Eight years after watching former Sydney FC captain Steve Corica blast the Sky Blues to the inaugural A-League title, Canberra teenager George Timotheou will be joining the club he has supported as a child.
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The 16-year-old central defender will move to the harbour city in a couple of weeks to begin training with Sydney FC's first-team squad with a view to signing with its youth side.
Timotheou has been playing for Belconnen United in the Canberra National Premier League, but the club has been told to deregister him so he can prepare for the preseason with Sydney FC.
Having had a 12-month stint with the Australian Institute of Sport under Tony Vidmar and a handful of camps with the Young Socceroos, Timotheou wants to use his experience with Sydney FC as the first steps towards becoming a professional footballer in the A-League.
He is excited at the prospect of learning not only from youth team coach Corica, but also new Sydney FC boss Graham Arnold, who was ushered in after a run of success with the Central Coast Mariners.
Timotheou was at the Sydney Football Stadium when Corica's second-half goal was enough for Sydney FC to beat the Mariners 1-0 in the 2006 grand final.
"Graham Arnold's experience as a coach is one of the reasons I'm going there and he's known for trusting young players,'' Timotheou said.
"When I was a young boy, Sydney FC was the first club I supported in Australia.
"I remember the first A-League grand final watching Corica score the winner – it was one of the greatest moments.
"He's always been one of my idols, so it'll be great to have him as my coach.''
Timotheou is under no illusions about the challenge in front of him and knows there is plenty of work to do before he is the finished product.
"I'm hoping to become a better player all round,'' he said. "I want to go to the next level and play in the A-League.
"I think Graham Arnold and Steve Corica can help me with that.''
Timotheou joined Belconnen United at the start of this season, but the Gungahlin United junior had a limited amount of games with his commitments with the Young Socceroos, attending four camps with the Australian under-20 squad.
"Playing with Belconnen taught me a lot as in the professionalism is still there and the older players mentor you in some aspect of my game I don't know,'' Timotheou said.
"There's good experience and that's what makes a strong squad.''
