Perth Glory attacking midfielder Jesse Makarounas has been named in the Qantas Young Socceroos squad for the SBS Cup which will be played in Shizuoka, Japan later this week (18-21 August).
Perth Glory attacking midfielder Jesse Makarounas has been named in the Qantas Young Socceroos squad for the SBS Cup which will be played in Shizuoka, Japan later this week (18-21 August).
After playing in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico last month, it-s the first time Makarounas has been selected in a national U-20 squad.
“It-s exciting and a great opportunity to move up an age group,” Makarounas said.
Still only 17 years old, the last three months have been an incredible journey for the Glory young gun.
Since June, Makarounas has been to Mexico, Los Angeles, South Africa, Australia and now Japan.
“Getting exposed to different cultures and football is a great learning curve.
“I-ve also been able to train with senior players like Shane Smeltz and Liam Miller which has been good to.
“I-ve enjoyed all the traveling because I am learning all the time,” Makarounas added.
Perth Glory striker Adam Taggart was also initially named in the squad but was withdrawn because of injury.
The Qantas Young Socceroos squad includes 17 Australian-based players and one overseas-based player, Aaron Lennox.
This will be the first outing for this group of players looking to qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013 and coach Jan Versleijen knows playing matches against quality opposition is an extremely important part of that process.
“This is the start of our new campaign and our first official time together for the next group of Qantas Young Socceroos,” said Versleijen
“We are missing a number of players for a variety of reasons, for example resting Mustafa Amini and Terry Antonis after the World Cup, but unfortunately many others are injured at this time.
“The positive that we can take out of this is that we will get to have a look at a few new players that may not normally be selected at this time as well as some of the players that went to the Under 17 World Cup in Mexico.
“With our AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers scheduled for later this year, this tournament is a good place to start our preparations,” concluded Versleijen
The Qantas Young Socceroos will face Shizuoka on Thursday afternoon at the Fujieda Sports Park Soccer Field, followed by Japan on Sunday evening at the Kusanagi Stadium and will play their final match of the SBS Cup against Mexico on Sunday evening at the Stadium Ecopa.
The AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers will be held from 31 October-8 November, 2010, with the venue to be announced soon.
The Qantas Young Socceroos have been drawn in Group G of the competition along with China P.R., Indonesia, Singapore and Macau.
Qantas Young Socceroos Squad
SBS Cup, Shizuoka, Japan, 18-21 August, 2011
Jake BARKER-DAISH – Gold Coast United FC, Australia (7/5/1993)
Kwabena BOAHENE – Australian Institute of Sport (9/8/1994)
Joshua BRILLANTE – Gold Coast United FC, Australia (25/3/1993)
Corey BROWN – Brisbane Roar FC, Australia (7/1/1994)
Connor CHAPMAN – Australian Institute of Sport (31/10/1994
Joshua Da SILVA – Sutherland Sharks FC, Australia 21/1/1994)
Jason GERIA – Brisbane Roar FC, Australia (10/5/1993)
Andrew HOOLE – Broadmeadow Magic FC, Australia (22/10/1993)
Aaron LENNOX (gk) – Queens Park Rangers FC, England (19/2/1993)
Jesse MAKAROUNAS – Perth Glory FC, Australia (18/4/1994)
Nicholas MUNRO (gk) – Adelaide Galaxy SC, Australia (1/5/1993)
Luke O’DEA – Melbourne Victory FC, Australia (14/4/1993)
Yianni PERKATIS – Australian Institute of Sport (8/3/1994)
Aaron PETERSON – Sydney United FC, Australia (8/6/1993)
Anthony PROIA – Australian Institute of Sport (16/3/1994)
Alistair QUINN – Brisbane Roar FC, Australia (1/6/1993)
Luke REMINGTON – Newcastle United Jets, Australia (12/5/1994)
Elliott RONTO – Gold Coast United FC, Australia (24/11/1993)
Team Officials
Head Coach: Jan Versleijen
Assistant Coach: Philip Stubbins
Goalkeeper Coach: John Gorza
Team Manager: Jaime Gomez
Team Doctor: Jeffrey Steinweg
Physiotherapist: Michael Sette
Masseur: John Kobiela
