Greece's AEK Athens sign Westmead's Paul Katsetis

Soccer15 Jul 11 @ 07:29am by STEVEN DEARE


GREEK soccer giants AEK Athens have swooped on a 15-year-old Westmead lad and signed him to a three-year contract.

Paul Katsetis arrived in Athens this week to start his professional career. A former Blacktown and Granville representative, the midfielder will train with the firsts team and play for the reserves while attending school in Athens.

It’s an exciting move for Paul, who used to dream of playing for Manchester United.

“AEK are a pretty strong club. They usually finish in the top four,” he said.

“And this is just the beginning. Over there I’m going to have to work twice as hard. I’ve heard it’s similar to Italy. It’s really technical and they work a lot on fitness.”

The value of the contract was not disclosed.

Paul started his soccer with Wenty Waratahs before playing for the Granville and Blacktown representative sides. He trialled for English club Portsmouth and Greek club Panathinaikos in recent years before he joined the AEK FC Football Academy this year.

The club in Athens soon heard of Paul and decided to sign him.

Despite his family heritage, the Parramatta Marist student speaks little Greek and could encounter the loneliness many young footballers face after moving abroad.

Yet Paul won’t shy away from it.

“It’s going to be hard. I’m going to miss my family. But if I really want this, I’m not going to hold back because I miss my family and friends,” he said.

“If I don’t take this, life is going to go on. So you want to try and make it and have no regrets. I have to do it.”

He credited former Socceroo Nick Carle’s father Leo, who trained him for four years, as being instrumental in his development.


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