After a horror injury spell Australian youth international Peter Skapetis has come back to the A-League but has unfished business in Europe.
It’s 2014 and then 19-year-old Peter Skapetis has the world at his feet. After scoring 11 goals in eight games for Australia’s U20 and U23 sides the Greek Australian striker had just signed for English Premier League (EPL) club Stoke City for a reported fee of $524,000.
Looking back, Skapetis now 23 says signing with the EPL club was the realisation of a childhood dream.
“I was loving it there,” he tells Neos Kosmos. “I had a very good preseason. I went away with the first team and I played my fair share of games for them. Then I went on international duty with the Young Socceroos and that’s when my first knee injury occurred.”
After being out for over a year Skapetis was three weeks into his playing comeback with Stoke, but unfortunately lightning struck twice, and he suffered another ACL injury, this time on his left knee.
Despite the cruel double set back Skapetis wasn’t giving up on his dream.
“I was out for over a year again, but I was working on getting fit and making sure my body was right,” he says.
“It was a lot of hard work, when you do one knee let alone two you have to learn how to walk again let alone run and then change direction. It’s a very long process. The last thing I wanted to do was sit back and take the easy way out, hence I fought to get back.”
That’s when Skapetis decided to make the move home and at the start of the current season signed with Brisbane Roar. Early on the signs looked encouraging when during the early rounds of the FFA Cup he scored a fine individual goal and Skapetis says it was a wondrous feeling.
“It was a great moment and I was happy with the goal,” he says. “At the start of the season my goal was to continue to play regular football and get back on my feet after the injuries that I had. So, it was a good opportunity for me to come to Australia especially after being out for so long.”
A subsequent move to the Central Coast Mariners in mid-season saw Skapetis score in his second game against Western Sydney Wanderers. Overall, the Melbourne raised striker has made 19 appearances across 24 A-League rounds and is happy with his progress.
“Physically I’m feeling good,” he says. “I’m continuing to fight to get where I want to be, and I’ll continue to do so in order to live my dream. It comes down to how badly do you want to get back?”
One thing that’s undeniable is that Skapetis has unfinished business in Europe.
“Wheν I was at Stoke it was fantastic to go into the club every day and see these quality players, being around them and being friends with them,” he says.
“It’s what you want to aspire to as well and you work hard to achieve that. I still have enough belief in myself and the work ethic to match it that I can get back to the point where I was before my injuries.
“For the time being my focus is on the Mariners but of course I still have ambitions to play in one of the top leagues in Europe. It’s always been my dream to play in the EPL so that hasn’t changed.”