed to train hard on those as well.

Coming up was the first match in the German Cup match against Hansa Rostock. They were top of the table in Bundesliga 2 and looking like they would go onto and get promotion. During his extra training sessions, the manager came to watch personally rather than his assistant. He decided that Robbie should be on the bench for the cup game.

Match Report: ....... And to wrap up the cup matches there was an absolute classic between 1860 Munchen and Hansa Rostock, with Hansa winning on penalties. The game had finished 1-1 with both teams going close in extra time. However, Hansa's keeper was the hero saving all but 1 penalty from 1860 Munchen.

Robbie had come on in the 2nd half and he simply wasnt up to the necessary standard. He had tried quite hard but still wasnt quick enough and couldnt get involved. He had also been played on the wing, out of position. Just before the penalties, he had been replaced for someone to take a penalty. It was heart breaking watching his teammates lose from the bench.

After the match it was straight back to the training ground to make sure he would not get caught out again.

[xtrmntr]

Try hard in training! One day you will surely have the stamina.