INSIDE THIS WEEK... www.goalweekly.com $3 FOXTEL CUP - ROUND 20 Asia Cup Catastrophe Focus on Cavalier Joel Nikolic DUE TO THE BREAK IN THE VPL THIS WEEK Season 3: Issue 13 Monday 16th July 2007 GOAL! WEEKLY WILL NEXT BE AVAILABLE ON MONDAY 30TH JULY Supporting all colours and reporting in black and white KINGSTON ESSENDON Photo: Nome Risteski CITY ROYALS V V A.I.S GREEN GULLY The Grange Reserve CAVALIERS Mel: 79 F8 Veneto Social Club Franco Catalano George Papadopoulos Wednesday 18th July Mel: 32 D9 (Essendon Royals) (Kingston City) KO 8:15PM Friday 27th July KO 8:15PM SOUTH PRESTON MELBOURNE LIONS V V OAKLEIGH SPRINGVALE CANNONS WHITE EAGLES Bob Jane Stadium BT Connor Reserve Mel: 2K F6 Mel: 18 B2 Bill Natsoulias John Sapazovski Friday 27th July Sunday 29th July (South Melbourne) (Preston Lions) KO 8:15PM KO 3:00PM HEIDELBERG WESTERN UTD SUBURBS V V MELBOURNE ALTONA CAPITAL KIDS KNIGHTS MAGIC Olympic Park (Village) Ralph Reserve Nick Sabljak Mel: 19 D11 Mel: 40 A2 Bill Natsoulias (Heidelberg United) Sunday 29th July Sunday 29th July (South Melbourne) KO 3:00PM CONQUER LIONS! KO 3:00PM PLUS► ALL THE LATEST ACTION FROM THE FOXTEL CUP, STATE & SUNSHINE WHITTLESEA PROVI LEAGUES, WPL, JUNIORS & MUCH, MUCH MORE! GEORGIES ZEBRAS V V FAWKNER RICHMOND BLUES EAGLES Chaplin Reserve Epping Soccer Stadium John Markovski Mel: 26 G12 Sunday 29th July Tex Apostolakis (Sunshine Georgies) Sunday 29th July Mel: 182 C4 (Whittlesea Zebras) KO 3:00PM KO 6:00PM Goal! Weekly PLAYER PROFILE Goal! Weekly FOOTBALL FOCUS 27 Fatih Akdogan AKDOGAN’S STARS SHINE BRIGHTLY JOEL NIKOLIC Turkish outfi t on the Wright track GREEN GULLY CAVALIERS FC atih Akdogan is a modern-day Akdogan. marvel. He made his senior debut The youngster, his older brother and parents with current club Southern Stars moved back to Turkey when he was 13 and (then Dingley City) 10 years ago that spelt the end of Akdogan’s football Fin Provisional League Division Two and if career for around 18 months. When the the 25-year-old jack-of-all-trades has his family came back to Melbourne, Lovegrove way he’ll end his career with the Division had joined Sandringham City juniors so that One Turkish outfi t. was where Akdogan went. There’s a refreshing simplicity to the way He played at under-15 level and in Akdogan describes his relationship with his Sandringham’s under-16 Super League club. “You give something to the club and the side. But once that season ended his interest club gives you something back,” he said. in playing waned and six months went by “At the moment I could not see myself before his schoolmates talked him into playing with another club. The friendship joining Dingley City in 1998. and family connections at Dingley are great “I remember my fi rst game in the reserves,” and it would be really, really hard to let that said Akdogan. “The seniors were short so go.” I ended up playing in the fi rst team too. I And Southern Stars would be crazy to loosen think I just ran on adrenalin that day. their grip on one of their most valuable “But the club has come a long, long way playing assets. As the club has maintained since then. Back when I joined it was more its steady rise from the nether regions of of a get-together sort of thing but now there’s Victorian football, Akdogan has been a fi rst much more support, more sponsorship and team fi xture and has been used in a variety it’s much more professional. of roles. “Having said that, we still have to battle for Primarily used as a defender, he had a spell recognition within the community because at centre-forward a few seasons ago in we’re the only Turkish club on this side of Fatih Akdogan gives chase in last season’s Division One Play Division Three South East and managed to town. bag 15 goals and in recent weeks Southern “And we are still looking for a permanent Off contest against Bentleigh Greens. The match fi nished 0-0 Stars have used him in midfi eld. base. We’re sharing Ross Reserve right now and the Stars went on to clinch promotion on penalties. Akdogan started his career at sub-junior with Springvale City but we only use it on level as a striker with Beaumaris under-7s matchdays. We do our training at Warner Senior coach Frank McGrellis resigned are going down. and credits coach Terry Lovegrove with Reserve in South Springvale.” about fi ve weeks before the season’s start “We can’t afford to take any chances so the getting him involved in the sport. Despite a nomadic existence and a coaching to pursue a full-time career in a community- way we look at it is that four are going down “To be honest, Terry is the man who got change during pre-season, Southern Stars based position and former Kiwi international and we’ve got to make sure that we’re not in me playing soccer. He’d come to the house have more than held their own in Division striker Billy Wright took charge. that group.” and pick me up for training and games and One this season, their fi rst at that level, and “Frank was very professional. He liked One of the clubs below Southern Stars and drop me off after. I owe him a lot,” said have impressed many observers. things done the right way and if it took us 10 staring down the relegation barrel is Casey times to get it right then that’s what it took. Comets (formerly Cranbourne), who faced He was a perfectionist. their old Division Two rival last weekend. “Billy concentrated on fi tness-based things This interview was conducted before the at the start and he’s been good for the club so match but you could tell by the tone of far, no doubt about it.” Akdogan’s voice what that game meant to Wright has a reputation as one of the most his teammates and to his club. animated matchday coaches in Victorian “The Cranbourne games are big, big games football. Time and again he resembles for us. I guess we went head to head with someone with the worst aspects of Tourette them for a while last year in Second Division syndrome mixed with liberal doses of St before we dropped points which gave them Vitus dance. the title. Wright can become so animated that “In a way it was better for us because going spectators and opposition players alike are through the play-off series (and winning left dumbfounded. It was no different for promotion to Division One) raised our profi le Southern Stars’ players at fi rst. a lot more which was great for the club.” “Yeah, the fi rst couple of weeks it was unreal Akdogan works in the purchasing department but we got used to it. I fi nd that the opposition of Dandenong-based engine reconditioning players are more amused by it than we are company HM GEM Engines, and if his and tend to react more. loyalty to his football club is any indication, “And Billy’s a lot different at training, much he’s likely to accrue plenty of long service more relaxed, more laidback. It’s just the leave with his present employer. matchday thing that he gets really pumped So what’s the key to being a one-club man? Photo: John Punshon up about.” “Simple, really. It’s the supporters. I’ve But for all his technical area shenanigans, watched lots of other clubs but I’ve not Wright has his men fi rmly on track to achieve seen supporters like ours at Dingley who the club’s main aim in 2007, to consolidate chant and chant and create a really special its newfound status. atmosphere for the players. FULL NAME: Joel Nikolic Paul Wade SUPERSTITIONS: Black Bond’s jocks IDEAL DATE: Jessica Alba “Everyone keeps telling us that we’ve got “That’s what’s kept me at this club for all BIRTHPLACE: Australia FAVOURITE CURRENT SOCCEROO: TYPICAL MATCH DAY MEAL: Pasta FAVOURITE TV SHOWS: The VPL a good side but it’s such a tight league that those years.” BIRTH DATE: 25th Dec 1985 Tim Cahill WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS: Run- Show you can end up in the relegation battle with a HEIGHT: 190cm MOST MEMORABLE MATCH AS A ning at players FAVOURITE MUSIC: House and Retro couple of straight losses. WEIGHT: 82kg PLAYER: Gully vs Heidelberg, 5-4 and I WHAT ARE YOUR WEAKNESSES: Ask FAVOURITE FILM: Scarface MARRIED: No scored a hat-trick. Dobbo LAST SOCCER SHIRT YOU BOUGHT: “As a club our aim is to consolidate. When By Craig MacKenzie we used to watch First Division games years CAR: Ford MOST MEMORABLE MATCH AS A FAN: FAVOURITE TEAM WHEN GROWING Man Utd ago we used to think that the standard was Photos by John Punshon OCCUPATION OUTSIDE OF FOOT- Aus vs Uruguay 2005 UP: Man Utd FUNNIEST RUMOUR YOU’VE HEARD high and that it would be hard to play at that BALL: Forky MOST MEMORABLE GOAL YOU’VE FAVOURITE OTHER SPORTS: Back ABOUT YOURSELF: None. level but once you play there you soon get NICKNAME: None SCORED: Whittelsea last year yard cricket BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON CAREER: PREVIOUS CLUBS: Sunshine Heights FUNNIEST MOMENT IN FOOTBALL: FAVOURITE OTHER SPORTSPER- Parents and all my coaches used to it. REPRESENTATIVE HONOURS: None Being in the Gully change rooms SON: Rodger Federer BIGGEST DRAG IN SOCCER: Pre-sea- “But our job’s not done yet and with catch- as yet! BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Missing FAVOURITE FOODS: Grandma’s son training up games that some clubs have it wouldn’t CHILDHOOD FOOTBALL HERO: Eric out on the 2005 Grand Final against Hei- schnitzel FOOTBALL AMBITION: To play as long take much to be fi ghting to avoid relegation.