Sydney FC Foxtel Y-League Head Coach Jimmy van Weeren is confident his squad’s big game experience will secure the Sky Blues’ the Championship on Friday afternoon in Kogarah.
The Young Sky Blues enter the clash off the back of an undefeated season, and with a number of the squad including Golden Boot Marco Tilio and Jordi Swibel having spent time with the Hyundai A-League squad, van Weeren believes they’ll get the job done against Melbourne Victory.
“We haven’t seen too many nerves around,” van Weeren said.
“Some of these boys have been involved with Hyundai A-League matches, FFA Cup squads and some of them even in the AFC Champions League.
“For some of them it’s ok and for some of the younger ones it’s their first taste and they may be a little nervous, but they’re resilient and they’ll be ok come Friday.
“I’m excited. It’s been a pretty successful season so far with a very good group of players that we’ve worked with for a number of years. To see them get to this point is exciting for us and exciting for them.
“The boys are relaxed, they have been all week. They’re just treating this as any other normal week.”
Van Weeren said Friday’s clash was a result of years of work in the Sky Blues’ Academy system, as he discussed the challenges of facing an opponent the squad have yet to encounter in the Foxtel Y-League this season.
“These things [Grand Finals] are nice, they’re not the only measure of success in youth development, but of course everyone is competitive and wants to win,” he said.
“It would be nice for the players and the staff who’ve put a lot of hours and effort into this project, some over many years since 2015, so it’d be a nice reward.
“I hope for everyone involved that it’s open and we see a lot of nice football.
“We hope the players enjoy the experience and everyone puts their foot forward and represents the club as best as possible.
“It’s a really unique learning opportunity,” he continued.
“You can watch the video with the analysis staff and look for things but because you don’t see them play physically and you haven’t actually played against them, it’s a really unique scenario to go into a game that you’ve never played.
“We believe in just focusing on ourselves and playing the way we want to play.”
Sydney FC’s Foxtel Y-League squad contest the 2020 Grand Final at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium on Friday afternoon (kick off 4:30pm AEDT). Get down early to back the Young Sky Blues in the decider before our Hyundai A-League encounter against the Roar.
