Sydney FC Youth

Last updated

Sydney FC Youth
Full nameSydney Football Club Youth
Nickname(s)Sky Blues
Founded2008
Ground Lambert Park (Y-League)
Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre (NPL)
Chairman Scott Barlow
Youth ManagerJim van Weeren
League National Premier Leagues NSW
A-League Youth
2024 14th of 16
Website https://sydneyfc.com/npl-academy/academy-teams/

Sydney Football Club Youth is the youth system of Sydney Football Club based in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia. The team referred to as Sydney Youth play in the Y-League (November to February) and consists of u23 players, the highest level of youth soccer in Australia. The club also competes in the National Premier Leagues NSW (March to August), the top competition of Football in NSW, however this team is known as Sydney U21, and is not to be confused with Sydney Youth which is a completely different team, involving different team selection and age group.

Contents

The youth setup also features under-20s and under-18s teams that both play in the National Premier Leagues NSW in their age group.

Youth team history

Early years (2008–2009)

The youth team was founded in 2008, as a Sydney FC representative team for the National Youth League (NYL) competition. The team consisted of twelve contracted youth positions with four overage players (from the senior squad) allowed to participate in games. The side had initially contracted Football Superstar winner, Adam Hett, but had to be replaced for the campaign due to a season ending knee injury. [1] In its first season Sydney FC Youth won the 2008–09 NYL Championship, with former Socceroo & NSL stalwart, Steve O'Connor as the coach. Throughout the season the side dominated many games and finished the regular season on top of the ladder with 13 wins, 2 draws, 3 losses and 6 points clear of second-placed Adelaide United Youth. The pair then went straight to a Grand Final match, of which Sydney FC Youth emphatically took out the tournament with a 2–0 victory at Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide. [2] The goalscorers were Ibrahim Haydar and Robbie Mileski. Many of the Sydney FC Youth players in the Grand Final went on to have success for the senior squad or found a home elsewhere. They included Vedran Janjetovic, Rhyan Grant, Matt Jurman, Antony Golec and Brendan Gan. Sydney FC Youth were unable to follow it up the following year, finishing fifth on the ladder and missing out on the finals series due to goal difference (behind Gold Coast United FC Youth, who went on to win the Championship).

Managers success (2009–2015)

After the second season, club legend Steve Corica replaced Steve O'Connor as head coach. The team had mixed success finishing fourth on the standings with 30 points behind Gold Coast United FC Youth on 41 points. The competition did not have a finals series for the first time. A few players from this cohort went on to play for the first team, including Dimitri Petratos, Nathan Sherlock, Joel Chianese and Blake Powell. [3] To take up a more senior assistant role with the first team, Corica relinquished the head coach position for the 2011–12 season. He was replaced by Ian Crook. Again Sydney FC Youth were mid-table, finishing sixth. Crook himself went on to bigger things the following year, taking over head coach duties for the first team. Brian Dene came in as coach of the Youth team. The season became Sydney FC Youth's worst performance in the team's five-year history, finishing ninth. With the first team also struggling with performance and injuries, many of the Youth team played up in the first's team, which did not help the cause. Some of these players included Christopher Naumoff, Hagi Gligor, Peter Triantis and Aaron Calver. [4] Steve Corica then returned as head coach for Sydney FC Youth with immediate success. The side won the Foxtel National Youth League Championship for the 2013–14 season. Unable to repeat this performance the following year, Corica again relinquished his duties as head coach to focus on his role within the senior squad.

Entry into National Premier Leagues (2014–present)

In early 2015, it was confirmed that Sydney FC would compete in the NPL NSW 2 competition from the 2016 season onwards. [5] This followed a competition review by Football NSW that recommended the youth teams of Sydney FC, Western Sydney Wanderers and Central Coast Mariners join the National Premier Leagues. Along with a team playing first grade, an under-20 and under-18 team would also compete in their appropriate age groups. The team forms the top level of the Sydney FC academy, unveiled in January 2016. [6] Rob Stanton took over the reins as head coach due to the heavily increased workload of the new competition. [7] [8] In the new National Youth League format with a shortened season, Sydney FC Youth started out of the block early recording three consecutive wins. Through the ten round campaign, the team lost only two games, both against Newcastle Jets Youth. The team sat two points clear of Newcastle to end the regular season in first place for Conference B. As Conference B winners, Sydney FC Youth played Adelaide United Youth for the premiership in a curtain raiser to A-League Round 16 match between Central Coast Mariners and Western Sydney Wanderers on 23 January 2016. Sydney FC Youth were convincing winners, taking out the premiership with a scoreline of 5–2.

Many influential faces returned for the debut of the team in the National Premier Leagues setup for Sydney U21. These included, Spyrakis, Timotheou, Araujo, Burgess, Lokolingoy and Antoniou. Notable exceptions included Anthony Bouzanis, Aaron Calver and George Blackwood as they had also signed senior contracts and were ineligible for the tournament. The team's debut match did not go according to plan, losing to Mounties FC 2–0 at home (Lambert Park). [9] The side then went on a thrilling ten-game winning streak, that included some big wins (7–0 against Macarthur Rams [10] and 7–4 against Bankstown Berries). [11] The streak ended in somewhat unfortunate circumstances against Marconi Stallions as Sydney FC U21, after leading 1–0, allowed in two goals in last five minutes of the Round 12 clash to lose 2–1. The following game saw another defeat for the Sky Blues, suffering defeat in the "mini derby" against rivals Western Sydney Wanderers U21. A win, then a draw to Mounties FC in the Round 14 make-up game, then two more losses, meant Sydney FC U21 only picked up four points out of a possible 24, with title hopes looking shaky. However, Sydney FC U21 would get back on track with wins against Bankstown City Lions FC and St George FC. Sydney FC U21 remained undefeated in the final four rounds of the regular season to win the Premiers Plate, two points ahead of Western Sydney Wanderers U21. In fact, the final day was a very tense affair, as the two clubs were matched up against each other. The Wanderers, who were trailing by 3 points and −10 points differential needed a very large win to leap-frog the Sky Blues. However, the sides played out a 4–all draw at Popondetta Park and Sydney FC U21 were declared premiers.

Under-23s current squad

These players can also play with the senior squad and are all Young Professionals.

As of 13 February 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
— FW Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Nathan Amanatidis
— FW Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Jared Brazete
— FW Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Bailey Callaghan
— DF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Joseph Calusic
— DF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Zac De Jesus
— FW Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Marin France
— MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Oscar Fryer
— FW Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Mitchell Glasson
— GK Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Gus Hoefsloot
— MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Wataru Kamijo
— MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Will Kennedy
No.Pos.NationPlayer
— FW Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Joe Lacey
— DF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Noah Matie
— DF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Hayden Matthews
— MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Lachie Middleton
— DF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Richard Nkomo
— GK Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Adam Pavlesic
— FW Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Tiago Quintal
— MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Dylan Rose
— MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Matthew Scarcella
— DF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Tyler Williams

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
— FW Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Alen Harbas (on loan to Flag of Finland.svg Kotkan Työväen Palloilijat until December 30 2025)

Under-20s current squad

These players can also play with the senior squad and the Under-23s.

Second years

As of 15 March 2020 [12]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
2 MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Cameron Fong
12 DF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Fletcher McFarlane
16 FW Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Olayinka Sunmola
20 GK Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Levi Kaye
22 DF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Mitchell Mattison
23 DF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Nathan Grimaldi
27 FW Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Antonio Saracino
No.Pos.NationPlayer
29 DF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Rocco Fragale
30 GK Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS David Malishev
42 DF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Aidan Simmons
43 MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Stevan Stanic-Floody
44 DF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Joseph Roddy
54 MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Nikola Skataric
69 MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Joseph Calusic

First years

As of 15 March 2020

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
42 DF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Aidan Simmons
45 MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Phillip Gigliotti
46 FW Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Kai Kamikura
47 MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Hunter Elliott
48 DF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Aleksandar Duricic
49 FW Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Lachlan Mills
50 GK Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Matteo Scali
51 DF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Nathan Paull
No.Pos.NationPlayer
53 FW Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Andrew Vlahadamis
54 MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Nikola Skataric
55 DF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Aiden Mostofi
58 MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Jake Girdwood-Reich
60 GK Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Beau Ward
62 FW Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Oliver Burden
68 MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Adrian Segecic
69 MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Joseph Calusic

Schoolboys

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
—Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Adrian Pini
—Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Adrian Segecic
—Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Aiden Mostofi
—Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Beau Ward
—Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Brae Ovens
—Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Carter Foxe
—Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Chris Niblock
— 13Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Clayton Taylor
—Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Connor Stamatis
—Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Daniel Rasera
—Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Federico Gagliano
—Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Gregory John
No.Pos.NationPlayer
—Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Jake Girdwood-Reich
—Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Joseph Clausic
—Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Kyle Reilly Shaw
—Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Luke Nieuwenhof
—Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Max Vartuli
—Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Morrie Kamara
—Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Oliver Burden
—Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Paolo Pusateri
—Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Ramiro Soto
—Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Rawley St John
—Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Rick Aguilar
—Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Steven Kriezis

Stadium

The team's home grounds for NYL matches are Leichhardt Oval and Netstrata Jubilee Stadium. [13] The team’s two home ground is Valentine Sports Park in the suburb of Glenwood and Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre for NPL matches. The teams also shares Sydney FC's club's training base at Macquarie University in North Ryde. Also the team’s previous play out Lambert Park in the suburb of Leichhardt for NPL matches.

Club officials

Current staff

As of 4 July 2019
Head CoachAssistant
YouthJim van Weeren Howard Fondyke
Under 20s Shane Smeltz
Technical Director – YouthKelly Cross

First team coaches (NPL/NYL)

NamePeriodSeasonsHonours
Steve O'Connor2008–20102 Y-League 2008–09 NYL Premiers and Champions
Steve Corica 2010–20111 Y-League
Ian Crook 2011–20121 Y-League
Brian Dene2012–20131 Y-League
Steve Corica2013–20152 Y-League 2013–14 NYL Champions
Robert Stanton 2015–20183 Y-League, 2 NPL 2015–16 NYL Premiers and Champions
2016 NPL NSW 2 Premiers and Champions
2016–17 NYL Premiers
Giancarlo Italiano2018–20191 Y-League
Jim Van Weeren2019–present1 NPL

Seasons

As of 30 December 2020
Season NYL / NPL NSW International Top scorer 1 POTYRising
DivPldWDLGFGAGDPtsPositionFinalsPlayer(s)Goals
2008–09 NYL 1813234322+21411stW Sean Rooney 9
2009–10 NYL 2411674333+10395th– Kerem Bulut 13
2010–11 NYL 209383631+5304thN/A Kofi Danning 8
2011–12 NYL 187474031+9256thN/A Mitchell Mallia 14 Hagi Gligor
2012–13 NYL 186394146-5219thN/A3rd Alec Urosevski 12 Peter Triantis
2013–14 NYL 1813234929+20411stN/A2nd Mitchell Mallia 13 Chris Naumoff
2014–15 NYL 188464027+13284thN/A5th George Blackwood 6 George Blackwood
2015–16 NYL 86022111+10181stW Max Burgess 4Daniel Araujo
NPL2 2616378441+43511stW Charles Lokolingoy 27 [14]
2016–17 NYL 85122315+8161stRU Charles Lokolingoy 6Andrea Agamemnos
NPL1 2262143452-1814 [lower-alpha 1] 11th— Charles Lokolingoy 7 [15]
2017–18 NYL 8521189+9172nd—Jeremy Cox6Jeremy Cox Marco Tilio
NPL1 2244142747-201612th— Jeremy Cox 10 [16]
2018–19 NYL 8503158+7152nd— Marco Tilio 4 Luke Ivanovic Ryan Teague
NPL1 2263133352-192111th—Benjamin Koop8 [17]
2019–20 NYL 85303715+22181stW Marco Tilio 9 [18] Joel King Adam Pavlesic
NPL1 116142619+719 5th — Patrick Wood 11 [19]
2021 NPL1 17 [lower-alpha 2] 3592944–1514 12th — Adrian Segecic 4 [20] Patrick Wood Adrian Segecic
2022 NPL1 228865345+832 7th — Jaiden Kucharski 18 [21] Patrick Yazbek Jake Girdwood-Reich
1 Top scorer only includes goals scored from league matches (National Youth League and NYL Finals or National Premier Leagues).
  1. ↑ Deducted six points for misconduct
  2. ↑ The season was cancelled on 12 August 2021 with five games remaining in the regular season

Honours

Domestic

Youth
Academy

International

Youth
Under-20s

Other

Youth
Individual

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney United 58 FC</span> Football club

Sydney United 58 Football Club is a semi-professional soccer club and current NSW NPL Champions based in Edensor Park, Sydney, New South Wales Australia. The club was formed as Sydney Croatia in 1958, by Croatian Australians in the area, but it was renamed in 1993 as Sydney United after having the name Sydney CSC for a season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marconi Stallions FC</span> Football club

Marconi Stallions Football Club is an Australian semi-professional association football club based in Fairfield, Sydney, New South Wales. The club has been crowned Australian champion four times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Corica</span> Australian former soccer player and manager (born 1973)

Stephen Christopher Corica is an Australian soccer manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Australian club Sydney FC. In December 2023, Corica was announced as the inaugural manager of A-League expansion club Auckland FC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St George FC</span> Australian association football club

St George FC, commonly called Saints or Budapest, is a semi-professional Australian soccer club based in the St George district in the south of Sydney. The club was founded by Hungarian immigrants in 1957 as Budapest Club and by 1965 was renamed to St. George-Budapest Club.

Ante Tomislav Moric is an Australian professional soccer coach and former player who is the head coach for Geelong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Coast Mariners Academy</span> Football club

The Central Coast Mariners Academy (CCMA) is the youth system of Central Coast Mariners FC based in Gosford, Australia. The academy teams play in the National Premier Leagues NSW competition, the top flight of the NPL NSW system. Senior players occasionally play in the academy side, as in the case when they're recovering from injury. Lucas Vilela is the current academy first grade coach. They train at the Central Coast Mariners Centre of Excellence and play their home games at Pluim Park.

Alusine Bakish Fofanah is a soccer player who plays as an attacking midfielder for Mt Druitt Town Rangers. He is the youngest ever player in the history of the A-League, making his debut for the Western Sydney Wanderers at just 15 years and 189 days. Born in Sierra Leone, he represented Australia at youth level.

Brisbane Roar Football Club Youth is the youth system of Brisbane Roar Football Club based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The team plays in the National Premier Leagues, the second level of the soccer pyramid in Australia. They play the majority of their home games at A.J. Kelly Park, Kippa-Ring.

Newcastle Jets Youth is the youth system of Newcastle Jets Football Club based Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. The academy teams play in the A-League Youth, NSW League One and Football NSW Youth League Two.

Adelaide United Football Club Youth is the youth system of Adelaide United Football Club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The team players in the National Premier Leagues, the second level of Australia's soccer pyramid in Australia. The club also competes in the under-21s A-League Youth competition.

Melbourne City Football Club Youth is the youth system of Melbourne City Football Club based in Cranbourne East, Melbourne. The youth team plays in the NPL Victoria 2, the second tier of Victorian football in Australia and the hiatus A-League Youth competition. The club also fields under-21s, under-18s, and three other academy teams within the NPL Victoria system.

Melbourne Victory Football Club Youth is the youth system of Melbourne Victory based in Melbourne, Victoria. The team plays in the National Premier Leagues, the second level of Australia's soccer pyramid in Australia. The club also competes in the under-23s Y-League competition.

The Football NSW 2015 season was the third season of football in New South Wales under the banner of the National Premier Leagues. The competition consisted of four divisions across the state of New South Wales, excluding those regions affiliated with the Northern NSW Football federation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Sydney Wanderers FC Youth</span> Football club

Western Sydney Wanderers Youth is the academy system of Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The team competes in the National Youth League competition known as the Y-League and also the National Premier Leagues NSW Men's First Grade, Under 20s and Under 18s competitions. For the 2020 season, they were to play in the NSW NPL 2 league. However due to a delayed season and restart, they were promoted to the National Premier Leagues NSW.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulls FC Academy</span> Football club

Northbridge Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in the Sydney suburb of Northbridge, New South Wales. Founded in 1952, the club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues NSW, with matches played at Northbridge Oval. Northbridge is Australia's largest community club with over 2,500 registered players.

The Football NSW 2017 season was the fifth season of football in New South Wales under the banner of the National Premier Leagues. The competition consisted of four divisions across the state of New South Wales. The Premiers of the NPL NSW Men's 1 qualified for the national finals, playing-off to decide the champion of the 2017 National Premier Leagues.

The Football NSW 2019 season was the seventh season of football in New South Wales under the banner of the National Premier Leagues. The competition consists of four divisions across the state of New South Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St George City</span> Football club

St George City is an Australian association football club based in St George, New South Wales. They currently compete in the National Premier Leagues in New South Wales. St George City is the representative side of the St George Football Association (SGFA).

The 2023 NPL NSW Men's is the eleventh season of soccer in New South Wales under the banner of the National Premier Leagues and the first season under the revised competition format. The season began on 3 February 2023 and is scheduled to conclude on 27 August.

References

  1. ↑ "Sydney set for start of Youth League". www.sydneyfc.com. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  2. ↑ "Junior Sky Blues take Youth League title" . Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  3. ↑ "Sydney FC unveils its new look youth team" . Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  4. ↑ "Sydney FC name young Youth squad" . Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  5. ↑ "Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers take rivalry to new level with plans for youth academies". smh.com.au. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  6. ↑ "Sydney FC Academy Expression of Interest". SydneyFC.com. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "Sydney FC appoint new National Youth League head coach". Johnny Warren Football Foundation. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  8. ↑ "Sydney FC appoint National Youth League head coach". www.sydneyfc.com. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  9. ↑ "PS4 NPL 2 NSW Round 1 Review" . Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  10. ↑ "Round 7 Review – PS4 NPL 2 NSW Men's". www.footballnsw.com.au. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  11. ↑ "Round 8 Review – PS4 NPL 2 NSW Men's". www.footballnsw.com.au. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  12. ↑ "Sydney FC — U20 NPL NSW Men's 2020". SportsTG.
  13. ↑ "Foxtel Y-League 2019/20 Season Draw" (PDF). Football Federation Australia. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  14. ↑ SportsTG. "Sydney FC statistics 2016" . Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  15. ↑ SportsTG. "Sydney FC statistics 2017" . Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  16. ↑ SportsTG. "Sydney FC statistics 2018" . Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  17. ↑ SportsTG. "Sydney FC statistics 2019" . Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  18. ↑ Football Federation Australia. "Y-League Fixtures and Results" . Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  19. ↑ "2020 NPL Sydney FC statistics". sportstg.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  20. ↑ "2021 NPL Sydney FC statistics". websites.mygameday.app. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  21. ↑ "2022 Top goalscorers". footballnsw. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  22. ↑ Swibel, Michael (9 July 2018). "Young Sydney FC go down to star studded Shanghai". Sydney FC. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  23. ↑ Van Weeren, Jimmy (3 April 2018). "2018 Future Cup Run". Sydney FC. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  24. 1 2 "Kucharski and Badawiya claim top NPL New South Wales honours". nationalpremierleagues.com.au. 19 September 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2023.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.