A-League superstar Nicky Carle’s feet have barely touched the ground in June. An eye-catching cameo against Uruguay on his home Socceroo debut was soon followed by selection in the Australian squad for the Asian Cup. And after a hush-hush trip to Turkey last Thursday, the 25-year-old is back in Newcastle armed with a contract to play in the Turkish Super League for, er, a club he can't quite pronounce: Genclerbirligi.

“I'm glad you can pronounce because I can't!” he tells au.fourfourtwo.com with a laugh.

“I was at the press conference over in Turkey on the weekend and I couldn't pronounce the club I'd just signed for!

“But look, they're a fantastic club,” he adds. “Skoko played for them which says a lot about the club. I toured their training facilities and they're unreal: four training grounds all immaculate, plus synthetic pitches and a team hotel to stay in pre-match for both youth and senior teams.”

Carle describes Genclerbirligi as a good one “for up and coming players”. As he explains, “The club is known for its recruiting of good young players and then selling them to bigger clubs.

“I hope to prove myself in the first season there and then really establish myself after that.

“And the club's done me a massive favour by okaying my dream of being in the Socceroos for the Asian Cup. Normally they want to get a new player in to start pre-season from the beginning but I told them how much an honour it is for me to play for Australia.”

With a three year contract signed, this gives Carle the scope and opportunity to prove himself at Genclerbirligi before a potentially dream move to a bigger club in Turkey or elsewhere in Europe. Well, that's the plan anyway.
“There's a lot of hard work from this point on,” Carle says. “And anything could happen.”

And he's also keen to point out something else. “Fenerbahce were never in the race to me. I don't know where that came from – maybe someone in Newcastle – but Fenerbahce was incorrect.”

Carle reveals the race for his signature was between two clubs, although he doesn't mention the other club, though he admits it wasn't Galatasaray.
Genclerbirligi is in the process of appointing a new coach, which is always a bit of a gamble for a player who hasn't been personally signed by a coach, although that tends to be a regular occurrence in Turkish football. It's understood Gencl are also chasing one of Boca Juniors' strikers.

Interestingly,Carle will play in front of crowds less than what he's used to in the A-League. “I've been used to playing in front of some big crowds at Newcastle but I'm told Genclerbirligi average between 6-10,000 fans, although for the big matches against the likes of Fenerbahce and Galatasaray they are much bigger. It is a bit of a pity.”

But the good news for Jets fans is that Carle says he'll be back. “If they want me, they'll be the only club I'll speak to whenever I return.

“I'm over the moon but also disappointed because I'm leaving a club and fans who I really have taken to. I've got to thank them all for the best two years of my career. I really want to thank them for what they've done for me.”
Tomorrow, after a hastily arranged press conference at 4.30pm, the Jets fans will get a chance to say goodbye to a player who has given so many of them – and a host of A-League fans – so much pleasure.

“Nick only has a limited time in the Hunter, and needs to pack up his life here before heading to camp with the Socceroos in three days time,” said Jets CEO George Liolio today in a statement.

“So we are very rushed getting a fans farewell organised, but we hope lots of Jets fans will turn out at United on Tuesday and show Nick just how much he has meant to this town and team,” he said.

From 5pm to 6.30pm at the Main Auditorium United Sports, Bryant Street, Adamstown tomorrow (Tuesday) will be the chance for Jets fans to see Nick Carle for one last time.

Following the Asian Cup campaign with the Socceroos Carle will fly home directly, pick up his wife and toddler, and fly to Ankara to begin a new and exciting chapter in a fascinating career that kicked off a decade ago this October as a precocious 15-year-old at Sydney Olympic.

His father may be the biggest story in Aussie football right now, but Jordan Carle is screaming loudly as his dad Nick speaks to au.fourfourtwo.com over the phone. “I wonder if they have huggies in Turkey?” asks Carle.
The Socceroo will be hoping he too can make a big noise in Turkish football.