North Queensland Fury youngster Osama Malik is living his dream of becoming a professional footballer.
The 19-year-old midfielder has worked his way into the Fury side and appears to be proving he deserves the honour.
“I’m just enjoying every minute,” Adelaide-born Malik said.
“It was obviously hard to get a gig at first but unluckily for a few other people I’ve come in because of injuries that have occurred.
“I’m just relishing the opportunity to play at this level,” he said.
Malik’s suited up in just three out of thirteen matches this season, but he has started in the last two which just happen to coincide with North Queensland victories (2-1 v Perth, 2-0 v Gold Coast).
But it didn’t stop him nervously awaiting word on whether he’d play his fourth game against Newcastle in Sunday’s Hyundai A-League round 14 clash at Energy Australia Stadium.
“I think I’ve been a bit lucky…I think I just came in at a good time I don’t think that has anything too much to do with me…,” Malik joked.
“We may have a few guys coming back this week, but hopefully he’s (Coach Ian Ferguson) got me in his plans.
“He doesn’t want me to do anything too special, just get in there and play simple…but he’s been pretty happy with my performances and he’s given me a lot of confidence and shown a lot of faith in me.”
Ferguson clearly believed the kid they call Ozzie has repaid that faith.
Usually coy about revealing his selection plans early, the Scot didn’t hesitate when it came to Malik.
“The young kid’s come in and done really well, we’ve won two games with him in the team and I’m not going to change that he’ll be one of the ones who’ll start,” he said.
“Obviously there’s a little bit of uncertainty for him but if I tell him and he’s prepared for the game hopefully we’ll get a good game out of him again.”
“I think he’s done a fantastic job.”
Ferguson’s also confirmed midfielder Ufuk Talay (calf) and defender Robbie Middleby (foot) won’t travel to Newcastle.
Nevertheless, North Queensland heads south with two consecutive wins behind it, having not lost in the last five rounds.
“It’s great to get a few wins…we’ve had a lot of draws and we’ve been a bit unlucky…I think now we’re starting to get a bit of confidence and we think we can do very well this year,” Malik said.
But Ferguson’s not letting the recent success go to his players’ heads.
“You can see a bounce in their step when they come out to train, they sometimes get a little bit cocky but we quickly bring them back down to earth again.”
