Sydney FC striker – and Liverpool fan – Chris “Kiki” Naumoff says knocking off an EPL giant in the coming days would draw the curtain on a successful season for the Hyundai A-League’s Sky Blues.
Sydney face Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday night then EPL champions Chelsea on Tuesday night, both at ANZ Stadium.
Tottenham land in Sydney ahead of Sydney FC clash
The games kick off a fantastic off-season of football in Australia.
Villareal are also in the country while Liverpool, Real Madrid, Roma and Manchester City will be hit Australian shores in July.
Sydney’s 19-year-old Aussie striker has enjoyed a memorable season, too.
On Wednesday night in Wollongong, Naumoff was part of the Young Socceroos against Brazil U-20s in a friendly at WIN Stadium.
A few weeks earlier he put in a man of the match performance in a Hyundai A-League Semi Final win over Adelaide – including a ripper second half goal in the 4-1 rout.
Naumoff’s strong form then lead to a starting XI spot in Sydney’s Grand Final side against Melbourne Victory, with a global viewing audience of around 250 million.
And earlier in the season the young forward took the plaudits when he blasted two cracking strikes from distance in a Westfield FFA Cup win over Sydney United.
So, a starring role against the visiting EPL giants is just the stage for “Kiki” to end a dream season with a bang.
Chelsea stars Hazard, Costa set for Sydney FC clash
“Being young it’s one of my dreams to play against these sides. I’ve watched the EPL over the last few years. It’s special and being so young and being a part of these two games is very special for me.
“You’ve just got to soak it up as it’s not often you play in these sorts of games,” he told www.a-league.com.au.
“You could say I feel lucky but then again it’s football is what I do day in day out. And these opportunities wouldn’t be possible without such a great club as Sydney FC.”
As a Liverpool fan, Naumoff would’ve loved to have faced the Reds on their July tour of Oz in Brisbane and Adelaide.
“That’s okay,” he joked. “It’s still not bad to be playing Spurs and Chelsea.”
Both games against EPL opposition are a golden opportunity for Naumoff to show his wares on a world stage. Though the A-League’s professionalism won’t have him rushing off to take the first overseas contract.
“You never know who’s watching. So I try to apply myself the same way each game I play but nowadays with the way the A-League has developed there’s no need for young players to rush overseas as I see it.”
Sydney will be without marquee striker Marc Janko who has parted ways with the club while midfielder Milos Dimitrijevic is thought to be in Europe.
Shane Smeltz is expected to lead the front line for the Sky Blues in these two games.
“It was obviously upsetting after the grand final [loss] but we looked to get over it as quick as we could because it was a good season,” added Naumoff.
“We finished second and we have an ACL spot. So we really had a great season.”
After these two games, Sydney are expected to start pre-season in early to mid July ahead of Season 11 of the Hyundai A-League.
