Sydney Football Club Youth is theyouth system ofSydney Football Club based inMoore Park,Sydney, Australia. The team referred to as Sydney Youth play in theY-League (November to February) and consists of u23 players, the highest level of youthsoccer in Australia. The club also competes in theNational Premier Leagues NSW (March to August), the top competition of Football in NSW, however this team is known as Sydney U21, and is not to be confused with Sydney Youth which is a completely different team, involving different team selection and age group.
The youth setup also features under-20s and under-18s teams that both play in theNational Premier Leagues NSW in their age group.
The youth team was founded in 2008, as aSydney FC representative team for theNational Youth League (NYL) competition. The team consisted of twelve contracted youth positions with four overage players (from the senior squad) allowed to participate in games. The side had initially contractedFootball Superstar winner, Adam Hett, but had to be replaced for the campaign due to a season ending knee injury.[1] In its first season Sydney FC Youth won the2008–09 NYL Championship, with former Socceroo & NSL stalwart, Steve O'Connor as the coach. Throughout the season the side dominated many games and finished the regular season on top of the ladder with 13 wins, 2 draws, 3 losses and 6 points clear of second-placedAdelaide United Youth. The pair then went straight to a Grand Final match, of which Sydney FC Youth emphatically took out the tournament with a 2–0 victory atHindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide.[2] The goalscorers were Ibrahim Haydar andRobbie Mileski. Many of the Sydney FC Youth players in the Grand Final went on to have success for thesenior squad or found a home elsewhere. They includedVedran Janjetovic,Rhyan Grant,Matt Jurman,Antony Golec andBrendan Gan. Sydney FC Youth were unable to follow it up the following year, finishing fifth on the ladder and missing out on the finals series due to goal difference (behindGold Coast United FC Youth, who went on to win the Championship).
After the second season, club legendSteve Corica replaced Steve O'Connor as head coach. The team had mixed success finishing fourth on the standings with 30 points behindGold Coast United FC Youth on 41 points. The competition did not have a finals series for the first time. A few players from this cohort went on to play for the first team, includingDimitri Petratos,Nathan Sherlock,Joel Chianese andBlake Powell.[3] To take up a more senior assistant role with the first team, Corica relinquished the head coach position for the2011–12 season. He was replaced byIan Crook. Again Sydney FC Youth were mid-table, finishing sixth. Crook himself went on to bigger things the following year, taking over head coach duties for the first team. Brian Dene came in as coach of the Youth team. The season became Sydney FC Youth's worst performance in the team's five-year history, finishing ninth. With the first team also struggling with performance and injuries, many of the Youth team played up in the first's team, which did not help the cause. Some of these players includedChristopher Naumoff,Hagi Gligor,Peter Triantis andAaron Calver.[4] Steve Corica then returned as head coach for Sydney FC Youth with immediate success. The side won the Foxtel National Youth League Championship for the2013–14 season. Unable to repeat this performance the following year, Corica again relinquished his duties as head coach to focus on his role within the senior squad.
Entry into National Premier Leagues (2014–present)
In early 2015, it was confirmed that Sydney FC would compete in the NPL NSW 2 competition from the 2016 season onwards.[5] This followed a competition review byFootball NSW that recommended the youth teams of Sydney FC,Western Sydney Wanderers andCentral Coast Mariners join theNational Premier Leagues. Along with a team playing first grade, an under-20 and under-18 team would also compete in their appropriate age groups. The team forms the top level of the Sydney FC academy, unveiled in January 2016.[6]Rob Stanton took over the reins as head coach due to the heavily increased workload of the new competition.[7][8] In the newNational Youth League format with a shortened season, Sydney FC Youth started out of the block early recording three consecutive wins. Through the ten round campaign, the team lost only two games, both againstNewcastle Jets Youth. The team sat two points clear of Newcastle to end the regular season in first place for Conference B. As Conference B winners, Sydney FC Youth playedAdelaide United Youth for the premiership in a curtain raiser to A-League Round 16 match betweenCentral Coast Mariners andWestern Sydney Wanderers on 23 January 2016. Sydney FC Youth were convincing winners, taking out the premiership with a scoreline of 5–2.
Many influential faces returned for the debut of the team in the National Premier Leagues setup for Sydney U21. These included, Spyrakis, Timotheou, Araujo,Burgess, Lokolingoy and Antoniou. Notable exceptions included Anthony Bouzanis,Aaron Calver andGeorge Blackwood as they had also signed senior contracts and were ineligible for the tournament. The team's debut match did not go according to plan, losing toMounties FC 2–0 at home (Lambert Park).[9] The side then went on a thrilling ten-game winning streak, that included some big wins (7–0 against Macarthur Rams[10] and 7–4 against Bankstown Berries).[11] The streak ended in somewhat unfortunate circumstances against Marconi Stallions as Sydney FC U21, after leading 1–0, allowed in two goals in last five minutes of the Round 12 clash to lose 2–1. The following game saw another defeat for the Sky Blues, suffering defeat in the "mini derby" against rivals Western Sydney Wanderers U21. A win, then a draw to Mounties FC in the Round 14 make-up game, then two more losses, meant Sydney FC U21 only picked up four points out of a possible 24, with title hopes looking shaky. However, Sydney FC U21 would get back on track with wins against Bankstown City Lions FC and St George FC. Sydney FC U21 remained undefeated in the final four rounds of the regular season to win the Premiers Plate, two points ahead of Western Sydney Wanderers U21. In fact, the final day was a very tense affair, as the two clubs were matched up against each other. The Wanderers, who were trailing by 3 points and −10 points differential needed a very large win to leap-frog the Sky Blues. However, the sides played out a 4–all draw at Popondetta Park and Sydney FC U21 were declared premiers.
These players can also play with thesenior squad and are all Young Professionals.
As of 13 February 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
