With Anthony Pavlesic set to embark on a European adventure with powerhouse Bayern Munich, his Central Coast Mariners coach details why the Joeys captain is destined for the top, writes Sacha Pisani.
“There’s not many better than him in the country,” said Central Coast Mariners academy head coach Abbas Saad.
Saad has had a front-row seat to Anthony Pavlesic’s rise as the 17-year-old goalkeeper prepares to make the life-changing move to Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.
Pavlesic’s career is still in its infancy, while his development is still in its formative phase. Yet, the German powerhouse are understood to have used a six-figure sum plus a significant sell-on clause to prise the teenager from Gosford after a successful two-week trial in February.
“The sky is the limit for Anthony,” Abbas told KEEPUP, with the Joeys captain set to link up with Bayern’s youth team. “He is very determined to make it.
“In saying that, he has the talent. You have to have the talent with the determination and he has both. Technically he is a very good goalkeeper. At 17, it’s still a lot of improvement and he will improve. His body will get stronger, he will get bigger. He is still growing. Technically he will learn so much more at Bayern.
“Can he become a Bayern first-team keeper? Absolutely. Can he become then next Socceroo goalkeeper? Absolutely.
“Bayern Munich, he can only get better. He is going to be exposed to men’s football over there like he was here. We exposed him here in the NPL.
“Even at a higher level where he is going to be player, there will be more pressure on him. He’ll need to deal with that pressure earlier than expected but I think he is more than capable of overcoming everything.”
Pavlesic is the latest off Central Coast’s impressive production line, following on from the likes of Garang Kuol (Newcastle United), Kye Rowles (Hearts) and Nectarios Triantis (Sunderland).
The brother of Sydney FC youth goalkeeper Adam Pavlesic, Anthony only moved to the Mariners from Western Sydney Wanderers during the latter stages of 2022.
A mainstay in the Mariners’ NPLM NSW side, he was promoted to the bench in three Isuzu UTE A-League games for the champions in 2022-23.
For Saad, Pavlesic – who is away on international duty with Australia at the Under-17 AFC Asian Cup in Thailand – stood out immediately, in more ways than one.
“He was a giant of a boy for this age,” he said, recalling his first thoughts. “A man body and a young kid. Lovely boy. Super, super nice but very focused.
“For his age, I thought he was very mature. You just say Pav do this or this, and he says yes boss. you can see he wants to be a winner.
“The first week I watched him, I couldn’t believe how good he was. When they told me he was 16, I couldn’t believe it. First impressions were unbelievable.
“Great young man. A lot of talent so not surprised he has been picked up by the heavyweights around the world. He will be a great success.”
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It is not just his Pavlesic’s physical attributes or technical ability, but his mentality.
Even after February’s trial in Munich, he was unperturbed.
“He doesn’t get flustered. You’re either going to s*** yourself or be confident in your own ability.
“You see the way he plays. The ball at his feet, he is never hurried by the strikers. That’s a huge thing and I’m sure they looked at that straight away and went, ‘this guy has the belief’.
“That’s very important especially when you’re playing at the highest level. You can’t be flustered, you can’t be s******* yourself. You have to be able to handle the pressure and he handles the pressure beautifully.
“He just smiles. Everything is just a smile to him. He’s never pissed off. Obviously when he has to with his defenders etc, he will.
“… Everybody loved him here. Wow, what a talent.”
