Success makes Nix youngster a marked man

Watching Sarpreet Singh make his debut for Bayern Munich has opened Liberato Cacace’s eyes to the prospect of playing for a major European club.

But while it appears only a matter of time before Cacace follows in Singh’s footsteps and signs for an overseas club, the 19-year-old has reiterated he is in no rush to leave Wellington Phoenix.

‘‘It’s so crazy, this time last year he was playing in the A-league and now he’s playing for one of the best teams in the world,’’ Cacace said ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Western United.

‘‘It does open my eyes up to what can actually happen, but not only me but to the rest of the young Kiwis here in New Zealand. As long as we keep working hard we can do what he’s doing.’’

With the transfer window opening on January 3, Cacace could be snapped up by an overseas club as early as next week. But if nothing comes of it, then so be it.

The New Zealand international is enjoying his football under new coach Ufuk Talay and is determined to help the in-form Phoenix build on their positive start, last weekend’s draw with Sydney extending their unbeaten run to six games.

‘‘I just leave that to my agent but I’m at the club at the moment and whatever comes up comes up but I’m happy playing for this club at the moment,’’ he said.

‘‘I’ll wait and see, I leave it up my agent like I say, I’m still young and Uffie is giving me the minutes I need as a young player so I’m just going to take it week by week and keep improving and play my hardest for this team.

‘‘If nothing happens in January I’ll just play towards the end of the season and make that top six.’’

Cacace is now in his third season of professional football, having made his debut under Darije Kalezic during the Phoenix’s failed 2017-18 campaign.

He has come a long way since then, now the first-choice leftback for both club and country and one of the best in his position in the A-league.

But that success has come at a cost. Cacace is now a marked man. He said it was particularly noticeable against Sydney who were specifically targeting him.

‘‘It’s a tough one, I didn’t really have that last year but you can kind of notice in this game, there were three different midfielders that came on against me and tried to shut me down and basically man-mark me.

‘‘Once the game opens up, that’s when I like to play and do my stuff but the coaches are working with me and how to work around teams trying to mark me out of the game. That’s a sign of respect as well.’’

With the score locked at 2-2, Cacace looked like he had set up the matchwinner last Saturday, driving into the box and cutting back for Ulises Davila to tap home from right in front. However,

the Mexican, who has emerged as a real star for the Phoenix, shot wide of the target with the goal begging.

‘‘Uli, he’s done so much for us this season so you can’t really blame him for that. Next week he’ll put them away.’’

Although they have banked just 12 points through the first 10 games, three fewer than last season, Cacace said there is no question the Phoenix are playing better football under Talay than they did with previous coach Mark Rudan.

‘‘We’re keeping it, we’re dominating teams and it’s a joy to watch but also to play. We’ve got such a great structure that Uffie has formed with this club – the difference between this year and last year, when we do go 1-0 down we can come back and come out on top, and that’s a big difference.

‘‘Rudes wanted us controlling teams without the ball but Uffie wants us controlling teams with the ball. It’s two different structures.’’

That clash of styles will be on display tomorrow, the Phoenix travelling to Ballarat to take on Rudan’s third-place Western United at Mars Stadium.

‘‘I think we’ve just got to keep them at bay and can’t let them score early,’’ Cacace said. ‘‘The way we’re playing at the moment . . . we’re a different team compared to when we faced them in round one and I think it’ll be a good game.’’

Riot police stormed on to the pitch, some riding on horses, guarding Hamburg’s players as supporters lit flares and threw objects in anger.

‘‘It was crazy,’’ Phoenix midfielder Matti Steinmann said, looking back on one of the darkest days in the club’s history. ‘‘It was a crazy day.’’

On May 12, 2018 Hamburg were relegated from Germany’s Bundesliga for the first time.

Despite beating Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-1 in their final game, they were unable to avoid the drop after a miserable start to the season.

As the only club to have spent their entire existence in the Bundesliga up until that point, Hamburg’s relegation hit hard.

‘‘There were horses on the pitch because a few hooligans went crazy.’’

Hamburg were so proud of the fact they had spent all 55 seasons in Germany’s top-flight a clock was put on display inside Volksparkstadion to count every second. But the clock became a symbol for their impending doom in the 2017-18 season, as relegation drew closer with every defeat.

‘‘There was heaps of talking in the newspapers about that and everyone kept asking the coach about the clock.’’

Steinmann joined Hamburg as a 14-year-old and made his first two senior appearances against Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich in 2014. He said they were so good Hamburg barely touched the ball.

‘‘Franck Ribery, Robert Lewandowski, Xavi Alonso, Toni Kroos was playing as well. All of the big players, Jerome Boateng. It was the year after they won the Champions League final so they were at the peak of their level and it was a massive experience to play against them.

‘‘It was a big dream that came true in those games. When you sit on the bench you always want to come in, especially as a young player.

‘‘I was in the squad a couple of games before my debut as well but the old coach was under pressure but then I finally got my chance when the reserve team coach was in charge.

‘‘I was happy to make my debut and play for the club. I wanted to have more games but after that games was a big gap.’’

Due to a serious knee injury, it was only in the latter stages of the 2017-18 campaign, in the midst of a relegation battle, that Steinmann became a regular starter for Hamburg. But despite their season teetering on the brink of despair, the German under-20 international said he never gave up hope.