Ivan Necevski
Age 27
Club Blacktown City Demons
League NSW Premier League
Position Goalkeeper

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“It was like Rocky!” recalls Ivan Necevski of his A-League debut.

After years paying his dues in the NSW Premier League, the imposing keeper finally got his shot after signing a short term contract with the Jets last season. And it just happened to be at Telstra Dome in front of 28,000 rabid Victory fans.

Number one Ben Kennedy injured his arm after just 10 minutes. Enter the debutant. For the following 80 minutes, a rampant Melbourne threw everything at Necevski: but save after save repelled the Blue wave, while a Milton Rodriguez winner ensured it was a night to remember for the Jets.

“I remember Ernie Merrick saying I was man of the match,” recalls Necevski, who also played twice for the Knights during the 2006 pre-season. The headlines described Necevski as “the accidental hero”, but there’s nothing accidental about his quality.

Nick Theodorakopoulos, the then-Jets coach, signed Necevski, who had a reputation as reliable, commanding and agile. “While I was at the Jets I got some good feedback. I think they felt comfortable and liked the fact that I communicated well,” says the newly-married Necevski. He played three games before his deal ended and the Jets signed Ante Covic.

Since then, the 90kg, 188cm Necevski has returned to the NSWPL. He has a two year contract with the west Sydney club Blacktown City but has a release clause after this season should an A-League offer materialise. Fellow Demon Sean Rooney is in no doubt. “Ivan? He’s a brilliant keeper. Definitely good enough for the A-League.” And at 27, he’s just coming into his prime.
Sean Rooney

Age 18
Club Blacktown City Demons
League NSW Premier League
Position Striker

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When the young striker strolls into FourFourTwo’s offices the similarities to that other, more famous Rooney at Old Trafford are apparent immediately.

He’s stocky, has a low centre of gravity and is determined to make his mark. And judging by his red card a few days earlier in the NSW Premier League, Sean may have a similar fire in the belly. But don’t let that distract you – the lad’s a quality prospect.

Last season, Sean Rooney made his debut as a 16-year-old and iced the occasion with a goal against Marconi. He has continued his ascent in 2007 and scored in
the recent Johnny Warren pre-season Cup.

“You could say he’s the Aussie Wayne Rooney in that he’s built like the Man United star and is able to shield the ball really well,” says Demons keeper Ivan Necevski. “He definitely has A-League potential if he has a good season with Blacktown City.”

And if an A-League club doesn’t pick him up, West Ham may. Rooney is off to the Hammers this July after being asked back following a trial last year.

“It was a very good experience and I got to meet their stars like Anton Ferdinand. I was also part of the Milk Cup two years ago in Northern Ireland, an international tournament where I was given Man of the Match in a win over a German side.”

Rooney says he opted for the Demons ahead of the NSW Institute of Sport as he wanted regular match football. And he figures it’s a shop window to a bigger league.

“And I think training as a full-timer in the A-League would help me because you get sharper with the extra training.”

With an Irish dad and an Italian mother Rooney should have no trouble gaining clearance to Europe should he make the grade. But with former Soccer NSW technical director Branko Culina a fan of Rooney, it may not be long before we see this Demon in the A-League.
John Bennis

Club Broadmeadow Magic FC
League Northern New South Wales NBN State Football League
Position Midfielder
Age: 24

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If you want a fertile football breeding ground, look no further than NSW’s Hunter Valley.

Aussie football history is littered with men from the Hunter and local star John Bennis could be the next to make the step up.

The 24-year-old attacking midfielder is the fulcrum of the impressive Broadmeadow Magic side in the NBN State Football League. Coached by former NSL player Damien Smith, Bennis skippers the Red and Yellows and has scooped most of the club awards over the last few years.

He is a former member of the Hunter Academy of Sport and captained NNSW at the U15 talent IDs where he was selected as a train-on player in the Joeys. He then played National Youth League for the Newcastle Breakers and Newcastle United and was the Newcastle United Youth Player of the Year in 2001/2002.

“In 2006 I was captain of the NBN State Football League representative team that played against the Gold Coast and I was captain of the NNSW Futsal representative team at the National championships in Melbourne,” Bennis adds.

Bennis’s game has a creative edge and he distributes the football intelligently. Needless to say, the futsal background has helped.

So, why hasn’t he been picked up by an A-League side?

“I wanted to first secure my future by obtaining qualifications that at
the time didn’t allow me to pursue a full-time football career,” Bennis explains. “These qualifications have now been gained and I’m now hoping there is still an opportunity out there for me.”

However, the standard between the A-League and the state and regional leagues is widening as Jets coach Gary van Egmond knows full well.

“It’s tough for players outside the A-League as the gap is getting bigger. Maybe if someone like John came into the Jets camp he’d adjust to the physical side of being in an A-League side. Who knows? Now, it’s not just about ability.”

Well, there is only one way we’ll find out.
Michael Zullo

Age 18
Club Brisbane Strikers
League Queensland State League
Position Winger

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According to local football pundits, Michael Zullo represents the old school, and at only 18 years old, the kid still has plenty of time ahead of him to perfect it.

The fresh-faced youngster is currently based in Brisbane, and having just taken out the Brisbane Strikers’ Player of the Future Award for the second year in a row, looks set to rise onto the A-League stage in season ’07/’08.

The youngest member of the Brisbane Premier League club also won over the fans, receiving the club’s Supporters’ Association Player of the Year trophy at just 16.

Among that squad was current Queensland Roar defender Stuart McLaren, who believes the left-footed winger has a talent rarely harnessed in today’s modern game.

“Michael’s a really exciting prospect; he’s got strengths you don’t see in a lot of young guys these days,” says McLaren. “He’s quick, can dribble at incredible speed and won’t shy away from running at defenders – it’s an attractive combination.”

It seemed that way in 2005, when Zullo was plucked from the local league to represent Australia at Under 17 level. While almost every national youth figure has progressed through the ranks of footballing institutions such as the AIS, Zullo slipped through the net.

“I had an 11-month injury lay-off and kind of missed the boat with those things,” says Zullo. “But one of the national scouts came to watch a Strikers match while I was playing in the first team. He asked me to come and play in some small tournaments and afterwards told me he was going to recommend me for the Australian team.

“If you look at some of the best players of all time, they were small,” says the 164cm speedster. “You have to stand out to overcome people’s doubts, and prove that despite your size, you’re better than the next guy.” I guess we’ll find out soon.
Richard McRoberts

Age 16
Club: Casuarina FC
League: Northern Zone Premier League, Darwin
Position: Defender

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Northern Territory may not have the profile of the “big” football states in the east, but it has produced players of note: you may recall a player called Frank Farina, as well as Hamilton Thorpe, who was signed by Terry Venables for Portsmouth in the ’90s. And there’s big John Tambouras, the erstwhile New Zealand Knight.

Now the NT experts have high hopes for another strapping defender, teenager Richard McRoberts.

“Although born in the Sudan, I grew up in Kenya and did not begin to play in a structured competition until I came to Darwin aged 10,” explains McRoberts. “Football in my early childhood was limited to kicking a ball around the streets and play areas with my brothers and friends in Nairobi.

“Of course, it gets quite hot in Darwin but we are lucky in that the football season takes place during the dry season, in slightly lower temperatures and humidity. Pre-season training is always the hardest as this takes place in those weeks before the dry season when, if it doesn’t rain to cool you down, the humidity can be a killer. Playing and training in these conditions can only benefit me if ever I make the A-League,” says McRoberts, a Perth Glory fan who enjoys watching the likes of Simon Colosimo and Nathan Burns.

McRoberts recently played with the Northern Territory in the Arafura Games –a competition for emerging athletes in the Asia Pacific region held every two years.

“Although I always liked to play as a striker when kicking the ball around in Nairobi, I am developing as a defender playing just in front of our sweeper.

“I am over six feet tall but slightly built so I rely on my ability to read the play and speed. I like to think that I am quite creative and not just a routine stopper.”
Costa Barbarouses

Age 17
Club Wellington
League NZFC
Position Striker

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The secret is out. Team Wellington’s Costa Barbarouses is the hottest young talent in New Zealand, according to the country’s coaches.

The striker, who’s just turned 17, has all the hallmarks of a star man in the New Zealand Football Championship (NZFC).

Playing the last eight matches in 2006/07 and all the games so far this season, Barbarouses has become Team Wellington’s go-to man. Former All White coach Mick Waitt is effusive about his young charge.

“Physically he is well up to this league with his astonishing pace and broad strength – he looks and is an athlete,” says Waitt. “What he also has is natural skill and flair. Costa can burn any fullback over five or 10 metres and has a first touch that allows him to set himself up early for any option. In a one-on-one, you back him.”

For a player whose favourite book is the Bible, perhaps it’s no surprise that Barbarouses is being spoken of as NZ football’s Second Coming.

“I’ve absolutely no doubt he can make the grade as one of the U20 players in an A-League squad,” assesses Ricki Herbert, the All-Whites coach and likely coach of a Wellington A-League franchise.

Herbert coached Barbarouses in the Kiwi U17s, where on a trip to South America last October the young gun shone against the likes of Chile and Peru, upsetting the Peruvians 2-0. Barbarouses also recently captained the NZ U17s and netted seven times against Tahiti U17 in two games.

Auckland City defender Riki Van Steeden, who plays against Barbarouses in the NZFC, reckons the forward is one of the best talents to come out of the country in a long time. “There’s a massive vibe surrounding him.”

The A-League surely cannot be far off for Barbarouses, especially if his home city of Wellington gets the nod for the Kiwi A-League franchise in season three.
Goran Talevski

Age 25
Club Altona Magic
League Foxtel Cup Victoria
Position Attacking midfielder

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Ask players who’ve rubbed shoulders with the Altona Magic star and they’ll tell you he should be in the A-League. Newly minted Mariners signing Michael Jedinak played alongside Talevski at Sydney United five years ago.

“He’s versatile in that he can play wide midfield or up-front and even at the back. He’s exciting, fast and strong. Yes, I think he can play in the A-League.”

Talevski’s fellow Victorian League star Daniel Visevic adds, “he makes it look so easy and can run past defenders with effortlessness. Goran’s definitely
A-League material.”

An attacking, fluid midfielder, Talevski is a former AIS scholarship holder (1997 to 1999) who grew up in Canberra under the watchful eye of his “greatest influence”, his father Costa Talevski, who played NSL for Canberra City under the late Johnny Warren in the ’70s.

Following his AIS stint, Goran soon graduated to the ranks of the NSL with then-top side Sydney United, where he played 19 games and he scored once for the Pumas. He then made the short hop across to Marconi for a season.

“After that, I moved overseas to play professionally with Hajduk Split in Croatia. I was there for three years playing in the first team for about 50-odd games.”

Under Zoran Vulic, Talevski also got to play in two UEFA Cup fixtures and the young Aussie revelled in the full-time environment.

“Training sometime three times a day was excellent for me but as it seems to be, money problems come into it and I had to come back.”

The script didn’t quite go to plan once he returned to Sydney. On the cusp of the A-League, a trial with Queensland didn’t yield a contract for whatever reason and he was left without a club.

“I had to play somewhere so I went to the Melbourne Knights. Then my current club Altona Magic showed great interest in me and I joined last season,” says Talevski.

He is, as you’d expect, desperate to get his career back on track as he moves into his peak as a player. “I train with Magic and I also train on my own. I am a professional player. It’s all I do.”
Daniel Visevic

Age 18
Club Richmond Eagles
League Foxtel Cup Victoria
Position Attacking midfielder

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Melbourne Victory’s first ever competitive match was against Adelaide United in a World Club Championship qualifier
in 2005.

A bare-bones, youthful Victory squad pulled together with little preparation showed great promise but was beaten by the Reds.

One of those Victory players was VIS student Visevic, a player who’d made his debut in the old national youth league aged just 14. Ernie Merrick knew this 16-year-old was worth investing in.

“I was on a four-week contract and got a 20 minute run and almost scored in that match. It was a great experience,” he recalls. Since then, Visevic has been asked back to train with Muscat’s men on a semi-regular basis.

With Visevic’s VIS scholarship running out, he shored up his credentials by playing and starring in the Foxtel Cup (otherwise known as the VPL) with Richmond Eagles. His quality stood out as he won the league’s U21 Player of the Year award in his first season last year as a 17-year-old.

Visevic attacks defenders with pace from wide deep positions and can play up front. It was also at the Eagles that he teamed up with Victory striker James Robinson. “I felt we had a pretty good partnership up-front.”

The attacking midfielder also played for the Joeys two years ago scoring against the US in one tour match and playing alongside the likes of Kaz Patafta and current Melbourne Victory player Lee Broxham.

But playing in the Foxtel Cup has toughened Visevic up and given him the confidence to make the next step. “I’ve played against Sash Ognenovski. He’s so strong. To know that he’s made the step up to A-League shows that I can take the next step.”

Visevic already has the scars of senior football (an ankle ligament injury which kept him out of the start of the league) and judging by the look of his waif-like figure, he doesn’t have the physical presence right now.

But those in the know say the A-League is his next destination.

“I know a lot of coaches say I have to bulk up,” says Visevic, “but speed can make up for that.”
Anthony Doumanis

Age 25
Club Sydney United
League NSW Premier League
Position Attacking midfielder

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FourFourTwo thought the ball-boy was coming on. In fact, it was the pocket-sized Doumanis, a 70th minute sub for Branko Culina’s Sydney Olympic against Perth Glory in a top of the table NSL clash. The 18-year-old stole the show, as the attacking midfielder recalls…

“Branko told me to express myself. We were losing 3-2. With five minutes to go there was a loose ball about 25m from goal so I thought, I’ve been put on to express myself, so why not? As soon as it came off my boot there was only one place the ball was going. [Jason] Petkovic didn’t move.”

Doumanis was the talk of the town after the thrilling 3-3 draw. However, the former NSL Youth League Player of the Year struggled to gain a regular starting spot due to a glut of classy midfielders at Belmore, such as current A-League golden boy Nick Carle, Greg Owens and one-time NSL Player of the Year Kresimir Marusic.

“The following year I choose to forget as I had a falling out with the coach Gary Phillips. I only played a couple of games and left halfway through the season. I was very bitter because I knew I was good enough to be playing.”

Bitterness soon subsided as Doumanis resurrected his career at Sydney United. It’s been a fruitful partnership. Apart from a year back at Olympic last season (where he was fifth in the NSW Premier League Player of the Year votes), Doumanis has been at Edensor Park since. “The supporters and the club itself give me so much confidence to play my creative game and play it well.”

When the horse-trading for A-League contracts began two years ago, a car accident stymied Doumanis’s on field progress (a 4WD ran over his foot putting him out for eight months) just when he should’ve been gleaming in an A-League shop window.

Now, in 2007, he looks fitter and more focused than ever and ready to make good on his early promise.

“I would bring a creative game,” notes Doumanis. “A game like Fred’s and Nick Carle’s, which I believe the A-League is currently lacking.”
Riki Van Steeden

Club Auckland City
League NZFC
Position Central defender
Age 30

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“Japan was an amazing experience,” says Van Steeden of last December’s Club World Cup in Japan. “To be involved in a major FIFA tournament was a highlight in my career. We were treated like royalty for two weeks.”

Van Steeden’s Auckland City did Kiwi football proud. A 2-0 loss to Al Ahly and a 3-0 reversal to Asian Champions League winners Jeonbuk Motors were hardly the thrashings some predicted.

“One thing was not to be overawed by the occasion or the players we were up against. You think you are capable of playing at that level and competing with players who play continuously at a level greater than you do, but it is not till you actually face them on the pitch that you can prove it.”

Van Steeden plays in the NZFC, an amateur domestic league. He caught FourFourTwo’s eye in an impressive performance in a league match last November. He ticks all the boxes for a defender who can play across the back: dominant in the air, strong in the tackle, an intelligent distributor and a good team player.

So, shouldn’t he have been a shoo-in for the Knights in the A-League? Like Che Bunce (a fellow NZFC and All-White defender), he was overlooked.

“I don’t think the Knights were really looking to sign any Kiwi players in their first season,” notes Van Steeden. “Also John Adshead didn’t know much about the local scene – both NZ and Australia – and consequently underestimated the strength of the league.”

When the Kiwis were focusing on Kiwi players, Van Steeden (along with a clutch of top level All Whites) didn’t disappoint in the old NSL.

“The first two years at the Kingz were great. With Wynton and Shane Rufer as coaches we were winning a lot of games and more importantly, we played some really exciting football.”

Van Steeden works for Sky TV while playing for Auckland City, but says, “I could come back to that later. Time in football is precious, I would love to play professionally again.”