Saturday night’s blockbuster NPL Round 6 clash between Hume City and league leaders South Melbourne at ABD Stadium promises to be the headline spectacle of an action-packed weekend.
Chris Taylor’s side enter the fixture on the back of a disappointing two league results, which has seen them draw 2-2 to Bulleen and suffer a second-half collapse to lose 6-3 to Richmond, consequently relinquishing outright top spot on the ladder to both Bentleigh and Hume, who also sit on 10 points going into the game.
But for two very different members of the South Melbourne playing and coaching squad, Marcus Schroen and George Stefanidis, the game is of special significance. Both come face-to-face with their former club for the first time following their summer move to the two-time defending NPL Premiers.
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Former Hume City midfielder Schroen has settled well into his new surroundings, scoring twice and contributimg a number of assists, while also forming an exciting front third alongside lone-striker Milos Lujic, winger Nick Epifano, and fellow new signing and former Thunder teammate Matt Millar.
Aside from a disappointing last couple of games, South have impressed early on by winning their opening three games and scoring 12 goals in the process.
“Overall we have made a reasonable start as you said but there’s still a lot of room for improvement which is great because we know when we get to the level we know we can that the team can achieve some great things”, the former Den Bosch midfielder said.
“Personally, it’s been a reasonable start too, but I’m just looking to keep on improving week-in-week-out and give as much to the team as I can.”
Schroen returned to Lakeside this season, having initially made his debut for the club as a fresh-faced 17-year-old in the latter rounds of 2010 VPL campaign under Vaughan Coveny.
Like many of his teammates, he doesn’t shy away from stating the squad’s intentions for the season as they look to improve on a 2015, which saw them claim the Premiership but also lose the Grand Final, in addition to make early exit at a national level in the FFA Cup and NPL Final Series.
“The team wants to win every competition it’s involved in and go deep into both the FFA Cup and National Premier League playoffs later on in the year.”
The attacking midfielder, who turns 23 next week, is relishing the opportunity to take on his former side in what he describes as a “special fixture” for himself.
He scored seven times in 26 appearances with the Broadmeadows-based club, in addition to scoring four goals in as many games in Hume’s run to the FFA Cup semi-finals, which culminated in a spirited 3-0 defeat to eventual winners Melbourne Victory in late October at AAMI Park.
“It is a bit a special, but at the same time it’s another game worth three points and the boys will be looking to bounce back from last week,” he said.
“Maybe it’s a touch bittersweet, but at the same time I’m really looking forward to it. I got along really well with all the boys and still speak with a few of them and they understood and respected the decision I made.”
Schroen arrived at ABD Stadium in late 2014 after a demoralising time on the sidelines following his second ACL tear suffered while plying his trade with Dandenong Thunder.
He remains thankful for the opportunity Lou Acevski and the club provided him given his injury issues.
“Coming to the club after my injury was a good move for me. I worked hard to show them over the pre-season that year I would be able to contribute to the team and I’m grateful they gave me opportunity to do that,” he said.
“The players, coaching staff and fans of the club were great and made it one of the most enjoyable years I’ve had in football, so I’m really looking forward to Saturday.”
In addition to finding his feet in his new surroundings at Lakeside Stadium over the summer, the former Melbourne Heart Youth member spent some time trialling with the Central Coast Mariners.
Having impressed Tony Walmsley over the course of the FFA Cup run, Schroen was invited to Gosford where he spent one week with the A-League cellar dwellers.
“My time at the Mariners was great. It was a good opportunity to measure myself against A-League quality players and find out some of the areas I need to work on before making that next step when such an opportunity arises,” he said.
“They were really positive in how I trailed and gave me some good feedback along with some areas I can improve.”
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Football isn’t just a matter of a team rounding up 10 outfielders and a goalkeeper on a pitch and asking them to have a kick around and hopefully find the back of the net more times than their opponents. The 90 minutes on the pitch is the culmination of rigorous preparations by the backroom staff – involving coaches, trainers, health science staff, analysts – and players consuming most of the week.
The man tasked behind helping Marcus Schroen and the rest of Chris Taylor’s men is another familiar face. George Stafanidis was an analyst for Hume City for two years before his move to South, and believes his knowledge of the club can give South the cutting edge on Saturday.
“I just completed a 16-page report on Hume City, which we will go through ahead of the final training session on Friday, on how to nullify Hume,” Stefanidis said.
“Because I spent time there I know how Lou [Acevski] thinks. When I went to watch Hume play Melbourne Victory last weekend I was predicting all the moves and player changes before it happened, and I know how he will approach us.”
How the former Heidelberg United player and Brighton SC coach ended up at South is more a case of circumstance, but the opportunity to showcase his analytical ability at one of the biggest NPL clubs in Australia remains a constant motivator.
“After I left Hume I had offers from other clubs, I had a chance meeting with Chris Taylor and had a chat and it went from there,” he said.
“Apart from assisting the coach, I’m an opposition analyst. I go look at the opposition, dissect them, and try to find ways where we can win.”
“South are like an A-League club, the way they do things – committees make decisions, coaching staff are at meetings, the environment is happy here, the players are happy and we’re a happy family. Performances speak for themselves.”
For Stefanidis, who harbours A-League ambitions of his own, he says one of his finest moments was being able to help mastermind Hume – who were five weeks into their off-season – frustrate Victory in the semi-final of the FFA Cup, in which the eventual 3-0 scoreline did not represent the true state of play throughout the 90 minutes.
“Absolutely. Up to date [one of my proudest]. For 88 minutes, keeping them to 1-0 through a penalty. The scoreboard doesn’t reflect how frustrated they were,” he said.
“Hopefully we get South as far in the FFA Cup as far as we can, win a third NPL title, and then move onto a head coach role somewhere or move into the A-League in a similar role.”
His philosophy is that any team, regardless of their underdog status, always has a chance against a more fancied side if they follow instructions and exploit their opposition’s weaknesses.
“In my opinion, you only need three or four skilful players, and the rest need to be smart tactically and you will win games,” Stefanidis said.
“You can give me 11 players, five of them are average, and I will win you games through coaching, tactically, positioning, things like that.”
Stefanidis reserved praise for his former Hume City counterpart Schroen, who has continued his form at South after finishing 2015 as one of the state’s in-form players at Hume City.
“It’s good coming to a club when you already know somebody there. Marcus has improved and keeps getting better every week,” he said.
As for the impending clash against his old employer, Stefanidis maintains respect for the Broadmeadows-based club, but his focus is solely on delivering success to South Melbourne.
“Absolutely. Lou gave me the opportunity and I will always be indebted to Hume for giving me that senior role. But I’m at a new club, I have to move forward and hopefully we take the points.”
Feature image: Mark Avellino