Making the country move

Damen Francis

March 29 2014

Shepparton News

Shepparton is soon to be more than just a part-time training base and playing venue for Goulburn Valley Suns recruits.

Stipo Andrijasevic, Hernan Espindola, Rudi Saglam and Daniel Chaabani are in the process of relocating to the town to take up a full-time role with the newly-formed National Premier League club.

It is understood the Suns are aiming to become the first soccer club in Australia to offer a full-time training program outside the A-League.

All four are ex-National Youth League players and the opportunity to train full-time under UEFA A licensed professional coach Melvyn Wilkes was a key factor in their decision to sign.

‘‘There’s not many coaches in the league that have a pro licence and when us four get a call from Shepparton, the first thing you think of is who is the coach,’’ Saglam said.

‘‘He’s obviously got his qualifications and is more than capable of coaching higher than this level and as youngsters that attracts us.

‘‘We’re pretty lucky because . . . it’s an opportunity we’re not going to get anywhere else.’’

Andrijasevic said cutting down travel time was another motivation.

‘‘We’ve got full time training with Melvyn in the mornings, so it will be a lot easier if we’re down here full time,’’ Andrijasevic said.

‘‘We haven’t got a job, so it will benefit us on the pitch and off the pitch; it’s a professional training environment and we’re training almost every day.’’

Saglam experienced first-hand the dangers of travelling, when the car he and Naum Sekulovski were travelling to training in got a flat tyre.

‘‘Everyone was really friendly they just drove straight past and honked the horn,’’ Saglam said, with a laugh.

Fortunately, Sekulovski is a man of many talents and he changed the tyre, while Saglam attended to social media.

English imports Ben Clarke and Tom Glover have already moved to Shepparton, while the residential status of Sekulovski, Kristian Sarkies, Frankie and Rossi Lagana and Phil Petrovski moving forward is uncertain, with most having work commitments in Melbourne.

It would be easy to come to a regional area and not take training seriously, but the new quartet insisted that was not part of the deal and at their age they still have plenty to prove if they want a future in the sport.

Clarke and Glover will coach the club’s under-15 team and Espindola said that was one example of how the players could help out their new club, as it seeks to establish itself in the Goulburn Valley community.

‘‘We’re here to try and develop as players, so that’s good for us . . . (but) they’re helping us out, so we want to help them out as well,’’ Espindola said.

The newest arrival, Daniel Chaabani, said the best way to show their commitment to helping the Suns grow, would be leading the club to its maiden senior victory.

‘‘(The four of us) played with each other when we were younger and now we’re back together again and hopefully we can get the three points this weekend,’’ Chaabani said.

A house is being arranged and is expected to be ready on Monday.