With the business end of the World Cup now upon us and massive upsets continuing to unfold in what has been a thrilling tournament, we decided to ask new Glory recruit Ivan Franjic to relive his experiences with the Socceroos at the 2014 campaign in Brazil.
Franjic, who signed a two-year deal with the club at the end of May, said the World Cup was an unforgettable time and that the hype surrounding the global showpiece event was most certainly justified.
“It’s the biggest sporting event in the world; nothing comes close to it,” he said. “There was a massive build-up, but once we were there in Brazil, it was just amazing. You really couldn’t leave your hotel room without fans following you, even on the way to games and walking to training sessions.”
The full-back started Australia’s group stage match against Chile, lining up against the likes of Manchester United superstar Alexis Sanchez, but he certainly wasn’t fazed and duly provided an inch-perfect assist for Tim Cahill’s goal in the 3-1 defeat.
“It was a great moment,” he said. “When you get on the pitch and sing the national anthem, it’s something that as a kid you used to watch but never thought would come to fruition. It was special.”
Returning to the present, while the likes of Spain have fallen and hosts Russia have continued to surprise everyone with their progress, the Glory boys have been back on the track as pre-season enters its third week.
Franjic is loving being back out there and relishing the high tempo having endured some injury issues in previous pre-season campaigns.
“This is my first pre-season in a while, so I’m really enjoying it,” he said. “The way you train is the way you play. If you’ve got the training intensity very high, then games become a lot easier.
“The more you train with one another, the better you get to know each other. It’s all about movement and patterns, but most importantly, it’s about intensity at training.”
Despite having trained with the squad for less than a month, the 30-year-old is already forming a strong on-field connection with some of his new teammates and planning how he can contribute once the season kicks-off.
“I’m a full-back that loves to attack,” he said, “so hopefully I can get out wide and deliver some balls into the box for players like [Andy] Keogh and [Diego] Castro to get on the end of.”
You can catch Franjic and all of the club’s other new signings in Hyundai A-League action this season by becoming a Glory member today – click HERE for details.
And his full interview is available below.
https://players.brightcove.net/5498268486001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5804721730001
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