MrCelery
Well-Known Member
It's always nice to keep tabs on our ex-players, whether it be their current status, or a look back at their careers.
What better way to start than with one of the Club's most respected heroes, Mile Sterjovski.
This from FourFourTwo:
GOING THE EXTRA MILE
When Mile Sterjovski was lining up in the tunnel against Brazil at the 2006 World Cup, he had goose bumps. And while this is unsurprising for any player making their debut in the world’s biggest sporting event, for Mile, one childhood memory made the moment particularly significant.
“When I was playing in the old NSL for Sydney United, Jason Culina and I used to do extra sessions on our own because we were semi-professional”, says Mile.
“We used to dream about playing in the World Cup so we would shoot goals and pretend we scored against Brazil, role playing our celebrations. You imagine things; you set goals; you dream. I’ve done that for as long as I remember.”
And while standing next to the likes of Ronaldinho and Roberto Carlos, a tap on the shoulder from his old training buddy was soon followed by a whisper he’ll never forget.
“‘Remember when we were boys and we used to imagine being at the World Cup playing against Brazil?’ Jason said, in my ear. And that’s when it became surreal. Here we were, doing it, in reality.”
Even just recalling this makes him choke up, he admits. He also is the first to admit he’s a lucky man.
Not only has he been able to spend the last 20 years playing professional football for a living, but he’s done so with the endless support of his wife, Sharon – dating all the way back to his first overseas contract with French Ligue 1 side, Lille.
“We were so young,” Sharon recalls of their joint decision to move to Lille together. “It started off as maybe being a six week stay, but I just wanted to be there with him.”
Mile was so excited by the French adventure of living with his girlfriend of a year that he wanted everything to be perfect. He selected a beautiful apartment for them – but then effectively camped in it until she arrived, sleeping only on a stolen yoga mat for weeks, so they could make it their dream home together.
“She came around three months after I first got there and I thought we should choose the furniture together. So I stole a yoga mat from training and my only other furniture was a pillow, bowl and spoon” he says, laughing.
Sharon, still touched by the gesture, adds: “And when I got there, we furnished the apartment together.”
Sterjovski’s big move to Lille from humble beginnings in the old NSL was a dream come true for the Wollongong-born winger. He can’t remember a time he didn’t want to ‘go overseas and make it’ in football - and his first big breakthrough came when he was selected for a spot at the AIS, giving him the self-belief he could make it as a pro.
“I knew how many good players had come out of the AIS and I knew I had to have something about me to be selected,” he says. “I had a dream and I was determined.”
Ultimately, it led to a move to top-tier European football, but the young Mile soon found himself having to quickly learn the ropes to be accepted overseas.
“I knew they meant business,” he explains. “The players don’t embrace you for a long time. They see young players as their adversaries, brought in to replace them. They will do anything to stop you getting in their way.”
It wasn’t long before Mile, then 21, experienced his first reality check involving a competing teammate.
“I hadn’t been there long”, he recalls. “I was starting an away game and the pitch was wet and soft. I was still trying to work things out and I had forgotten my screw-in boots.
“I asked another player with the same size to borrow his spares, and the player in my position overheard me and marched straight up to the coach. I got hammered. There was a huge thing about it and they threatened to transfer me out of there.”
The fierce rivalry doesn’t just stay in the change room, according to Sharon. The wives and partners were equally competitive when it came to mingling with each other.
“There was a player in Mile’s position who was a bit older,” she says. “His wife completely ignored me every time I saw her – it was like I didn’t exist. Another wife whose husband was a goalkeeper told me that she wouldn’t dare talk to another goalkeeper’s partner.
“They don’t make you feel comfortable that’s for sure. And it was so foreign to us.”
Despite an initial adjustment phase, Mile relished the opportunity to play professionally in a country with such a rich footballing history. “I remember calling Sharon when I first got there and I said: ‘This is what football is about.’ I knew I was becoming a better player – the standard was so good; the players were so good; everything was just so professional.
“Looking back, it was an incredible time and it took my football to another level.”
Sterjovski’s four year stint at Lille was jam-packed with moments that aspiring footballers around the world only dream of, with the gifted footballer making appearances in both Champions League and UEFA Cup games for the French club.
“The good thing about being over there initially was the expectation of me wasn’t high. I was a young Australian player, and I think it worked in my favour”, Mile says.
“I wanted to prove them wrong. As more was expected in the second and third year, I definitely started to feel the pressure. But I learnt to deal with it.”
Then there was Manchester United and the private jets… Mile and Sharon admit that only now do they realise the magnitude of it all.
“It’s amazing that now, as we talk about the things we experienced, do we really understand how big some things were”, Sharon says. “Not to sound selfish, but for me personally, it was hard to settle in France. I was alone a lot and I was finding my own way.”
But being the partner of a professional footballer had its perks – including being whisked away with fellow partners and wives to see big matches.
“They flew all the wives to see Lille play Manchester United in the Champions League, and that was an amazing experience,” reveals Sharon. “But again, only as I talk about it – now having two football-mad boys of our own - do I realise how massive it actually was.”
While the nervous Aussie lined up at Old Trafford in front of a crowd of 65,000 – next to players he had watched on television in a previous life – he felt nervous. But as soon as the whistle blew, he knew it was game on.
“You immediately forget you are playing against players like David Beckham in front of this massive crowd,” says Mile. “You just play, and enjoy the moment.”
Mile’s move to Lille was also the first that earned him a jersey of the Green and Gold variety – and he was officially christened a Socceroo.
“Getting my first cap was amazing”, he says, looking at Sharon, who smiles at the memory. “I didn’t think it would happen so soon after joining Lille but back then, being involved in the Socceroos had very much to do with whether you were playing overseas.
“I remember Sharon driving me to the train station on the way to my first camp. Words cannot explain how proud I felt to be part of the national team. It was my ultimate goal.”
But for all the new heights his career hit in France, there also came crashing lows.
“When I first got there, things were going very well. We achieved a lot as a team”, he recalls. “But halfway through my contract, coaches changed and he wanted to bring in his own players and do his own thing.
“But I made it my mission to stick it out. I had that mentality to keep working hard and make it work. To this day, I think that French football is one of the best in the world.
“It develops great players and for me, having just come from the NSL – where we would train just a few times a week with one game – it took my fitness and football to another level.”
Part 2 to follow...
What better way to start than with one of the Club's most respected heroes, Mile Sterjovski.
This from FourFourTwo:
GOING THE EXTRA MILE
When Mile Sterjovski was lining up in the tunnel against Brazil at the 2006 World Cup, he had goose bumps. And while this is unsurprising for any player making their debut in the world’s biggest sporting event, for Mile, one childhood memory made the moment particularly significant.
“When I was playing in the old NSL for Sydney United, Jason Culina and I used to do extra sessions on our own because we were semi-professional”, says Mile.
“We used to dream about playing in the World Cup so we would shoot goals and pretend we scored against Brazil, role playing our celebrations. You imagine things; you set goals; you dream. I’ve done that for as long as I remember.”
And while standing next to the likes of Ronaldinho and Roberto Carlos, a tap on the shoulder from his old training buddy was soon followed by a whisper he’ll never forget.
“‘Remember when we were boys and we used to imagine being at the World Cup playing against Brazil?’ Jason said, in my ear. And that’s when it became surreal. Here we were, doing it, in reality.”
Even just recalling this makes him choke up, he admits. He also is the first to admit he’s a lucky man.
Not only has he been able to spend the last 20 years playing professional football for a living, but he’s done so with the endless support of his wife, Sharon – dating all the way back to his first overseas contract with French Ligue 1 side, Lille.
“We were so young,” Sharon recalls of their joint decision to move to Lille together. “It started off as maybe being a six week stay, but I just wanted to be there with him.”
Mile was so excited by the French adventure of living with his girlfriend of a year that he wanted everything to be perfect. He selected a beautiful apartment for them – but then effectively camped in it until she arrived, sleeping only on a stolen yoga mat for weeks, so they could make it their dream home together.
“She came around three months after I first got there and I thought we should choose the furniture together. So I stole a yoga mat from training and my only other furniture was a pillow, bowl and spoon” he says, laughing.
Sharon, still touched by the gesture, adds: “And when I got there, we furnished the apartment together.”
Sterjovski’s big move to Lille from humble beginnings in the old NSL was a dream come true for the Wollongong-born winger. He can’t remember a time he didn’t want to ‘go overseas and make it’ in football - and his first big breakthrough came when he was selected for a spot at the AIS, giving him the self-belief he could make it as a pro.
“I knew how many good players had come out of the AIS and I knew I had to have something about me to be selected,” he says. “I had a dream and I was determined.”
Ultimately, it led to a move to top-tier European football, but the young Mile soon found himself having to quickly learn the ropes to be accepted overseas.
“I knew they meant business,” he explains. “The players don’t embrace you for a long time. They see young players as their adversaries, brought in to replace them. They will do anything to stop you getting in their way.”
It wasn’t long before Mile, then 21, experienced his first reality check involving a competing teammate.
“I hadn’t been there long”, he recalls. “I was starting an away game and the pitch was wet and soft. I was still trying to work things out and I had forgotten my screw-in boots.
“I asked another player with the same size to borrow his spares, and the player in my position overheard me and marched straight up to the coach. I got hammered. There was a huge thing about it and they threatened to transfer me out of there.”
The fierce rivalry doesn’t just stay in the change room, according to Sharon. The wives and partners were equally competitive when it came to mingling with each other.
“There was a player in Mile’s position who was a bit older,” she says. “His wife completely ignored me every time I saw her – it was like I didn’t exist. Another wife whose husband was a goalkeeper told me that she wouldn’t dare talk to another goalkeeper’s partner.
“They don’t make you feel comfortable that’s for sure. And it was so foreign to us.”
Despite an initial adjustment phase, Mile relished the opportunity to play professionally in a country with such a rich footballing history. “I remember calling Sharon when I first got there and I said: ‘This is what football is about.’ I knew I was becoming a better player – the standard was so good; the players were so good; everything was just so professional.
“Looking back, it was an incredible time and it took my football to another level.”
Sterjovski’s four year stint at Lille was jam-packed with moments that aspiring footballers around the world only dream of, with the gifted footballer making appearances in both Champions League and UEFA Cup games for the French club.
“The good thing about being over there initially was the expectation of me wasn’t high. I was a young Australian player, and I think it worked in my favour”, Mile says.
“I wanted to prove them wrong. As more was expected in the second and third year, I definitely started to feel the pressure. But I learnt to deal with it.”
Then there was Manchester United and the private jets… Mile and Sharon admit that only now do they realise the magnitude of it all.
“It’s amazing that now, as we talk about the things we experienced, do we really understand how big some things were”, Sharon says. “Not to sound selfish, but for me personally, it was hard to settle in France. I was alone a lot and I was finding my own way.”
But being the partner of a professional footballer had its perks – including being whisked away with fellow partners and wives to see big matches.
“They flew all the wives to see Lille play Manchester United in the Champions League, and that was an amazing experience,” reveals Sharon. “But again, only as I talk about it – now having two football-mad boys of our own - do I realise how massive it actually was.”
While the nervous Aussie lined up at Old Trafford in front of a crowd of 65,000 – next to players he had watched on television in a previous life – he felt nervous. But as soon as the whistle blew, he knew it was game on.
“You immediately forget you are playing against players like David Beckham in front of this massive crowd,” says Mile. “You just play, and enjoy the moment.”
Mile’s move to Lille was also the first that earned him a jersey of the Green and Gold variety – and he was officially christened a Socceroo.
“Getting my first cap was amazing”, he says, looking at Sharon, who smiles at the memory. “I didn’t think it would happen so soon after joining Lille but back then, being involved in the Socceroos had very much to do with whether you were playing overseas.
“I remember Sharon driving me to the train station on the way to my first camp. Words cannot explain how proud I felt to be part of the national team. It was my ultimate goal.”
But for all the new heights his career hit in France, there also came crashing lows.
“When I first got there, things were going very well. We achieved a lot as a team”, he recalls. “But halfway through my contract, coaches changed and he wanted to bring in his own players and do his own thing.
“But I made it my mission to stick it out. I had that mentality to keep working hard and make it work. To this day, I think that French football is one of the best in the world.
“It develops great players and for me, having just come from the NSL – where we would train just a few times a week with one game – it took my fitness and football to another level.”
Part 2 to follow...
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