Image: Graeme Furlong
On the face of it, new Bentleigh Greens signings Stipo Andrijasevic and Nick Glavan don’t have much in common.
Andrijasevic is a tall, solidly built forward whose technical qualities make him one of the state’s most creative and exciting players to watch.
Glavan on the other hand is a nimble, attacking full-back who prides himself on being a pillar of consistency down the right side of the pitch.
However, dig a little closer and you will find plenty of correspondence between the pair.
Both players are of Croatian descent. Both players are based in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Both played their junior football at Dandenong City before eventually representing the senior side. Both attended the Rowville Academy of Sport. Both have had experience at an A-League youth level. Both were members of the Melbourne Knights’ 2016 campaign and will now one again share a dressing room together after being unveiled as Bentleigh’s first two signings of the off-season as the current Premiers hope to win more silverware in 2017.
In the case of Andrijasevic, it was a case of third time lucky for the Greens, who have in the past two seasons tried to lure the attacker to Kingston Heath Soccer Complex without success. The 22-year-old admits he could not resist their advances for any longer while citing their attacking brand of football and ambitious nature as two of the central factors behind his decision to join the club.
“I think it was just the style of football that they play which I think will suit me and allow me to score more goals. They are a team that want to win everything and I want to be a part of that success,” he said.
His teammate echoed such sentiments while also lauding the club’s professionalism and the geographic convenience of playing his football in Cheltenham.
“I think Bentleigh are probably the most professional club outside the A-league and ever since I left Victory I was always trying to get back into a professional environment. An additional advantage is the fact that Bentleigh is close to home for me as the 45 minute travel to Sunshine North and back was getting hard,” Glavan said.
Andrijasevic jokes that his teammate probably doesn’t have the petrol money to pay him back for being his driver to and from training across the Westgate.
Despite their respective departures from Knights Stadium, both players were quick to show their appreciation to their former employers, with Andrijasevic describing his two and half years with the club as the “best three years of my life”.
A prodigious teenager who made his senior debut aged just 15 with Dandenong City, his career had seemingly yet to take off before his move to the two-time NSL Champions in mid-2014.
“Being at such a well-established club and around the people involved at the Knights has allowed me to mature as a player at young age and has given me confidence that I probably lacked in the past,” he said.
In total, Andrijasevic scored 21 goals in 61 league appearances for the club while helping Andrew Marth’s men win the 2014 Dockerty Cup. Despite his young age, he also deputised as club captain in the absence of Milan Batur mid-term this year and believes that he can take a lot of positives out of his performances over the course of this year where he matured as a leader.
“Being given the vice captaincy role and then replacing Milan while he was away definitely matured me as a player even though I am only 22. I had to lead by example on and off the field and it was a privilege do be able to lead the team out and is something I’ve dreamt about since I was a little kid.”
Glavan himself enjoyed a memorable debut season with the club and was part of a talented cohort of youngsters who earned increased game time in the state’s highest level of club competition. Two goals in 23 appearances as well as a number of notable defensive contributions saw his stocks rise, with his performances catching the eye of a number of teams as the season stretched on with the Knights making it to the FFA Cup Round of 16 stage for the first time in the competition’s short history.
“On a personal level my season went well. In my opinion, being only 19 throughout the year it was important that I played a lot of games and got that experience at the top level which I was able to do at the Knights. From a team perspective we probably underachieved in the league, but we were able to reach the last 16 in the cup which was a great achievement.”
Having been an integral first-team member of Melbourne Victory’s NPL2 promotion winning squad of 2015, Glavan was surprisingly released by the club at the end of the year despite missing only two games from 30 throughout the victorious season.
He admits that he was surprised at the nature of the transition from playing full-time professional football to being involved in a semi-professional environment.
“After moving from victory, the transition was a bit of a shock at first to be honest, the hardest thing about only training 2-3 nights a week is trying to find the motivation to train on your own but you need to do it if you want to maintain the level you were at while in a full-time environment.”
While the two are happy to have made the move to a club with a fantastic array of silverware in recent years, they are fully aware of what is expected and are keen to add to the trophy haul at the club.
“Silverware will of course be the target for this upcoming season. Bentleigh are a team that want to win every competition and so am I. It’s a new challenge in my career, one that I’m looking forward to and I just can’t wait to get back out on the park,” Andrijasevic added.
The former Melbourne Heart Youth team player recently spent some time across the Tasman trialling with the Wellington Phoenix and although unsuccessful, was able to take plenty out from his time with Ernie Merrick’s side.
“The trial with the Phoenix was a great experience for myself because it just shows you how much hard work is required to make it to that next level and what you need to work on,” he said.
Glavan too has had recent flirtations with the A-League, having been selected as one of Victoria’s three representatives for the PS4 Player Pathway Training Camp in Sydney where the teenager was one of a select few youngsters from across the country to be in the running of winning a trial with the Sydney FC Youth Team.
Despite missing out on that opportunity, which went to Hume City midfielder Kristian Trajceski, Glavan believes he has plenty of positives to take out from the experience which has increased his confidence and desire to make it at the top level.
“Trialling at the PS4 Player Pathway was an awesome experience. Training twice a day in front of some of the best coaches in Australia definitely improved me as a player, and it was also good to see where I was at against the supposed best 24 young NPL players in the country. It gave me a little bit more confidence about taking the next step in my career.”
Glavan, who is set to turn 20 next month, is also excited about the prospect of being reunited at Bentleigh with former Victory teammate and school mate Kieran Dover, who made the switch to the reigning Dockerty Cup winners in May of this season.
“Playing with Kieran this year should be good. We’ve played together all throughout high school and at Victory so we should have a good rapport playing together again this year, and I’m pretty confident come the end of the year we will win a few trophies together.”
Ambition seems to be another shared characteristic between Andrijasevic and Glavan, who are determined to help Bentleigh achieve more success in 2017 while also enhancing their credentials.
Both players have a burning desire to still make it professionally and see the surrounds of Kingston Heath Soccer Complex as the perfect spot to take their game to the next level.
The pair’s acquisition is also a statement of intent from the club who despite failing to defend their Championship, are confident of enjoying an even more successful campaign next year.