Sydney FC midfielder Terry McFlynn touched down in the Harbour City in 2005 with one week to prove his impressive international resume was no fluke.
Three years later it’s safe to say the former captain of Northern Ireland’s Under-21 team has made the most of his Hyundai A-League lifeline.
“My wife’s from Australia so she wanted to return home, I just wrote a letter to all the clubs and asked for a trial and Sydney was the only club that offered me a trial and thankfully for me it all worked out,” McFlynn recalled.
“I was thankful for Sydney for giving me the chance to have a trial and I was determined to give 100 percent every day as I have done in training for the last four years.”
“I like a new challenge every now and then in my life and I honestly believe that if you put your mind to anything you can achieve it.”
The hard-nosed 27-year-old has become a permanent fixture at the club amassing 64 appearances and has again been one of the standouts in John Kosmina’s line-up this season.
And his work hasn’t gone unnoticed with Northern Ireland coach Nigel Worthington requesting footage of McFlynn’s exploits earlier this month.
The ever-modest midfielder admits the recent request was a pleasant surprise.
“Obviously the highest honour you can achieve is to play for your country at any level and I’ve been lucky enough to represent my country at every age group from under 15s right through to the under 23s,” he said.
“It would be an honour and a privilege for me to represent my country at senior level and it’s always been an ambition of mine and hopefully one day I can achieve that ambition.”
McFlynn makes no secret of his desire to extend his tenure with the Sky Blues when he comes off contract at the end of the 2009/10 season.
But while he sees his future in Australia, the patriotic Northern Irishman says he has never considered a switch to the Socceroos.
“From a football point of view I don’t think I would ever switch allegiances to Australia but certainly on the citizen front I would love to do it one day,” he confirmed.
“I love Australia and I love Sydney as well, ideally I would love to stay here for the rest of my career and finish out my career with Sydney.”
“Obviously winning the Championship the first year with Sydney let me see what the place was all about when we won things and I want to achieve that feeling again here in Sydney.”
But no matter what football has in store for him, McFlynn has no doubt the future is bright for the Hyundai A-League.
“It’s got bigger and better every year,” he said. “And I think that’s been shown by FFA the ambitions they’ve got to expand the league next season with two more teams coming in.”
