Super Sasho's return to Sydney
There was always a strong possibility that ex-Socceroo striker Sasho Petrovski would be getting ready for another A-League Grand Final at the Sydney Football Stadium. The surprise is that he's doing it with the Central Coast Mariners instead of Sydney FC.
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The Mariners' striker has been in good form leading up to the final.
After going without a goal to start 2008, the 32-year-old ended his drought at exactly the right time, scoring a brace - including the winner in extra-time - as the Mariners miraculously overcame a 0-2 first leg deficit to defeat the Newcastle Jets 3-2 on aggregate in the Major Semi-Final.
'People kept reminding me that it had been a long time since I last scored and I think it bothered me,' Petrovski admits.And they'll face the Jets again in the Grand Final after their local rivals beat the Queensland Roar, 3-2 after extra-time, in the Preliminary Final. The match will be played away from the Mariners' Bluetongue Stadium - at the Sydney Football Stadium - to accommodate an expected crowd of more than 40,000.
Two years ago at the same venue, Petrovski was in the Sydney FC side that overcame the Mariners 1-0 in the inaugural A-League Grand Final. Former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke was Sydney's marquee player and ex-Wolves midfielder Steve Corica scored the only goal.
Petrovski had played no small part in Sydney's progress to the championship match under ex-German World Cup star Pierre Littbarski. In two years with the big city club he scored 14 goals in 43 appearances, including the A-League's second ever hat-trick.
But Petrovski increasingly found himself on the outskirts in Sydney's second season as Littbarski was replaced by ex-England international Terry Butcher. After the defence-minded Butcher persisted with David Zdrilic as Sydney's lone striker, he publicly slammed the coach, narrowly escaping disciplinary action. It also put Petrovski out of favour with the Cove, the club's biggest supporter group.
The short-lived and ill-fated Butcher era was the beginning of the end for Petrovski who chose to make the one-hour drive north along the F3 Freeway to ambitious Central Coast. He now lives with his wife and three children in the picturesque town of Terrigal, 10 kilometres from the Mariners' headquarters.
Petrovski has scored eight goals as his new club has outlived his old one in the A-League finals. After finishing third in the regular season, highly-fancied Sydney FC were knocked out after losing the Minor Semi-Final to Queensland Roar, 2-0 on aggregate.
Of Macedonian descent, Petrovski was born in the south-west Sydney suburb of Bankstown, an area made famous by cricket's Waugh twins. He played for the Parramatta Power in the National Soccer League (NSL) but had his most successful spell earlier in his career at Wollongong, another nearby city on the New South Wales' coast.
Petrovski produced 40 goals in 82 appearances for the Wollongong Wolves and featured in their triumphant 2000 and 2001 seasons, providing one of the goals when the Wolves beat South Melbourne 2-1 in the 2001 Grand Final. He still considers Wollongong - 80 kilometres south of Sydney and 155 kilometres from Gosford - to be his hometown.
After Wollongong, Petrovski headed to Europe, playing for Viborg FF in Denmark's Superliga and scoring 14 times in 43 appearances over two seasons. Capped just twice by the Socceroos, Petrovski found himself in an era during which Australia has been blessed with established strikers like Mark Viduka and Mariners' teammate, Aloisi, all born just 11 months apart. And with the emergence of young guns Scott McDonald, of Celtic, and Karlsruhe's Josh Kennedy, the likelihood of Petrovski wearing the green and gold under new coach Pim Verbeek seems remote.
Even the Newcastle Jets' Joel Griffiths - another home-based player who opposes him in the Grand Final - is ahead of Petrovski on the pecking order for the World Cup 2010 campaign. Still, Petrovski is a proven goal-scorer and as recently as August 2006, he found the net for the Socceroos - his second cap - in their 2-0 victory over Kuwait in an Asian Cup qualifier. Yet again, he was back on the familiar turf of the Sydney Football Stadium.
| “ | To score that goal and get us through was a great achievement for me. To be honest, I never thought I got the recogntion for it. ” | |
| Sasho Petrovski |
In his interview with Soccernet ahead of the third A-League Grand Final, Petrovski speaks candidly about his patchy international career, compares the Mariners with Sydney FC and reveals his desire to be part of a possible A-League franchise in his beloved Wollongong.
Q: Sasho, you found your scoring touch at just the right time. How did you re-discover your groove in the semi-final, second-leg, and how did it feel to get such important goals?People kept reminding me that it had been a long time since I last scored and I think it bothered me. The goals did dry up a bit. So it was great to get two in such a big game and the whole team is looking forward to the Grand Final now.
Q: How do you like playing alongside John Aloisi and what are his greatest strengths as a striker?
A. I love playing alongside John. He's a world class player. He played for many years in Europe's top leagues. Having a guy alongside you up front like that makes things a lot easier. The communication is really good. We just do our thing and we're both scoring - it's been brilliant.
A. Yes. But they're both huge clubs because they've both been successful. Playing in that first A-League Grand Final was a top experience. No-one would have thought that in a new league that you would win it, first off the bat. But we had great players and that's what makes a successful team. We had a good coach and a will-to-win. Obviously there are things that make the clubs totally different, but for me they're great clubs to be with.
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Petrovski has given up on his international ambitions.
A. Yes, I do still consider it home. I have my house in Wollongong which I love. It was the first house that I bought, something I built up together with my wife when we got married. We've got great memories. The city also kicked off, memory-wise, playing at the top level in Australia. I think they should seriously be looking to push for a spot in the A-League. There's definitely room for a team in Wollongong. It would be well-backed. We had a lot of success there when we were winning games and championships and Grand Finals. Now it's just a matter of finances and getting the right people involved to back it. I hope it happens. There is a lot of successful players who've come from Wollongong - not just in the A-League but around the whole world. They're all looking, like me, to come home one day to be a part of it. Q: You spent a couple of seasons playing in the Danish league. What did you learn from that experience and do you regret not spending more time in Europe?
A. I do regret not trying my luck a bit more at other clubs in Europe. We stayed over there two-and-a-half years but the family situation was a bit difficult. We had one child who was one-and-a-half, my next baby was due and I didn't want my next child to be born in a foreign country. I wanted my wife to be home and close to her folks so that's why I decided to come back. Playing in Denmark was a great experience and it did improve me because I went over during the old National League days when our league here wasn't fully professional. But the club never won anything when I was there, so coming back home to win everything was that feeling that had been missing in my career.
Q: Your two Socceroo appearances were separated by five years yet you scored an important goal in the second one, in an Asian Cup qualifier in 2006. What are your international ambitions now?A. I don't think I have any more international ambitions any more to be honest. It's difficult when you always have to leave your wife and play all over the world. I thought I had a good chance to be a part of that again this year and help Australia qualify. I thought I was good enough to get involved in the squad that was assembled for Qatar. When the new coach came in and my name wasn't picked out of that hat, it was very disappointing. I've done everything I could. To score that goal (against Kuwait) and get us through was a great achievement for me. To be honest, I never thought I got the recognition for it. Age doesn't matter, if you're good enough, you're old enough. The ambition probably isn't there anymore. Q: Who are the best players you've played with and against?
A. The best was Dwight Yorke. He's a great player and he's done it all. Won the treble in England. For him to come to Sydney and help us in the first season was a massive boost. The other guy is Kazu Miura. He's a Japanese legend and done it all at every level he's played at. The other one is Benito Carbone, who also came to Sydney for a while. Having marquee players and guest players is a massive boost. They give you a lot of feedback and help along the way. You look up to them and admire them. For them to pull you aside and guide you in the right direction is a huge bonus to have in the team. Sydney-born Jason Dasey (www.jasondasey.com) is a host for Soccernet SportsCenter and SportsCenter. He covered the 2006 World Cup and 2007 Asian Cup for ESPN.
