Qantas Australian U13 Boys squad named for training camp

Qantas Australian Under 13 Boys Head Coach, Ante Juric has selected thirty (30) players to participate in a training camp at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra from 7-10 May 2009.

Qantas Australian Under 13 Boys Head Coach, Ante Juric has selected thirty (30) players to participate in a training camp at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra from 7-10 May 2009.

From this training camp, a final squad of twenty two (22) players, will be selected to represent Australia at the upcoming Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under 13 Boys - Festival of Football which will be held in Sabah, Malaysia from 24 May to 6 June 2009.

Juric, along with Football Federation Australia (FFA) National Technical Director Han Berger, selected the squad from the recent 2009 FFA National Junior Championships in Canberra.

Juric was impressed by the standard of players and is excited about selecting the final squad of players.

“The players at the National Junior Championships had very good technical ability and game sense, in that they were very aware of the positions they were meant to be in.

“During camp, we will focus on intense game play and formation. It will also be important for the boys to get to know each other, as we will have only a limited of time together before the tournament starts.

“For the final 22 that are selected, the opportunity to play at an overseas tournament, like the AFC Festival of Football, is huge in terms of their development and experience,” concluded Juric.

FFA Technical Director Han Berger was also pleased with the process for selecting Australian Football's youngest ever national team.

"I was positively surprised by the skill level of players at the championships.

"The players in the squad have been selected based on their technical ability and potential and not necessarily their physical development as that will happen in due course anyway.

"This is one example of a new National Curriculum that FFA will be introducing over the coming months in regard to identifying and developing talented players," concluded Berger.

Qantas Australian Under 13 Boys Football Team

Leo Athanasiou (Cockburn City/ WA), Thomas Beadling (Perth SC/ WA), Richard Blanco (Sutherland Sharks/ NSW), Jordan Brown (Monash City JSC/ VIC), Noah Chianese (Blacktown City Demons/ NSW), Daniel De Silva (Stirling Lions/ WA), Jerome Dunphy (Noarlunga/ SA), Vincent Giannini (Sydney Olympic/ NSW), Pasquale Gioffre (ECU Joondalup/ WA), Thomas Hector (Adelaide City/ SA), Benjamin Hombert (Inglewood/ WA), Adrian Lara (Sydney Olympic/ NSW), Anthony Laus (Melbourne Knights/ VIC), Brandon Lundy (Manly United/ NSW), Kevin Ly (Blacktown City Demons/ NSW), Dimitar Mitkov (South Melbourne JFC/ VIC), Jordan Nadalin (Blacktown City Demons/ NSW), Aiden Naughton (North QLD Football/ QLD), Matthew Ntoumenopoulos (ECU Joondalup/ WA), Conor O'Neill (The Gap/ QLD), Reece Papadimitrios (Newcastle Football/ NNSW), Milos Ridesic (South Melbourne JFC/ VIC), Christopher Skull (Birkalla West Torrance/ SA), Lewis Smirlis (South Melbourne JFC/ VIC), Haralambos Stamboulidis (Essendon Royals JSC/ VIC), Jordan Thurtell (Sunshine Coast Football/ QLD), Okan Nabi Tuna (Richmond SC / VIC), Dylan Vandenberg (Wollongong FC/ NSW), Jaiden Walker (South Lismore/ NNSW) and Benjamin Warland (Campbelltown/ SA).