And playing in a “team of champions”, as he describes Victory, is the icing on the cake for the classy Socceroo after five years in the Swiss league.

“It’s just fantastic. Being a Melbourne boy… they say home is where the heart is and that’s so true. Back at Mum’s cooking me all that lovely Croatian food, seeing my friends and family. I’ve been back two months and it’s been so great,” the 26-year-old tells au.fourfourtwo.com.

The articulate Milicevic describes the last five years of his career in Switzerland – with clubs like FC Thun, Young Boys Berne, FC Zuric and Basle – as being like a “rollercoaster".

“Not just footballers, but athletes in general have ups and downs. The best memories for me though was playing [for FC Thun] in the UEFA champions league against Arsenal. I mean, if you’re going to have someone push you over to score, at least it was Dennis Bergkamp!

“It was such an honour to play at Highbury.”

And it sounds like he's honoured to be at the Aussie champions Melbourne. “At Victory there are players I already know. It’s a team of champions. I’m going to have to work hard to get into this side.

“And of course I know Ernie and a lot of the backroom staff from my days at the VIS. Obviously with the drought we have to move to various training grounds, but the Lexus Centre and the VIS are great places to train.”

Milicevic has watched DVDs of Victory playing in the finals and cannot wait “to show what I can do in front of these amazing fans. Look, I’m just excited to be playing our first friendly never mind the A-League and Asian Champions League.

“Yes it’s a long off-season here, but it is what it is and I think I’ll actually enjoy having a bit more time to prepare.

“As for what will happen, I’m sure we’d all like to do the double again but you just can’t predict things in life," the former Perth Glory star tells.