Ramy Najjarine was still in primary school when Western Sydney were formed in 2012 but four years on, the sixteen-year-old starlet finds himself training with the Wanderers’ Hyundai A-League team.
It should come as no surprise for the Fairfield local for whom playing up has been the story of his career so far.
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Last year, the gifted playmaker signed for the Wanderers’ Foxtel National Youth League squad as a train-on player at just 15 years of age.
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There’s video evidence of Najjarine gracefully humiliating defender after defender in the U16 NPL 1 NSW for Football NSW Institute as a 14-year-old.
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And while he began the Red & Black’s PS4 NPL 2 campaign playing in the Under 20s, he was quickly promoted to the first team after scoring three goals in four matches and has since become a vital member of Trevor Morgan’s first-team side.
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It was just another normal day at the office for the Lebanese maestro on Monday as he prepared for his biggest step up yet.
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“I was pretty confident and just went through my normal routine and did what I had to do before training,” explained Najjarine.
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“It was very professional and everyone was very welcoming.”
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The Westfield Sports High School student is certainly experienced beyond his years and not even scrapping it out against hardened stalwarts like Nikolai Topor-Stanley and Robert Cornthwaite, players of nearly double Najjarine’s age, could deter him from impressing Tony Popovic.
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Following on from the 2016 NPL 2 season, Najjarine will look to impress the Wanderers’ coaching staff further as he embarks on his journey for first-team football.
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He is desperate to follow in the footsteps of former Western Sydney youth graduates like Jonathan Aspropotamitis and Jaushua Sotirio as he pursues a dream position in the Wanderers’ Hyundai A-League picture.
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If he wants to make an impact, he could do a lot worse than the Wanderers where another two youngesters both made famous debuts after starring for the youth team.
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Alusine Fofanah broke league history when he debuted at 15 years and 189 days against Adelaide United in the Wanderers inaugural season, while a 16-year-old Daniel Alessi’s now infamous on-debut schooling of Alessandro Del Piero in the first Sydney Derby of the 2013/14 campaign has already been cemented into terrace folklore.
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Najjarine takes on the pressure in the only way he knows how: with a frankly unconcerned swagger.
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“I don’t really think of my age that often. I always think everyone is on the same level.”