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When FourFourTwo first heard FC Utrecht’s Aussie trio of Tommy Oar, Adam Sarota and Michael Zullo were living in a house together in Holland, our imagination ran away with us a little.

Images of a bachelor pad with dirty boots, pizza boxes, PlayStation games and DVDs all over the place and a big Aussie flag hanging out on the balcony came to mind. Three teenage footballers living unsupervised in a foreign country? How did they luck into that one? And more to the point, how did the club allow it?

Thankfully, the reality is a little bit more refined, with the former Brisbane Roar stars living in what looks very much like a Dutch stately home. Each player has their own self-contained apartment within the house, living close enough to see each other every day but with enough privacy to have their own space.

Situated just outside the pretty student town of Utrecht, the Aussie boys’ house is part of a larger estate which features stables, a large barn and an assortment of farmyard animals.

It was the childhood home of the FC Utrecht owner, sold when he was younger but re-purchased a few years ago and now converted into beautiful, high-ceilinged apartments to house the club’s foreign signings.

It’s not your typical footballers’ house but then Tommy, Adam and Michael are not your typical footballers.

After attending a ‘training experience’ at FC Utrecht last year, the trio impressed enough to win themselves contracts with the Europa League-bound side. All three ‘trainees’ signing with a club after a trial is virtually unheard of but it speaks volumes of not only these young players’ talents but also of a maturity beyond their years.

Despite all three having their own distinct personalities – Oar is quiet and thoughtful, Sarota is animated and friendly while Zullo is the most talkative of the group – they clearly click off the field as much as they do on it.

As FourFourTwo settles down to chat to lads about their experiences living together in a foreign country, breaking into the Utrecht team and stepping up for the Socceroos, it’s hard not to believe them when they say they haven’t had an argument in the nine months they’ve been living together.

So how do three Aussie lads end up in what looks like a posh Dutch stately home?

Tommy: Originally we were all living in the same house not far from here but I think it’s a better situation now that we’ve all got our own apartments. It means we can have our own privacy and do our own thing. Also we all have family coming over fairly often during the year so that helps too, in that we can have people to stay without being on top of each other. We’re still in the same building so we get to see each other all the time. It’s perfect really for what we want to do. It’s not so much that we were on top of each other in the old place but now we don’t have to be concerned about having people to stay and how it will affect the other two. It’s the best of both worlds. We’re all together so we can hang out whenever we want but we also have the individual space when we need it.

Adam: In the old place there was only one shower and you had to go through my room to get there which wasn’t the best. So this now is luxury compared to the last place.

So is there a ‘mum’ of the group who tells people to tidy up or a ‘dad’ who tells the others off?

Michael: Not so much that. We all work together really well – we’re all similar in many ways but there’s also a lot of differences in our personalities too. At times there’s going to be things we do differently but, to be honest, I can’t actually remember a time when we’ve had an argument about anything. And we’ve been living together for nine months so that’s not too bad. It’s turned out pretty well I guess.

So who’s the tidy one out of the group?

Tommy: Zulls’ room is pretty spotless. Adam is pretty tidy as well. I reckon I’m the messiest…

Adam: Yeah, Tommy’s the dirty one! [laughs] And Michael is the one who likes to cook out of all of us… [laughs again]

Michael: A lot has been made of me liking to cook and I just want to say that it has nothing to do with any kind of feminine trait! I just like good food.

Adam: I think it comes down to Michael being the only one who can cook something that we’re willing to eat. Me and Tommy can’t really cook at all. We do all the cleaning up – it’s a good system. Zulls cooks and we do all the cleaning afterwards.

So what’s your ‘go to’ dish, Michael?

Michael: [pause] I don’t know really…

Tommy: Pasta, I reckon.

Michael: Yeah, that’s right. I like to make a good pasta dish. You know, on a Sunday afternoon, you can let the sauce cook for four or five hours. It’s fantastic actually. I’m not going to lie. I’m gonna put that out there.

So what’s the best and the worst thing about living with each other?

Adam: The best thing is that because we’re all in the same situation, we can rely on one another a lot when things get tough. If one of us gets homesick then there’s always someone to talk to who’s been through it as well. The worst thing is… I’m not sure now but maybe when we were living with each other there were little things that annoyed each other but now we’re living by ourselves more there’s no real negatives to speak of.

Tommy: I think half of the reason that we came to the same club was that we would be able to live together. It helped it become less of a culture shock, so from that perspective I don’t think there is a negative to the situation.

Michael: For me, when a footballer moves to another country, he’s usually by himself, unless he has a wife or a girlfriend. But for us, when we have to do something like go to the shops, then we can do it together. If you want to go out for dinner at night, then we can go out the three of us instead of going out by yourself which would obviously be a pretty lonely experience. That is a huge bonus.

Were you all good friends while you were at the Roar?

Tommy: We all knew each other back in Brisbane but naturally it has progressed since we’ve been living together. At the end of last season at the Roar, Adam and I were room-mates for away games.

Adam: I’ve known Michael since I was 10. We’ve always played in the same teams back at home and our parents are pretty close. My dad speaks to his dad a lot.

Michael: Moving to a foreign club with another Aussie or someone you knew would’ve been a really positive thing but to have to guys from the same team that you know well is as good as it gets when it comes to moving to another country. It changes everything. It makes everything so much easier.

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