Sleek
11-16-2008, 08:19 AM
I know this is kinda old, but seeing as NSS4 isn't working for me, i turned back to ye old 3.
Sleek
Left midfielder
Australian
Before I tell you my story, let me just tell you about myself. I am not what most foreigners think a typical Australian is, I am not a crocodile wrestling, kangaroo riding bogan. I am of aboriginal descent, average height, have dark skin and firey red hair. A natural lefty, i've always played down the flank.
After the successful T.V serious of the soccer show ‘A-league superstar,’ which was hosted by Sydney FC and Brian McFadden, Melbourne Victory elected to use the same idea in a recruiting attempt. Soccer was never really my game, and it had been a couple of years since I last played regularly for a club. Since then, I had developed a liking to the sport of triathlons, which I was beginning to get somewhat successful at, but this competition may be some fun.
I was astounded to find I was the only player from aboriginal descent that had tried out, the rest were the stereotypical Italian and Greek soccer players, diving at every opportunity for a free kick. But my fitness stood out from everyone, my triathlon instincts kicking in throughout the weeks and months of hard work. It all paid off the end however, when I was victorious in the competition and received a 1 year contract with my home club. I was amazed that they offered me a contract of $1150 per week, with $900 assist and goal bonuses.
I didn’t really know what to do, my whole family was so proud of me, but I wasn’t sure if I was proud of myself. Was this really what I wanted? I had left the game because I was beginning to hate it, so what brought me back? I decided to give the year a shot anyway, not expecting to get any game time in the process. But as luck would have it, I was only one of two lefties on the team, there was another break. I was determined to at least play one game in the season, and throughout the pre-season I worked my *** off trying to achieve that, putting in extra hours outside of training. In the first match of the season, the manager approached me and told me I’d be starting. He was very motivating, and he seemed to have full trust that I could do it, even though I didn’t have trust in myself.
Match 1 – Melbourne Victory VS Central Coast Mariners
I practically froze on the spot when I entered the Telstra Dome, looking up to see nearly 20,000 fans screaming and cheering for the home side. Everyone says that it is the greatest feeling, I disagree. It’s thousands of critics ready to jump on the smallest mistake that I may make, I wasn’t too excited. But some reassuring words from the man in charge got my heart pumping and my body moving, I was ready.
I knew I had an advantage over the rest of my team because of my fitness, so I assumed that I would have the same with the opposition, so I ran from one end to the other, only it was practically as a bystander. It was in the 19th minute that I received a lovely through ball from Archie Thumpson, and cracked it into the bottom corner. I couldn’t believe it, with my first shot in professional soccer, I had a goal next to my name. I sprinted to the corner flag and slid in on my knees, chased by my teammates who were eager to rough me up. The fans were screaming in delight, now THAT’S a good feeling.
The match ended as a 2-0 win to Melbourne, Archie putting the icing on the cake. My mum called me the next day and told me how fantastic I played, and said that I was all over the paper! Apparently they said that I had debuted excellently, and that I showed glimpses of brilliance, rating me 8/10. I knew then that this was what I wanted
The following match proved to be even better then the first, a whopping 5-0 victory to Melbourne over the New Zealand Knights. I made two assists in the game and creating several other opportunities (which were missed by the hopeless Allsup), although I did pick up a yellow card, but that didn’t worry me. The papers gave me a 10/10 rating, I couldn’t believe it. People were even buying jumpers with my name on it, which provided a nice pocket of money as well.
But the fame had to end somewhere. The following match against Perth was played in pouring rain and hail. They scored early, and we struggled to get back into the game. I did all I could to equalize, but I just couldn’t. Adding to all that, one opposing player kept making racial remarks against me, which resulted in him on the ground with a bloody nose, and myself in the stands with a red card. We lost 1-0. If I could go back in time and change that, I wouldn’t. It was a reality check for me, that it was still going to be hard, and I still needed to work.
I took the suspension well, and worked extremely hard on my speed and making sure my fitness was at the best possible. When I returned, I had a ripper of a game scoring and setting up another. The next games followed a similar suit. It looked like a promising start to the season for me and for Melbourne Victory.
Sleek
Left midfielder
Australian
Before I tell you my story, let me just tell you about myself. I am not what most foreigners think a typical Australian is, I am not a crocodile wrestling, kangaroo riding bogan. I am of aboriginal descent, average height, have dark skin and firey red hair. A natural lefty, i've always played down the flank.
After the successful T.V serious of the soccer show ‘A-league superstar,’ which was hosted by Sydney FC and Brian McFadden, Melbourne Victory elected to use the same idea in a recruiting attempt. Soccer was never really my game, and it had been a couple of years since I last played regularly for a club. Since then, I had developed a liking to the sport of triathlons, which I was beginning to get somewhat successful at, but this competition may be some fun.
I was astounded to find I was the only player from aboriginal descent that had tried out, the rest were the stereotypical Italian and Greek soccer players, diving at every opportunity for a free kick. But my fitness stood out from everyone, my triathlon instincts kicking in throughout the weeks and months of hard work. It all paid off the end however, when I was victorious in the competition and received a 1 year contract with my home club. I was amazed that they offered me a contract of $1150 per week, with $900 assist and goal bonuses.
I didn’t really know what to do, my whole family was so proud of me, but I wasn’t sure if I was proud of myself. Was this really what I wanted? I had left the game because I was beginning to hate it, so what brought me back? I decided to give the year a shot anyway, not expecting to get any game time in the process. But as luck would have it, I was only one of two lefties on the team, there was another break. I was determined to at least play one game in the season, and throughout the pre-season I worked my *** off trying to achieve that, putting in extra hours outside of training. In the first match of the season, the manager approached me and told me I’d be starting. He was very motivating, and he seemed to have full trust that I could do it, even though I didn’t have trust in myself.
Match 1 – Melbourne Victory VS Central Coast Mariners
I practically froze on the spot when I entered the Telstra Dome, looking up to see nearly 20,000 fans screaming and cheering for the home side. Everyone says that it is the greatest feeling, I disagree. It’s thousands of critics ready to jump on the smallest mistake that I may make, I wasn’t too excited. But some reassuring words from the man in charge got my heart pumping and my body moving, I was ready.
I knew I had an advantage over the rest of my team because of my fitness, so I assumed that I would have the same with the opposition, so I ran from one end to the other, only it was practically as a bystander. It was in the 19th minute that I received a lovely through ball from Archie Thumpson, and cracked it into the bottom corner. I couldn’t believe it, with my first shot in professional soccer, I had a goal next to my name. I sprinted to the corner flag and slid in on my knees, chased by my teammates who were eager to rough me up. The fans were screaming in delight, now THAT’S a good feeling.
The match ended as a 2-0 win to Melbourne, Archie putting the icing on the cake. My mum called me the next day and told me how fantastic I played, and said that I was all over the paper! Apparently they said that I had debuted excellently, and that I showed glimpses of brilliance, rating me 8/10. I knew then that this was what I wanted
The following match proved to be even better then the first, a whopping 5-0 victory to Melbourne over the New Zealand Knights. I made two assists in the game and creating several other opportunities (which were missed by the hopeless Allsup), although I did pick up a yellow card, but that didn’t worry me. The papers gave me a 10/10 rating, I couldn’t believe it. People were even buying jumpers with my name on it, which provided a nice pocket of money as well.
But the fame had to end somewhere. The following match against Perth was played in pouring rain and hail. They scored early, and we struggled to get back into the game. I did all I could to equalize, but I just couldn’t. Adding to all that, one opposing player kept making racial remarks against me, which resulted in him on the ground with a bloody nose, and myself in the stands with a red card. We lost 1-0. If I could go back in time and change that, I wouldn’t. It was a reality check for me, that it was still going to be hard, and I still needed to work.
I took the suspension well, and worked extremely hard on my speed and making sure my fitness was at the best possible. When I returned, I had a ripper of a game scoring and setting up another. The next games followed a similar suit. It looked like a promising start to the season for me and for Melbourne Victory.