It has been a whirlwind year for Alex Nunes, who was part of history at Newcastle Jets while earning a scholarship contract. The exciting youngster speaks to aleagues.com.au ahead of his debut Isuzu UTE A-League season.
Football, like life, is full of highs and lows.
At the moment, Newcastle Jets sensation and academy graduate Alex Nunes is riding a high but he has worked hard to get to this position, dealing with setbacks along the way.
The 17-year-old local product heads into his debut Isuzu UTE A-League season on the back of his first scholarship deal and an historic NPL campaign with the club’s academy team.
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However, you only have to look back to last year when the highly rated teenager lost his youth development agreement (YDA) with the Jets. The YDA is a contract that provides security for a player at a club and means the youth player is training full-time with the youth team.
It came after Nunes was part of the Newcastle youth outfit who won Football NSW Men’s League Three in 2022 under former head coach Ric Marchioli.
Nunes, who has called the Jets home since Under-9s, never got his YDA back.
It was a hiccup for the former Benfica triallist but he has gone on to be rewarded with a two-year scholarship deal heading into 2024-25.
“Definitely a setback in confidence and self-esteem last season,” Nunes told aleagues.com.au. “But I just had to keep working hard and earn my spot in the youth team.
“Once I got into that youth team, I was always aiming to train with the A-Leagues team. Every time I went in to train, I knew I had to work hard and be the best version of myself that I can be.
“Just having that mindset going into every session definitely helped me and got me to where I am now.”
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Nunes is a gifted playmaker, who has been compared to former Argentina star Pablo Aimar, but the teen prospect has worked hard in the Hunter Region.
He has been with the Jets for eight years, though he relocated to Newcastle from Darwin aged five.
“It was pretty hard moving from Darwin to somewhere I’ve never really been before,” Nunes recalled. “No family down here. But moving down with my family made everything a lot easier.”
Nunes has continued to graduate through the ranks at the Jets, and even trialled at Portuguese giants Benfica two years ago.
Aged 15 at the time, Nunes was nominated by the coaching staff at the 2022 Coerver Asia Pacific International Performance Camp to represent them at the program.
“It was awesome, especially my dad being a big fan. Academy life was great,” Nunes said.
“Being able to compare myself with the best players in the world at my age was a really good experience.”
Nunes added: “I definitely got looked at differently being from a not so footballing country. But I stayed humble to myself, kept my head down. Anything can happen.”
That moment meant a lot, particularly to Nunes’ Portuguese-born father – who is a “crazy” Benfica supporter.
The pair often wake up at 3am together to watch Benfica play on TV.
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“I could tell by the look in his face that he was really proud,” said Nunes. “All the years of hard work he put into my development finally paid off.
“For it to be at Benfica, which is where he grew up and followed the club from very young. A dream come true for him and for me.”
Nunes went over to Lisbon with limited expectations, aiming to “just get some experience under my belt overseas”.
He left with “knowledge of how I needed to get better” and it has shown through his performances in Newcastle.
“I’m feeling really excited to get into my first professional season,” Nunes said.
“It was really good being in the youth team and getting the promotion, and undefeated season. It really boosted my confidence to work hard and push for that scholarship.”
It has been a big year for Nunes already.
Newcastle’s youth team enjoyed a history-making season in League Two.
The Jets not only won the league and clinched promotion, but they ended the entire 2024 campaign undefeated.
Described as an “unprecedented, remarkable achievement” by Football NSW, Newcastle made it through the 30-round season without a loss and they’ll now prepare for life in NSW’s second tier.
Nunes – whose sister is also part of Newcastle’s youth program, forming a sibling “rivalry” – played a key role in the historic feat with 11 goals.
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“It’s everyone’s goal at the start of the season to finish first, hopefully get all wins, no losses and undefeated,” he said.
“To actually do it is such a great achievement for me and the club as well.”
Nunes continued: “From the start of the season, we all set the goal to be undefeated and get promoted.
“We knew we had a job to do everyday at training and on weekends. We just grinded and put in the hard work.
“When it came closer to the end of the season, we knew we had something special.”
Promotion and a scholarship in the same year made it extra special for Nunes and his youth teammate Will Dobson, who was also rewarded with a scholarship contract.
“It just shows that our academy is heading in the right direction and we’re getting the right recognition for the hard work we’re putting in,” he said.
“For Will and I, we’ve been playing in the same team since U9s. It’s awesome.”
While eyeing his Isuzu UTE A-League debut, Nunes heads into 2024-25 having already had a taste of senior football under Rob Stanton via this year’s Australia Cup.
“Rob bringing in lots of young players and putting in the trust in them shows his experience and belief,” said Nunes. “Being around the team and building my confidence up.”
Nunes is also taking heart from the pathway overseas, with a number of A-Leagues talents – headlined by Nestory Irankunda’s move to German giants Bayern Munich – making high-profile moves abroad.
“Seeing young players getting recognised overseas definitely boosts the view of football in Australia,” he said.
“Hopefully (I’ll be) getting some chances this season to show myself and maybe in the future getting a look overseas.”
But Nunes is not looking too far ahead as the Jets eye their Round 1 opener at home to Melbourne City on October 19.
“Being my first season in the A-League, I like to set small goals and achieve those every session. Trying not to get too far ahead of myself,” he insisted.
“Definitely putting in the work now to try to push for my spot in the season.”
