25-year-old defensive-minded player, Antony Golec, was born and raised in Sydney, Australia. The left-back, who can also slot in at a centre-back role, has made 23 appearances in the 2014-15 campaign alone before making a move to the league's rivals, Perth Glory at the end of the season. He'll be aiming to attain a spot in the national team with his native country in the not-too-distant future, which is achievable, as long as he shows a consistent run of form at his new club. When the chance arose to talk to the under-rated footballer, it was an opportunity we could not turn down. He spoke exclusively to VAVEL writer Salmaan Abbas about his playing style, his favourite player growing up, as well as his favourite club and much more in this exclusive interview.
How did you get started in Football?
"I started playing football when I was 6 years old, my mother used to take me to my games. My older brother (Daniel) also played, so I followed in his footsteps"
Did you just play Football growing up?
"I played many sports, but it was mostly Football and also Athletics which helped with the fitness."
How would you describe your playing style, and which football player would you compare it to?
"Haha! I grew up love watching Maldini play, he was such a composed footballer, the way he carried the ball out from the back was something not many could do back then. I’d like to think that I too like carrying the ball out from the back and being composed on the ball as a centre back, although I’m not comparing myself to Maldini!"
Did playing other sports help improve your skills as a Football player?
"Growing up i was doing Athletics, that helped me a lot as I was running around and getting fit. To this day I feel Athletics has helped me a lot as I am a very fit player and probably only one of a handful of players who actually enjoy the running in pre-season."
Who were some Football role models you looked up to when you were growing up?
"Overseas players were Maldini, Henry, Modric, Cristiano Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos. from Australia I enjoyed watching Tony Popovic and Mark Viduka"
Who is your favourite football player?
"Favourite Footballer of all time would be Thierry Henry but i also like Cristiano Ronaldo. I’m a big fan of him."
What advice would you give to young players who want to become professional football players?
"Best advice i can give to young footballers is just enjoy playing, enjoy training and whenever you have any free time always try to juggle the ball and work on your weak foot."
What is your favourite pre-game meal?
"I love my food haha i would say Salmon with penne and some nice pasta sauce."
Would you be interested in move elsewhere, apart from Australia?
"Europe, it’s everyone’s dream to play in Europe. I was with NK Rijeka back in 2006 and i loved every minute of it, was such an amazing experience into the football world in Europe. European youth football was a thousand steps ahead of the Australian Youth Leagues and to this day it still is."
If you could play for any Premier league team, who would you play for and why?
Arsenal. I’m a massive Arsenal fan.
What do you hope to achieve in the future?
"I want to, at the end of my career, be able to look back with no regrets, have many memories to share with my family."
Will the standard of Australian football (internationally) improve soon or?
"It has improved so much the past 2 years now, a lot of younger players are getting a chance to play and are doing very well, the recent success in the Asian Cup showed everyone that we are getting better. Australia will only improve more!"
Tell me more about playing with the Australia U20 and U23 national team's a few years ago, what did you gain from these experiences?
"Was a fantastic experience, being able to represent your country at any age is a privilege and one I’m very grateful for. I was lucky enough to be apart of the London Olympic team, although we didn’t make the qualifiers it was still a honour to represent the country in the qualifiers."
You recently signed for Perth Glory, what persuaded you to join them and do you see yourself fulfilling your goals there?
"It was a very tough decision, Western Sydney Wanderers offered me a new deal but i wanted a change, with what I want to achieve in football I felt that Perth Glory were the club for me."
Do you have any match-day rituals or superstitions?
I always listen to my Croatian music, was raised up from a Croatian family and every game in the shed I have the Croatian music pumping. really gets me going!
What are your plans for after football?
"To be honest I haven’t thought about after football. I don’t ever want to think what happens after football, I’m hoping i have a VERY long career, but as much as I wish I could play forever I still studied and made sure I have something to use when my career is over."
Were your parents supportive in your career choice?
"Definitely, they (especially my father) drove me EVERYWHERE when I was little, all the training sessions and games they took me too. i thank them for everything i have in my life through football. They’re always travelling to see me play wherever I am playing."
And finally, take a look at your rating on EA Sports popular game FIFA 15, do you agree with the overall rating (59) and the stats on the card?
"hahahaha! I have been asked this many times, to be honest I am A LOT quicker than people think, I would probably change my speed, not a big change but definitely something better."
Thanks for the opportunity Antony Golec, me and everyone at VAVEL UK wish you the very best in your footballing career!
"No dramas, it was a blast!"