Matic has been named as one of four Pacific winners of Nike's The Chance competition. And while he was still digesting this news, he also played for the Mariners youth team against the senior Paraguay national team in a friendly last week...before the 194cm Croatian-born glovesman from Sydney takes his first HSC exam this Friday.

It's all happening for Matic, but he's keeping his large feet firmly on the ground.

"Playing against Paraguay was a different level to youth league. And one of their strikers we found out had scored twice against Barcelona and he played against us," Matic told au.fourfourtwo.com today.

"I conceded two goals but luckily pulled off a couple of good saves."

Matic made more than a few good saves a week earlier at the AIS in Canberra when au.fourfourtwo.com attended Nike's final round of The Chance trials for the Pacific region.

The youngster caught our eye with his confidence and sure handling, although the three day trial under the watchful eye of Nike head coach Ron Smith was nerve-wracking, recalled Matic.

After seeing the Nike Chance advertisement during the World Cup, Matic set up his own Facebook page and managed to get an invite to a trial.

He did well enough to make it to the final trials. However, flight delays to Canberra on the first morning ensured a nervous lead-in for the keeper and others but when his name was read out on the final day it was pure joy.

"When the flight was delayed for two hours I was thinking, ‘what if I miss out?'. It was nerve-wracking," he said.

"But once there, I settled down. It was great to train like a professional for three days. Our goalkeeper coach was Paul Jones who I learned a lot from although us keepers didn't have to do the beep-test!"

Matic joins ACT's Tom Rogic, Melbourne's Alon Blumgart and Kiwi Tom Doyle in the UK next January as 100 unsigned players from around the world compete for the chance of a 10-month contract at the Nike Academy in the UK. Just eight players will be picked.


This will put the lucky few in the shop window for a potential career in the big leagues of Europe - just like Matic's hero Mark Schwarzer.

"On the final day at the AIS all the boys were pretty quiet then they announced the winners," Matic added. "The first name was called out, then the second then I was called out... I rang my mum and dad straight away just to thank them for taking me to training all these years.

"It was emotional."

Meanwhile, the giant keeper will look to build his career in the next few months in the NYL under the guidance of Mariners keeper coach John Crawley.

And if football doesn't work out, Matic has his eye on Law at university. But he's hoping that option is a long way off as he reflects on an extraordinary couple of weeks in his budding career.

"I decided when I was 13 I wanted to be a professional footballer... now Nike is giving me and others a chance."