For Leo Athanasakis, it doesn’t hurt to go the extra mile to ensure a win.
Travelling to Hobart this weekend, the South Melbourne club president says he’ll be paying a visit to the local Greek Orthodox Church, hoping to inspire some divine intervention to get the team over the line.
“I’m meeting the Greek orthodox priest and he’s promised me he’ll give us a blessing,” he tells Neos Kosmos in all seriousness.
South Melbourne is the only Greek sponsored team to make it into the NPL finals series they don’t want to take any chances.
They’ve already garnered the help of fellow Greek Australian team Hobart Olympic, who have offered South their pitch for training and any insider knowledge on their opponents, South Hobart.
The going will be tough. South Hobart have won the last seven state championships and made it to the NPL national grand final last year. They narrowly missed the national title, losing out 2-0 to Sydney United.
The South Melbourne boys arrived in Hobart on Friday, a day early to get themselves settled and focused. They might be playing it cautious but it means they will have as much confidence in their game as possible.
Captain Michael Eagar says the used their last NPLV match to bond and work on the team dynamic.
“We’re very confident, we’ve come off the back of VPL success in the season and we played on the weekend up to Goulburn, it was a good bonding session, it was a long bus trip there and we came back with a result,” he tells Neos Kosmos.
They beat Goulburn Valley Suns 4-1, a great result to keep the team in good spirits. They also kept a few players off the pitch to ensure they’ll be available for Sunday’s match.
Coach Chris Taylor is quietly confident, and sees the national Cup as a way to get his players abilities noticed.
“It’s a big challenge to play at national level, most of the players have got aspirations of playing in the A-League so it’s their opportunity to show they can play,” he tells Neos Kosmos.
One of the main aims for the NPL was to create a stronger link between the A-League and the state leagues. Football Federation Australia introduced the league to make pathways more concrete, and give clubs incentives for training players that are good enough to be picked up by the top tier.
FFA CEO David Gallop says it’s already been working, with Central Coast Mariners’ Glen Trifiro being signed directly after his NPL finals results.
“It’s a way of connecting the big state competitions with the A-League, its an opportunity to make sure those pathways exist in those clubs and as such are a critical engine rooms for footballers,” he tells Neos Kosmos.
Speaking at the launch of the NPL finals series, Mr Gallop said grassroots football is the heart and soul of football in Australia and must be nurtured.
At least now, with three National Cups in the works, one for the top tier A-League, one for the second tier NPL and one for every single club in Australia, the FFA Cup, the hierarchy is becoming less noticeable.
South Hobart vs South Melbourne
Kick-off: 1:30pm, September 20
Wellesly Park, Hobart