Melbourne City FC keeper Dean Bouzanis has lived and played in a few different places in his football life including Liverpool in the UK, where he played in Liverpool’s youth teams, Thessaloniki in Greece where he spent time with Aris, as well as a couple of other English clubs, Oldham Athletic and Carlisle United and of course, his hometown Sydney.

But right now the 26-year-old Sydney-born keeper reckons he’s in a good place.

“It’s one of my favourite cities I’ve lived in. I really love it and enjoy it,” he says of Melbourne.

And why wouldn’t he, especially since he’s just this week, together with his team, created a bit of history in the city’s football life by helping his A-League club to its first ever trophy, the FFA Cup, by defeating a club he once joined on loan, Sydney FC.

Speaking to Neos Kosmos about Wednesday night’s cup final triumph, Bouzanis said: “For me personally it was a massive achievement, because as a footballer, what you want to do is you want to win things. We’ve got the first trophy for the club and hopefully more to come. From day one, when we stepped foot in pre-season, it was all about creating a legacy and taking this football club to the next stage. We’ve put ourselves on the map now and we just have to continue with that.”

It’s not the first major trophy win for Bouzanis, having been part of the Western Sydney Wanderers squad that won the 2014 Asian Champions League.

And although the FFA Cup is still a relatively fledgling competition in comparison, he says, “every comp you play in is just as special as each other. When you’ve got a chance to win silverware it’s always a great feeling, and to spend it with the boys, team, coaching staff and fans especially, was special. [Wednesday] was a special night”.

Bouzanis and his fellow Melbourne City defenders barely put a foot wrong in Wednesday night’s cup final, keeping the league’s most prolific attack scoreless for the first time this season.

“Sydney’s a physical team and we had to muscle up and stuff like that and make sure we beat them in the first and second balls which I think we did. Whenever you keep a clean sheet it’s extra special as well. Having Michael (Jakobsen) in front of me … he was very good last night, as were all the boys in the back four. It was a credit to them because they defended very well,” he said.

Bouzanis made the move south to Melbourne from Western Sydney Wanderers at the start of the year in search of more game time. He’s well on the way to establishing himself in the City starting eleven this season, since coming on to replace veteran Thomas Sorensen in the season opener against Phoenix when the veteran was red carded.

Bouzanis’ distribution is considered a strength in his game and it’s something that he works on every day at training to try and improve. “It’s the way we want to play in the City Group style of play. It’s vital that the keeper is an outlet,” he says.

The 26-year-old believes his game has developed since joining Melbourne City at the start of the year. “I do think my game’s gone to another level, especially at Melbourne City. The style of play and the coaches we have here have definitely led to another level. It’s a different type of coaching than I’ve had before and it’s a coaching that I’m thriving under. All the staff under JVS, the goal keeping coach Joe Didulica, assistant coaches Joe Montemurro and
Michael Valkanis, they’ve all helped me out massively and given me the confidence to believe in myself that I can take my game to the next step.”

Having represented both Australia and Greece at youth international level, as well as the Olyroos, Bouzanis still has the ambition to represent his country at senior level.

“Yes of course, every footballer wants to play for the national team. I think it’s a massive honour if you get selected. It’s always going to be a massive drive. At the moment I’m focussing on Melbourne City and having consistent performances with them and still doing well and improving and hopefully the rest will come.”

With Socceroos boss Ange Postecoglou an interested spectator at Wednesday night’s FFA cup final, Bouzanis’ confident performance would not have gone unnoticed.