Many stories have been dedicated to the selection headaches that abound at the Sky Blues this year, but for winger Robert Stambolziev it’s nothing new.
Stambolziev spent three years at Panathinaikos in the Greek Supereague competing for a berth alongside the likes of former Liverpool and Marseille front man Djibril Cisse, and he says there’s a similar vibe among the 24 strong Sky Blues team this year as there was when Panathinaikos lifted the Championship in 2010.
“It’s great having so many players of the quality that we have all fighting for the positions,” he said.
“We have a full squad which is great and each day we’re fighting at training to try and get in that starting eleven and match day squad.
“I had Djibril Cisse ahead of me at Panathinaikos, we had great players and it has as similar vibe to at Sydney this year.
“We went on to win the Championship that year in Greece and with the players that we’ve got at Sydney now we could certainly do that in the A-League this year.”
With Slovakian Filip Holosko ahead of Stambolziev in the order, the former Australian U-20 international said he’s working hard each day to improve as the Sky Blues prepare to travel to Hunter Stadium, the scene of Stambolziev’s first ever Hyundai A-League goal.
“You ask what you need to improve on and what you need to be doing to get into the team,” Stambolziev said.
“I’m just focussing on things that are maybe missing in my game and constantly working hard and trying to do as much as I can to impress.
“Hunter Stadium is a great stadium with a good atmosphere and I’ve got good memories with getting my first goal over there,” he continued.
“Most importantly we got the three points that day. As a winger it’s a job to score a goal, and whenever you score and help your team win, those feelings are why you play football.”
Sydney FC travel to Newcastle to take on the Jets at Hunter Stadium on Saturday 17 October (kick off 5:15pm). Catch the match live on Fox Sports 4, listen live on ABC Grandstand or follow @SydneyFC on Twitter for match updates.
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