For a man once the Australian football media’s darling, twice-capped Socceroo and veteran of over 100 Australian national league appearances Kristian Sarkies cuts a more modest figure these days – a family man with a different set of priorities.
The Dandenong Thunder man walked off Wembley Park hand-in-hand with his young daughter after playing an important role in his side’s 3-1 win over Box Hill United, but there were the obvious thoughts of ‘what could have been’ crossing the mind of many. In another life, perhaps it could’ve been Wembley Stadium he was seeing off in front of a 90,000 strong crowd.
“I’ve agreed to do this interview, as long as there’s no photos because we get fined,” he joked post-match. “That’s why Amir [Osmancevic] is copping it at the moment, because he’s in all the media at the moment.”
There’s a swagger present in his words; a man who’s been wheeled in front of the media many times before. He was confident and deliberate with his words, but kind in his delivery, a likeable man with much to share about his experiences. Perhaps the midfielder will be passing on words of advice to the aforementioned youngster Osmancevic, who’s found himself the centre of attention this season.
The parallels between Sarkies and Thunder’s rising star are there. The 29-year-old was once in his shoes, a youngster with the world at his feet launching himself into a football career head first with the freedom and reckless abandon that only youth allows.
His start came earlier however, bursting onto the scene as a fresh faced 16-year-old, where he was given a national league debut for South Melbourne in 2003 under the stewardship of Stuart Munro, who also oversaw the progression of future Melbourne Victory teammates Vince Lia, Eugene Galekovic and Simon Storey in that time period.
The financial constraints gripped South Melbourne’s impact on what proved to be its ultimate NSL season, as they bowed out at the Semi-Finals stage after a fifth place finish. It proved a good enough audition for Sarkies, who was then jet setting of to bigger and better things with the introduction of the A-League.
A part of Victory’s inaugural 05-06 A-League squad, Sarkies and his ‘dead-ball expertise’ featured 35 times for the club in two seasons as his stocks rose, with the attacking midfielder even offered the chance as a train-on ahead of the 2006 World Cup. The then 19-year-old didn’t make the final squad, but made his international bow in a build up friendly against Liechtenstein – a 3-1 win for the record.
He made the move to Adelaide United ahead of the 07-08 A-League season where he failed to cement a first team position as injuries worked against him during his time in South Australia. He did manage another appearance for the national team, coming off the bench for an Asian Cup qualifier under Pim Verbeek, who had called on his ‘A-League select’ given the ineligibility of his European stars with the fixture scheduled off a FIFA sanctioned date.
Sarkies secured a move back home to Victoria with Melbourne Heart – where he played with current Thunder teammate Simon Colosimo – but in tragic circumstances, a double fracture sustained to the right leg put the technically-gifted playmaker out of the game for close to eight months. The injury came just months after being announced as a Heart player, and it pegged him back considerably – by the age of 25, he was out of the A-League system.
Brief stints floating around the Victorian top-flight saw Sarkies quietly hang up the boots at the end of last season; that was until he received a call from newly-appointed Thunder coach Huss Skenderovic – ironically taking the reigns from his first coach Munro – where his connections with former Victory kit-man Semi Sivic got the manager in contact.
“Huss gave me a call – I came out of retirement for this team – I’m very close with Huss as [I know] his nephew Semi Sivic, who’s the assistant coach at Port Melbourne,” Sarkies said.
“He contacted me and I had a good chat with him. I said if I was enjoying it, then I’ll do what I can. If I’m not, then I don’t want to be wasting your or my time – he understood that.
“I have a young family which he understood too. I’ve really enjoyed working with him and I’ve really enjoyed the club as well. The background, there are a lot of people working hard to do a lot of things for us as players.
“We’re very fortunate to be repaying them back by getting the runs on the board and winning games.”
The understanding is mutual between player and coach, with Skenderovic’s praise of ‘Sarks’ running thick and fast, reiterating that his experience is crucial for bringing through the next generation of footballers.
“Sarks has brought real quality and leadership to the playing group,” Skenderovic said.
“His character both on and off the park is of the highest level – respected by everyone and a great asset for the younger players to learn from.”
Sarkies understands that the character that his coach points to is a major factor towards their success this year, with a good team spirit something he believed his coach wanted to build from the start.
“I think one of his key ingredients for the team this season was characters,” Sarkies said.
“You can hear our changing rooms at the moment – we have training, game, we catch up for a meal mid-week with the whole team. We’re a good bunch of characters in the change rooms which I think shows on the field.
“We’ve got that experience, very experienced players and then the younger boys coming through who we’re just trying to coach through. I think we should be happy with that.”
The deadline signing of Sarkies’ former teammate Colosimo has seemingly brought together the squad, who are reaping the benefits of his experience and leadership, which is bringing bountiful success on field.
Not only did the camaraderie help sell the project to Sarkies, but also that desire to bring a highly successful season to George Andrews in 2016, culminating in promotion back to the top-flight of Victoria football.
“I think when we signed Simon, It was all bases covered for our squad,” Sarkies said.
“We’ve got a good keeper in Fraser [Maclaren], then we’ve got the backline with Safa [Faisal Sakhizada] and Simon who are obviously very experienced players.
“Midfield, we’re strong and then in the attack, we’ve got plenty of depth there.
“Of course [the title and promotion] is the aim, it was one of the main reasons why I signed with the club,” he added.
“I agreed to them winning the league and winning it comfortably. That’s our aim and if we keep winning games and scoring goals as we are, then the sky is the limit.
“Having said that, only four games into the season it’s still early days, but like I said we’ve got the runs on the board which is what we want.”
So while Sarkies may be hitting the latter end of the spectrum in regards to his footballing career, he’s seemingly enjoying his football now more than ever, and is determined to pass on his knowledge to a new generation.
His star may not have shone as bright as many thought, but its presence is guiding the way for the next generation of footballers.
Feature image: Graeme Furlong