Special Feature: Pece Apolevski, Rockdale City’s One Club Man
On Sunday afternoon, Apolevski will be playing his last home game for the club that he has been part of for 26 years.
Apolevski, 32, will be retiring from football at the end of the season due to a neck injury that has hampered him for the past six weeks. With a wife and young family, the Rockdale City midfielder has understandably shifted his priorities away from football, particularly when given the diagnosis.
?I was getting migraines and headaches during games that I tried to treat with Panadol and other painkillers, but they had no effect,? Apolevski said.
?I had an MRI scan and that was when they found a bulging disk in my neck, as well as two embedded disks as well. I can?t have an operation, it?s just from wear and tear.
?The doctors advised that I stop playing and as I have a young family now, they are my priority,? he said.
Apolevski is the modern day ?one club man?, having played at Rockdale City since he was six years of age. His career there has been a fulfilling one, according to the midfielder himself.
?My older brother played for Rockdale City. I watched him play and really wanted to get involved, so I started in the juniors,? he said.
?I came through the youth league and then eventually into Premier League. I was 17 years old and playing in the 18s when I was given my debut for Rockdale City first grade,? he continued.
For someone who has been involved in one club for such a long period of time, leaving entirely would surely be a difficult task. Apolevski though, has no plans to forget his beloved Rockdale City.
?I definitely plan to stay involved,? he said, in news that will delight the Suns? fans.
?Probably not in coaching, but I will definitely stay involved in the football department,? Apolevski said.
For someone who has played at one club for so long, one might think that it would be difficult to pick a single highlight, but when asked, Apolevski didn?t hesitate.
?Definitely winning the Premiership and Grand Final of the NSW Super League in 2002,? he said.
In a season that will live long in the memory of all Rockdale City fans, the side was only defeated once all season, sweeping their way to a wonderful double.
Rockdale City?s match against Marconi Stallions on Sunday afternoon will be Apolevski?s last at Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre, but after an excellent recovery under the tutelage of Mark Rudan, the Suns are still a chance of finishing in the top five, sitting five points behind their weekend opponents with two weeks left of the season.
Apolevski said, ?If we pick up six points over the final two weeks of the season, I think we?ll make the finals.?
When pressed as to what impact they could make it they did manage to finish in the top five, Apolevski was positive about Rockdale City?s prospects.
?Look, we can beat any team in the competition on our day,? he said, wary not to get too far ahead of himself in the knowledge that to make the finals first of all would be a marvellous achievement, given their poor start to the season.
Whilst Apolevski is moving on at the end of the season, he is confident that the club is in very safe hands, sighting the progress of some of the club?s young stars as a sign of the future.
?This club has a very bright future,? he said.
?We?ve got some very good young players coming through like Alec Urosevski, who has made a great impact in first grade this year. You only have to look at the progress of the Grade 20s side to see how well this club is going, they?re sitting towards the top of the table and have had great success this season,? Apolevski said.
Whilst the club is in good hands for the future though, this weekend at Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre is all about saying farewell to Pece Apolevski, a true Rockdale City legend and a great ambassador for football.
-By Matthew Connellan