Sydney FC Youth
Full nameSydney Football Club Youth
Nickname(s)Sky Blues
Founded2008
GroundLambert Park (Y-League)
Valentine Sports Park (NPL)
Capacity7,000
ChairmanScott Barlow
Youth ManagerJim van Weeren
LeagueY-League
National Premier Leagues NSW

Sydney Football Club Youth is the youth system of Sydney Football Club based in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia. The team referred to as Sydney Youth play in the Y-League (November to February) and consists of u23 players, the highest level of youth soccer in Australia. The club also competes in the National Premier Leagues NSW (March to August), the top competition of Football in NSW, however this team is known as Sydney U21, and is not to be confused with Sydney Youth which is a completely different team, involving different team selection and age group.

The youth setup also features under-20s and under-18s teams that both play in the National Premier Leagues NSW in their age group.

Youth team history

Early years (2008–2009)

The youth team was founded in 2008, as a Sydney FC representative team for the National Youth League (NYL) competition. The team consisted of twelve contracted youth positions with four overage players (from the senior squad) allowed to participate in games. The side had initially contracted Football Superstar winner, Adam Hett, but had to be replaced for the campaign due to a season ending knee injury.[1] In its first season Sydney FC Youth won the 2008–09 NYL Championship, with former Socceroo & NSL stalwart, Steve O'Connor as the coach. Throughout the season the side dominated many games and finished the regular season on top of the ladder with 13 wins, 2 draws, 3 losses and 6 points clear of second-placed Adelaide United Youth. The pair then went straight to a Grand Final match, of which Sydney FC Youth emphatically took out the tournament with a 2–0 victory at Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide.[2] The goalscorers were Ibrahim Haydar and Robbie Mileski. Many of the Sydney FC Youth players in the Grand Final went on to have success for the senior squad or found a home elsewhere. They included Vedran Janjetovic, Rhyan Grant, Matt Jurman, Antony Golec and Brendan Gan. Sydney FC Youth were unable to follow it up the following year, finishing fifth on the ladder and missing out on the finals series due to goal difference (behind Gold Coast United FC Youth, who went on to win the Championship).

Managers success (2009–2015)

After the second season, club legend Steve Corica replaced Steve O'Connor as head coach. The team had mixed success finishing fourth on the standings with 30 points behind Gold Coast United FC Youth on 41 points. The competition did not have a finals series for the first time. A few players from this cohort went on to play for the first team, including Dimitri Petratos, Nathan Sherlock, Joel Chianese and Blake Powell.[3] To take up a more senior assistant role with the first team, Corica relinquished the head coach position for the 2011–12 season. He was replaced by Ian Crook. Again Sydney FC Youth were mid-table, finishing sixth. Crook himself went on to bigger things the following year, taking over head coach duties for the first team. Brian Dene came in as coach of the Youth team. The season became Sydney FC Youth's worst performance in the team's five-year history, finishing ninth. With the first team also struggling with performance and injuries, many of the Youth team played up in the first's team, which did not help the cause. Some of these players included Christopher Naumoff, Hagi Gligor, Peter Triantis and Aaron Calver.[4] Steve Corica then returned as head coach for Sydney FC Youth with immediate success. The side won the Foxtel National Youth League Championship for the 2013–14 season. Unable to repeat this performance the following year, Corica again relinquished his duties as head coach to focus on his role within the senior squad.

Entry into National Premier Leagues (2014–present)

In early 2015, it was confirmed that Sydney FC would compete in the NPL NSW 2 competition from the 2016 season onwards.[5] This followed a competition review by Football NSW that recommended the youth teams of Sydney FC, Western Sydney Wanderers and Central Coast Mariners join the National Premier Leagues. Along with a team playing first grade, an under-20 and under-18 team would also compete in their appropriate age groups. The team forms the top level of the Sydney FC academy, unveiled in January 2016.[6] Rob Stanton took over the reins as head coach due to the heavily increased workload of the new competition.[7][8] In the new National Youth League format with a shortened season, Sydney FC Youth started out of the block early recording three consecutive wins. Through the ten round campaign, the team lost only two games, both against Newcastle Jets Youth. The team sat two points clear of Newcastle to end the regular season in first place for Conference B. As Conference B winners, Sydney FC Youth played Adelaide United Youth for the premiership in a curtain raiser to A-League Round 16 match between Central Coast Mariners and Western Sydney Wanderers on 23 January 2016. Sydney FC Youth were convincing winners, taking out the premiership with a scoreline of 5–2.

Many influential faces returned for the debut of the team in the National Premier Leagues setup for Sydney U21. These included, Spyrakis, Timotheou, Araujo, Burgess, Lokolingoy and Antoniou. Notable exceptions included Anthony Bouzanis, Aaron Calver and George Blackwood as they had also signed senior contracts and were ineligible for the tournament. The team's debut match did not go according to plan, losing to Mounties FC 2–0 at home (Lambert Park).[9] The side then went on a thrilling ten-game winning streak, that included some big wins (7–0 against Macarthur Rams[10] and 7–4 against Bankstown Berries).[11] The streak ended in somewhat unfortunate circumstances against Marconi Stallions as Sydney FC U21, after leading 1–0, allowed in two goals in last five minutes of the Round 12 clash to lose 2–1. The following game saw another defeat for the Sky Blues, suffering defeat in the "mini derby" against rivals Western Sydney Wanderers U21. A win, then a draw to Mounties FC in the Round 14 make-up game, then two more losses, meant Sydney FC U21 only picked up four points out of a possible 24, with title hopes looking shaky. However, Sydney FC U21 would get back on track with wins against Bankstown City Lions FC and St George FC. Sydney FC U21 remained undefeated in the final four rounds of the regular season to win the Premiers Plate, two points ahead of Western Sydney Wanderers U21. In fact, the final day was a very tense affair, as the two clubs were matched up against each other. The Wanderers, who were trailing by 3 points and −10 points differential needed a very large win to leap-frog the Sky Blues. However, the sides played out a 4–all draw at Popondetta Park and Sydney FC U21 were declared premiers.

Under-23s current squad

These players can also play with the senior squad and are all Young Professionals.

As of June 2023

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Australia AUS Harry Aquilina
2 DF Australia AUS Cameron Fong
3 MF Australia AUS Dejan Bakrdanikoski
5 DF Australia AUS Jacob Mclachlan
6 MF Australia AUS Matthew Scarcella
7 MF Australia AUS Ben Gibson
8 MF Australia AUS Will Kennedy
9 FW Australia AUS Luka Smyth
10 FW Australia AUS Alen Harbas
12 Australia AUS Bailey Jacobs
13 Australia AUS Hayden Matthews
14 FW Australia AUS Ayouk Mow
15 FW Australia AUS Brae Ovens
17 DF Australia AUS Jayden Trenkoski
19 FW Australia AUS Adrian Segecic
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 Australia AUS Louis Agosti
21 Australia AUS Morrie Kamara
23 Australia AUS Sebastian Kiceec
24 FW Australia AUS Alex Parsons
25 FW Australia AUS Jaiden Kucharski
27 DF Australia AUS Zachary De Jesus
28 MF Australia AUS Jake Girdwood-Reich
29 DF Australia AUS Aaron Gurd
30 GK Australia AUS Adam Pavlesic
34 Australia AUS Max Buratto
35 FW Australia AUS Tiago Quintal
37 Australia AUS Bailey Callaghan
39 Australia AUS Oscar Gultekin
— Australia AUS Kai Kamikura
— Australia AUS Dylan Rose

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
20 GK Australia AUS Max Vartuli (On loan to Denmark AaB Fodbold until June 30 2025)
— FW Australia AUS Alen Harbas (on loan to Finland Kotkan Työväen Palloilijat until December 30 2025)

Under-20s current squad

These players can also play with the senior squad and the Under-23s.

Second years

As of 15 March 2020[12]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 MF Australia AUS Cameron Fong
12 DF Australia AUS Fletcher McFarlane
16 FW Australia AUS Olayinka Sunmola
20 GK Australia AUS Levi Kaye
22 DF Australia AUS Mitchell Mattison
23 DF Australia AUS Nathan Grimaldi
27 FW Australia AUS Antonio Saracino
No. Pos. Nation Player
29 DF Australia AUS Rocco Fragale
30 GK Australia AUS David Malishev
42 DF Australia AUS Aidan Simmons
43 MF Australia AUS Stevan Stanic-Floody
44 DF Australia AUS Joseph Roddy
54 MF Australia AUS Nikola Skataric
69 MF Australia AUS Joseph Calusic

First years

As of 15 March 2020

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
42 DF Australia AUS Aidan Simmons
45 MF Australia AUS Phillip Gigliotti
46 FW Australia AUS Kai Kamikura
47 MF Australia AUS Hunter Elliott
48 DF Australia AUS Aleksandar Duricic
49 FW Australia AUS Lachlan Mills
50 GK Australia AUS Matteo Scali
51 DF Australia AUS Nathan Paull
No. Pos. Nation Player
53 FW Australia AUS Andrew Vlahadamis
54 MF Australia AUS Nikola Skataric
55 DF Australia AUS Aiden Mostofi
58 MF Australia AUS Jake Girdwood-Reich
60 GK Australia AUS Beau Ward
62 FW Australia AUS Oliver Burden
68 MF Australia AUS Adrian Segecic
69 MF Australia AUS Joseph Calusic

Schoolboys

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— Australia AUS Adrian Pini
— Australia AUS Adrian Segecic
— Australia AUS Aiden Mostofi
— Australia AUS Beau Ward
— Australia AUS Brae Ovens
— Australia AUS Carter Foxe
— Australia AUS Chris Niblock
— 13 Australia AUS Clayton Taylor
— Australia AUS Connor Stamatis
— Australia AUS Daniel Rasera
— Australia AUS Federico Gagliano
— Australia AUS Gregory John
No. Pos. Nation Player
— Australia AUS Jake Girdwood-Reich
— Australia AUS Joseph Clausic
— Australia AUS Kyle Reilly Shaw
— Australia AUS Luke Nieuwenhof
— Australia AUS Max Vartuli
— Australia AUS Morrie Kamara
— Australia AUS Oliver Burden
— Australia AUS Paolo Pusateri
— Australia AUS Ramiro Soto
— Australia AUS Rawley St John
— Australia AUS Rick Aguilar
— Australia AUS Steven Kriezis

Stadium

The team's home grounds for NYL matches are Leichhardt Oval and Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.[13] The team’s home ground is Lambert Park in the suburb of Leichhardt for NPL matches. Also the team’s alternate ground is Valentine Sports Park in the suburb of Glenwood for NPL matches. The teams also shares Sydney FC's club's training base at Macquarie University in North Ryde.

Club officials

Current staff

As of 4 July 2019
Head CoachAssistant
YouthJim van WeerenHoward Fondyke
Under 20sShane Smeltz
Technical Director – YouthKelly Cross

First team coaches (NPL/NYL)

NamePeriodSeasonsHonours
Steve O'Connor2008–20102 Y-League2008–09 NYL Premiers and Champions
Steve Corica2010–20111 Y-League
Ian Crook2011–20121 Y-League
Brian Dene2012–20131 Y-League
Steve Corica2013–20152 Y-League2013–14 NYL Champions
Robert Stanton2015–20183 Y-League, 2 NPL2015–16 NYL Premiers and Champions
2016 NPL NSW 2 Premiers and Champions
2016–17 NYL Premiers
Giancarlo Italiano2018–20191 Y-League
Jim Van Weeren2019–present1 NPL

Seasons

As of 30 December 2020
Season NYL / NPL NSW International Top scorer1 POTY Rising
Div Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Position Finals Player(s) Goals
2008–09 NYL 1813234322+21411stWSean Rooney9
2009–10NYL 2411674333+10395th–Kerem Bulut13
2010–11NYL 209383631+5304thN/AKofi Danning8
2011–12NYL 187474031+9256thN/AMitchell Mallia14Hagi Gligor
2012–13NYL 186394146-5219thN/A3rdAlec Urosevski12Peter Triantis
2013–14NYL 1813234929+20411stN/A2ndMitchell Mallia13Chris Naumoff
2014–15NYL 188464027+13284thN/A5thGeorge Blackwood6George Blackwood
2015–16NYL 86022111+10181stWMax Burgess4Daniel Araujo
NPL2 2616378441+43511stWCharles Lokolingoy27[14]
2016–17NYL 85122315+8161stRUCharles Lokolingoy6Andrea Agamemnos
NPL1 2262143452-1814[lower-alpha 1]11th—Charles Lokolingoy7[15]
2017–18NYL 8521189+9172nd—Jeremy Cox6Jeremy CoxMarco Tilio
NPL1 2244142747-201612th—Jeremy Cox10[16]
2018–19NYL 8503158+7152nd—Marco Tilio4Luke IvanovicRyan Teague
NPL1 2263133352-192111th—Benjamin Koop8[17]
2019–20NYL 85303715+22181stWMarco Tilio9[18]Joel KingAdam Pavlesic
NPL1 116142619+7195th— Patrick Wood11[19]
2021NPL1 17[lower-alpha 2]3592944–151412th— Adrian Segecic4[20] Patrick Wood Adrian Segecic
2022NPL1 228865345+8327th— Jaiden Kucharski18[21] Patrick Yazbek Jake Girdwood-Reich
1 Top scorer only includes goals scored from league matches (National Youth League and NYL Finals or National Premier Leagues).
  1. ↑ Deducted six points for misconduct
  2. ↑ The season was cancelled on 12 August 2021 with five games remaining in the regular season

Honours

Domestic

Youth
Academy

International

Youth
Under-20s

Other

Youth
Individual

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Sydney set for start of Youth League". www.sydneyfc.com. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  2. ↑ "Junior Sky Blues take Youth League title". Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  3. ↑ "Sydney FC unveils its new look youth team". Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  4. ↑ "Sydney FC name young Youth squad". Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  5. ↑ "Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers take rivalry to new level with plans for youth academies". smh.com.au. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  6. ↑ "Sydney FC Academy Expression of Interest". SydneyFC.com. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "Sydney FC appoint new National Youth League head coach". Johnny Warren Football Foundation. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  8. ↑ "Sydney FC appoint National Youth League head coach". www.sydneyfc.com. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  9. ↑ "PS4 NPL 2 NSW Round 1 Review". Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  10. ↑ "Round 7 Review – PS4 NPL 2 NSW Men's". www.footballnsw.com.au. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  11. ↑ "Round 8 Review – PS4 NPL 2 NSW Men's". www.footballnsw.com.au. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  12. ↑ "Sydney FC — U20 NPL NSW Men's 2020". SportsTG.
  13. ↑ "Foxtel Y-League 2019/20 Season Draw" (PDF). Football Federation Australia. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  14. ↑ SportsTG. "Sydney FC statistics 2016". Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  15. ↑ SportsTG. "Sydney FC statistics 2017". Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  16. ↑ SportsTG. "Sydney FC statistics 2018". Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  17. ↑ SportsTG. "Sydney FC statistics 2019". Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  18. ↑ Football Federation Australia. "Y-League Fixtures and Results". Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  19. ↑ "2020 NPL Sydney FC statistics". sportstg.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  20. ↑ "2021 NPL Sydney FC statistics". websites.mygameday.app. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  21. ↑ "2022 Top goalscorers". footballnsw. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  22. ↑ Swibel, Michael (9 July 2018). "Young Sydney FC go down to star studded Shanghai". Sydney FC. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  23. ↑ Van Weeren, Jimmy (3 April 2018). "2018 Future Cup Run". Sydney FC. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  24. 1 2 "Kucharski and Badawiya claim top NPL New South Wales honours". nationalpremierleagues.com.au. 19 September 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2023.


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