CARL Valeri will go back to where it all began on Tuesday night when Melbourne Victory takes on Tuggeranong United in a FFA Cup Round of 16 clash in Canberra.

Valeri played from under-6s to under-12s at “The Tuggies”, where his father coached, his brother played and his nephew still plays.

On Tuesday night he is also likely to lock horns in midfield with former junior teammate Matt Menser.

The 52-cap Socceroo said it would be the biggest night in Tuggeranong United’s history, but insisted he would be there to ensure Victory advances to the quarter-finals of the inaugural national knockout competition.

They’re pumped for it,” Valeri said. “It's going to be a fun night for them. Unfortunately we’re not there for fun, we’re there for business.

“There are no mates in this game, especially with the mentality that Melbourne Victory — (coach) Kevin (Muscat) and his staff and all the boys — have. It’s a winning mentality. That’s what we’re there to do.”

The last time the defensive midfielder played “at home” was in 2011, when Australia took on Malaysia at Canberra Stadium.

And if the ticket uptake by the Valeri family on that night is any indication, there should be a fair crowd on hand at ­Viking Park this week.

I think Dad ended up asking me for 74 tickets that night,” he said.

“All the boys knew and were good. I would end up giving my tickets away when we played in Sydney or Melbourne, so me being the only boy from Canberra they all helped me out.

“So I’m guessing a minimum of 50 will be there.”

Most of Valeri’s family still lives in Canberra.

“Actually my Nonna, who I haven’t seen in ages, lives about a minute away from where we’re playing,” he said.

And while he now calls Melbourne home, the nation’s capital retains a special place.

“Canberra is where I grew up, it has some of my fondest memories, it’s where my family is and friends are, it’s where I learnt to be a footballer … so obviously it's very close to my heart.”

IT WILL be groundhog day for Bentleigh Greens when it takes on Sydney Olympic in Tuesday night's FFA Cup Round of 16 match at Leichhardt.

Just as they did in the Round of 32, Greens will venture to Sydney on the morning of the game to take on one of the NSW National Premier League finalists on a synthetic pitch.

An added advantage this time is that Olympic will have barely 48 hours to recover from their last game having played Blacktown City in Sunday’s NSW NPL grand final.

Bentleigh coach John Anastasiadis said fatigue could come in to play for Olympic should a tight contest develop.

But he remains wary of the quality of their NSW opponents after his side barely hung on to its 1-0 lead in the Round of 32 win over Blacktown last month.

"In the second half Blacktown battered us and we got away with it," Anastasiadis said.

"What happened in that second half we will use to our advantage when we tackle this game.



"We have to be smarter when we get the ball, we need to hold it better and not just go out and full on attack all the time. Sometimes, once you win the ball, you need to slow the game down a bit, get everyone in to position, get your shape right and then start to play."

Tuesday night's game was to be played at the Belmore Sports Ground, a turf pitch, but Football Federation Australia last week announced a switch to Lambert Park, which is synthetic.

"We're not happy about the synthetic," Anastasiadis said.

"But I suppose you've got to get used to it in Sydney because half of the pitches are synthetic anyway."

Bentleigh's league season concluded on Friday night.

It finished fourth in Victoria's top flight.

With South Melbourne so far ahead on top, Bentleigh has had little to play for in recent weeks, meaning the club has been able to use its remaining league games as what Anastasiadis described as "dress rehearsals" for the FFA Cup.

"We said, 'OK, we've got to use these games to try what we think we're going to be doing against Sydney Olympic' and the boys have been performing pretty well," he said.

"We've been pretty undermanned in the goal scoring department since (Round of 32 goal scorer) David Stirton left us (to trial in Scotland), but their effort has been great and tactically they've been good.

"So even though we've had nothing to play for in the league, we really are playing for something in the bigger picture and that's the FFA Cup."

ADELAIDE City and Brisbane Strikers both have a sense of unfinished business as they prepare to face-off in the FFA Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday night.

Although the Brisbane club is just 20 years old — born 48 years after Adelaide City — Strikers have unwittingly delivered good times in South Australia during their NSL tenure.

Former Adelaide United coach John Kosmina led the Strikers for four years before landing the Reds gig in 2003.

During his Strikers reign, the Brisbane club was smashed 6-2 by Adelaide City at Hindmarsh in 2000.

That same year, Kosmina’s Strikers exacted revenge at Suncorp Stadium by belting Adelaide City 6-2 in Brisbane to give the Black and Whites one of their biggest losses in history.

Strikers smashed Adelaide City 7-1 in Brisbane just months after the Black and Whites belted the Queenslanders 7-0 during the 1995-96 season.

Strikers also happened to be Adelaide United’s first official opponent when the club played their first NSL clash in 2003.

In another ironic twist, 12 of the 14 players that made their debut for Adelaide United in a 1-0 win over Strikers had been connected to Adelaide City.

Former Adelaide City forward Carl Veart scored the only goal of the game in front of a sold out 15,568 fans at Hindmarsh on that balmy October night 11 years ago.

Adelaide United also met Strikers in the last NSL finals series in 2004, which turned out to be an aggregate thriller.

SPORT NSL soccer - Adelaide United vs Brisbane Strikers elimination final match at Hindmarsh Stadium. Player Fred Agius of A...
Fred Agius got on the scoresheet for Adelaide against Brisbane in 2004.Source: News Limited After the Reds belted the Queenslanders 3-0 with goals from three former Adelaide City boys Veart, Fred Agius and Michael Brooks at Hindmarsh, the Reds scraped through to the preliminary final on away goals after losing 4-1 at Perry Park.
That clash was to be Strikers’ NSL goodbye.

And despite Strikers putting in a superb bid to enter the A-League in 2005, Football Federation Australia officials handed Brisbane Roar the first Queensland franchise.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/ffa-cup/old-rivals-adelaide-city-and-brisbane-strikers-resume-hostilities-in-ffa-cup-round-of-16/story-fno7mzzd-1227054489123

And if the ticket uptake by the Valeri family on that night is any indication, there should be a fair crowd on hand at ­Viking Park this week.

I think Dad ended up asking me for 74 tickets that night,” he said.

“All the boys knew and were good. I would end up giving my tickets away when we played in Sydney or Melbourne, so me being the only boy from Canberra they all helped me out.

“So I’m guessing a minimum of 50 will be there.”

FEW Australian footballers would contemplate knocking back an offer from a major ­European club, but that’s exactly what Michael Turnbull ­recently did.

The 33-year-old goalkeeper, once a rising star of Australian football and now playing for the Brisbane Strikers, rejected an approach from a top German Bundesliga club in the hope of picking up an A-League contract.

And he has the FFA Cup to thank — not only for sparking renewed interest in him, but for rekindling his passion for the game.

Turnbull made a name for himself 10 years ago with Marconi Stallions before transferring to Belgian club Standard Liege. He followed that up with a stint in Italy with Serie A giants Roma, but in 2006 opted to join the now defunct New Zealand Knights.

After one final foreign sojourn with Bristol City, visa issues forced Turnbull back home, where he had brief spells with Wollongong, Sydney Olympic and Oakleigh Cannons.

Disillusioned with the game, Turnbull has focused on building up his real estate business in Brisbane for the last three years — until the Strikers called on him for help this season.

“My performances have been good and a lot of people I used to play in Europe with have got in contact with me,” Turnbull said.

“They effectively started to speak to some people and I got an offer from a Bundesliga club. At this stage I said to them I’m looking to stay in Australia and I don’t really want to go back to Europe.”

Turnbull admits it was a tough offer to turn down, but he has always harboured hopes of finishing his career in Australia.

“Everyone’s goal is to play in a top division in Europe and if I was younger it would have been a no-brainer — I would have jumped at the opportunity,” he said.

“But because I’m a little bit older now I always saw myself retiring and playing in Australia anyway, so hopefully I can pick up interest from the A-League.”

With most A-League clubs having already finalised their squads for the season, Turnbull knows he will have to be patient.

But he plans to travel to Sydney every week to train with Jim Fraser at his goalkeeping academy in a bid to remain fit just in case a club comes calling.

“It’s a matter of just waiting for an opportunity to come and if I do well and keep myself at a good level then at least I’ll be in a position to act,” he said.

“Ever since I’ve gotten back into it I’ve really enjoyed it. I think I’m fitter and performing better than I was when I was younger, so that’s given me the inspiration to kick on.

“I think the A-League has a really bright future and I’d love to be part of it.”

Do any Sydney United fans know if Panni Nikas and Stava can play for you in the FFA cup?

Edited by juve_leo: 16/9/2014 11:04:28 AM

Can confirm sun is out in Sydney. Rain and storms have pissed off, and it's warming up.

Fairweather fan

How?

Merely pointing out that the weather is clearing up. I never said my attendance would matter on the conditions.

Conclusion jumper. [-x [-x

My dick is going to explode.

Don't forget to tip on the futbol24 app. :)

Read on the SFCU forums the Sydney United club have given the Cove a whole function room for pre-game shenanigans. One can only assume The Cove booked it. Still good.

Do any Sydney United fans know if Panni Nikas and Stava can play for you in the FFA cup?

Edited by juve_leo: 16/9/2014 11:04:28 AM

Great app, has NPL leagues that I haven't seen on any others, but how do I "subscribe" to a game or league to get notifications? The gui really needs work.

How?

Merely pointing out that the weather is clearing up. I never said my attendance would matter on the conditions.

Conclusion jumper. [-x [-x

far from it, reports from about 10min ago, saying severe weather warning, hailstones and all.

I did say not to take the weather reports seriously, and to probably prepare for a category 5 cyclone. :lol: :lol: :lol:

I'm at Uni in Milperra at the moment, and it's gone from being bright and sunny to looking pretty overcast in the space of 20 minutes. Looking out towards Campbelltown at the moment is reminiscent of the scenes of Mordor from LOTR.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

a group of people were struck by lighting in west Hoxton.

looks like greater western Sydney will be fucked hard...

lol poor old SU58 can't host a game with good weather :lol:

-PB

The clouds are moving all over the place - it might not rain where you are and 5m from you it is LOL.......

Heading to the Game at Lambert. Keen.