Pavlesic playing for keeps at Sydney FC

Sydney FC goalkeeper Adam Pavlesic has made a name for himself in the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s Competition as the custodian for the young Sky Blues in one of their most impressive NPL campaigns to date.

The 19-year-old made his A-League debut this year in the Sydney Derby after making his professional debut in the AFC Champions League in 2020.

Despite the taste of professional football, Pavlesic still has his feet planted firmly on the ground as part of the Under 20s outfit and is enjoying the 2022 campaign with his teammates.

“Collectively our boys have had a pretty good season, especially as we started off really strong,” Pavlesic explained.

“We hit a bit of a steady road in the middle when we hit five draws in a row.

“With the win on the weekend, hopefully we can get back to winning ways and end the season on a strong note and push for the finals and maybe cause a few upsets in the finals.”

Discussing the success his team has experienced this season, Pavlesic has attributed the chemistry of the team and the quality of coaching and support to their performance.

“I think what’s good is that we’ve been together for a lot of years now and I think all the boys have got that chemistry now that we didn’t have a few seasons back,” he said.

“We’ve all sort of just gelled together and everyone’s been playing NPL for a couple of seasons now and we’ve just all clicked in.”

After an incredible experience of making his A-League debut in the Sydney Derby, Pavlesic was elated to have the opportunity to develop with Sydney FC.

“You don’t get the opportunity to make your A-League debut often so I just wanted to go out there and enjoy it, especially being in the Sydney Derby,” he explained.

“I had the backing from my A-League coach, Steve Corica, my keeper coach, Matt Nash, and even the NPL boys and NPL coaches all sent me messages before and after the game.

“I had a lot of good support around the club and I just wanted to go out there and enjoy it and I found it really, really fun, it was just one of those days that I’ll never forget.

“Making your elite debut is just something every kid strives for and for me to do it on that occasion unexpectedly was just something I’ll never forget.”

Along with his A-League debut, Pavlesic has had the honour of playing for Australia in the Under 17s World Cup and playing for his club in the AFC Champions League.

“I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to play for my country at the Under 17s World Cup, and also the opportunity that Sydney FC has given me as well,” he said.

“I made my initial professional debut in the Asian Champions League at the back end of 2020 and that’s something that I’ll never forget.”

With some exceptional experiences at a young age, Pavlesic has plenty of time to excel in his football career and has high hopes of what he can achieve.

“I’m obviously still young and I want to take it step by step,” he explained.

“I’m enjoying my time now at Sydney and I want to continue to develop, hopefully continue to make more A-League appearances as the next season or two go by, but my ultimate goal is to be playing at a high level in Europe – that’s something I’ve always strived for as a kid.

“Sydney FC has taken us to the likes of Amsterdam and we got to go and experience playing in the Future Cup and we got to play against the likes of Ajax, Sporting Lisbon, PSG, the J-League All Stars side and Juventus.

“Playing against these types of players who have gone on to play in the first team for these clubs, and gone on to do bigger and better things, I’ve always strived to play alongside them so hopefully I’ll play in a top European competition one day.”

While his aspirations in professional football are high, Pavlesic has his eyes on the prize for the NPL NSW Men’s competition, hoping his side can take out the top prize in 2022.

“To make finals is the first goal,” he said.

“It’s a really tight competition this year and it’s really unpredictable – anyone can beat anyone on any given day.

“The first goal now is to make finals and hopefully go on to make the grand final and to win it is our ultimate goal.

“I think it would be surprising to a lot of people, but I think we’ll just show how good of a group we’ve got at the moment and the  quality we have and how well the club has done in giving us opportunities to go on and really establish ourselves.

“We want to show you know the whole country, not just NPL NSW, what the Sydney FC Academy can really do.”