Out of contract at Sydney and with a window before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Mark Milligan spent the middle of last year attempting to realise his European football dream.

What transpired was a series of trials at various European clubs, an underwhelming Olyroo campaign before a return to the A-League to join struggling reigning champions Newcastle Jets in October.

Just two months prior to inking the Jets deal, Milligan had retorted of his European exploits and rumors of a humbling A-League return: "I've had a taste of [English football] with trials and I love it, so I'm definitely staying". The quoted word can become a cruel chastisement.

Reports of Milligan's European whereabouts and speculation of his impending return dragged for months before the Jets deal was sealed. FourFourTwo grabbed some time with Milligan to put the record straight on why the man who left it all behind is back where he started.

"When I left Sydney, I just wanted to go over to Europe and see how I fared," Milligan said. "I went over with the intentions of being at a club I would want to be at and I only wanted to play in certain places. I don't have that much interest in playing in Belgium, Switzerland or Sweden. I love it here, the A-League has been great to me and I wanted to aim high, but I knew I'd have a home in the A-League somewhere. Obviously things didn't work out as I would have loved to seal something out there."

It is strange to hear such bold A-League endorsements from a player who jilted hometown club Sydney FC in 2007 by going AWOL. Milligan's European desires were burning long before last year, with Sydney and the Olyroos the public auditions.

 With a constant flow of contradicting speculation on local shores, Milligan showcased his talent at three European clubs, including two of the English Premiership's biggest outfits.

"I went to Man City and Arsenal, then Werder Bremen. I also trained with Fulham, but just to get fit. The first place I went to was City and that went really well, but unfortunately Sven [Goran Eriksson] got the sack, so it got put on hold. I then went to Arsenal and I was with them for a week, but they keep me waiting a lot on a final decision on what was going to happen."

Despite it being brief, Milligan was given a taste of first-team coaching at the EPL's highest level.

"Man City and Arsenal were both unbelievable to train with. What impressed me was how much hands-on work the coaches actually do. They are very involved with their players and very accepting of me, and very helpful on and off the field.

"They were very happy with me and they are still helping me out with references, but there was the visa situation and me only being there for a short amount of time. But the experience for me helped. I only had limited time, with two days before going to the Olympics. They showed a lot of interest and were in contact with me throughout the Olympics, but then the new owner came in and it was a case that they simply had bigger fish to fry.

"Training with the Premiership players was great and playing with Cesc Fabregas at Arsenal was unbelievable. It must have been my lucky week as every time a team was picked, I seemed to be on his team. Man City also have a lot of young players coming through. It was an amazing experience."

After his brief stint at Arsenal, Milligan travelled to Beijing for a disappointing Olympics campaign. Once all the events of Beijing were done and dusted, Milligan thought his Euro aspirations were too.

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