For parents who have dreams and aspirations that their child will make it as a professional footballer in the English Premier League, the likelihood is less than one per cent.
In England, out of the 1.5 million players in youth academies only 180 will make it as a Premier League professional, meaning only 0.012 per cent have a chance of achieving their goal.
If your child has ambitions to leave Australia and play overseas, you should be aware that since 1982 over 900 players aged 16 and above have attempted to play abroad and 82 per cent of them have failed.
To expand on that statistic, out of all the Australian players who have gone overseas 80 per cent are back in Australia within three years. Out of every 100 Australian players who do go to Europe, only four end up staying for over 10 years.
So should Australian players try and make it locally or should they try their chances to make it in Europe?
Leading Greek Australian agent Tony Rallis told Neos Kosmos that budding local players should follow the lead of the Socceroos who were able to have long careers abroad.
“The ones that succeeded like Brett Emerton, Chris Kalantzsis, Jim Patikas, Paul Okon, Ned Zelic, Stan Lazaridis and Mark Viduka, did so because they were stars here in Australia first,” he revealed.
“People respected them because clubs had to pay for them. It’s about persistence, it’s about wanting it. Patikas and Kalantzis used to walk to games. Their fathers and mothers wouldn’t take them because they were too busy working. They had the determination, discipline and desire to succeed.”
Former Socceroo Jim Patikas forged a career in Greece for over a decade with powerhouse club AEK but revealed to Neos Kosmos that he had a few false starts.
“I went over overseas three times before I made it,” he says. “I first went when I was 15 years old. I wasn’t ready and I came back. Then, when I was 17, I went to Aberdeen, which was coached by former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, but I came back because I didn’t like it. Then I went back when I was 21 years old and I was ready.”
Patikas admits that it was only once he established himself in Australia and became a Socceroo that he was ready to play abroad.
“So I believe you should try and make it here first,” he says. “Before I went to Greece I received the award for best player of the season in the NSL. By the time I was 20, I had made 20 appearances for Australia. Then I was ready.”
Patikas also warned youngsters that Europe will not be easier to make it than Australia despite the fact there are more opportunities overseas.
“If you play for an Australian national youth team and a club comes along and they want you, that’s ok,” he says. “If you say you want to go to Europe for a better professional training experience then alright, I agree, that it is a good experience. But if you can’t make it for Sydney Olympic and then you want to play for an academy overseas, you are kidding yourself.”
Former Socceroo and Sydney Olympic star Peter Katholos has been involved with coaching at youth level and also scouts for overseas clubs. He is of the opinion that for youngsters who have ambitions to play abroad they need to leave Australia early.
“If players want to make it at an overseas club they need to leave at 13-14 years of age to have a really good opportunity to make it,” he revealed. “Things have changed in Australia. We don’t develop our players the way they do in Europe. We don’t have the coaches or the development standards to get our players at the right level.”
Peter Katholos, during his golden days
Peter Katholos, coaching the next generation of footballers
Greek Australian player agent Peter Paleologos is a former president of the Australian Football Agents Association. He is also a football lawyer with regulatory experience dealing with regulatory issues that affect U-18 Australian players transferring overseas.
He says that not all parents understand the regulatory hurdles involved in young players moving overseas.
“The huge number of private or branded (affiliated to European clubs) in Australia has led to a trend where many young players are scouted and given trials overseas,” he says.
“However due to not having the regulatory paperwork in place this may result in not being able to take up any offer of a European club scholarship. If a youth player moves overseas, parents need to understand the rules of the national association, FIFA and the leagues.”
Paleologos revealed that training compensation and players aged under 18 not being registered correctly to play overseas are two of the biggest problems that blindside parents.
“If a young player signs their first professional contract, their new overseas club has to pay training compensation to the previous Australian clubs including their junior clubs,” he revealed.
“Many European clubs will not pay training compensation for younger players who are untested at the top level. Also, if a player is under 18 parents must move to the country and do so for non-football related reasons. Or if the Australian player has an EU or UK passport the club has to agree and prove that it is providing footballing and academic or vocational training to the player and looking after the youngster in the best possible way.”
Even if all the paperwork is sorted Ralis says Australian players should be aware that they are competing with players who, for them, succeeding is a matter of life or death.
“Europe is cut throat and the kids here are not mentally tough enough,” he says. “If you can’t make it in Australia what makes you think you are going to get to AEK or Olympiakos who have kids from Africa and eastern bloc Europeans coming through who have got to make it otherwise they don’t feed their kids.
“While a lot of our boys with all due respect are turning up with their nice boots and fancy suits and they think they are players. They might have the talent but they don’t have the desire, dedication or the hunger to compete against these other kids.”
But Ralis doesn’t deny that young players in Australia would benefit if the A-League added more teams.
“The old National Soccer League (NSL) had an extra 250 positions because there were 16 clubs with less foreigners and we have got only nine Australian teams,” he says.
“The old Wollongong’s and Canberra’s used to sell players to Sydney Olympic and South Melbourne and Marconi back when there was transfers. Then they would go and reproduce other kids. Patikas and Kalantzis were all first graders at 16. Peter Raskopoulos was captain of Sydney Olympic and Australia at 19.
Peter Katholos was a star at 18. If the A-League has a 14 team competition tomorrow I’m telling you that we would be producing 70 to 80 players every year.”