FourFourTwo has blown the travel budget once again to put a spotlight on the finest talents outside the Hyundai A-League. From Darwin to Perth, Melbourne to Queensland and even New Zealand and Oceania, we bring you some hidden gems desperate to impress in the A-League
Page 9 of 10 | Single page
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.”
Age 25
Club Sydney United
League NSW Premier League
Position Attacking midfielder
------------------------------------
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.”
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