Dynamo Devlin wants Olympics shot
Dreaming of representing Australia at the Tokyo Olympics, Cameron Devlin will be doing everything in his power to crack Graham Arnold’s Olyroos squad.
The diminutive Devlin has been a revelation for Wellington Phoenix this season, earning Team of the Week honours six times in the 10 games he has played since replacing the injured Alex Rufer.
After sitting out the opening four matches, which all ended in defeat, the 21-year-old’s introduction coincided with the Phoenix’s upturn in form. But his impact was much more noticeable in the starting 11, where he has been a terrier on defence, leading the team with 34 interceptions.
But while the accolades have come thick and fast for the former Sydney FC midfielder, who topped the fan vote to win the A-League Player of the Month award in December, Devlin’s excellent form for the Phoenix was not rewarded with an international call-up ahead of AFC Under-23 Championship.
Naturally, Devlin said he was disappointed to be overlooked for the Thailand tournament, which doubled as the Olympic Games qualifiers.
‘‘There was a bit of me that would have absolutely loved to have been there,’’ Devlin said.
‘‘For any kid growing up they want to put their country’s jersey on and for me that’s no different. I would do anything to play for Australia at any level and it would be an absolute honour, and it’s something that I am striving for.
‘‘To miss out on the qualifiers was what it was, and that was fine. But maybe it was a blessing [in disguise] that I missed out because the boys still qualified, which is unbelievable, and I got to still play regular first team football.’’
Now one of the first names on the team sheet, Devlin said he was determined to stake his claim for Tokyo by continuing his red-hot form for the Phoenix, who are now up to fourth on the A-League ladder after registering back-to-back wins.
But with only 18 spots up for grabs, three of which will be filled by over-age players, Devlin acknowledged that it will be difficult force his way into Arnold’s plans.
‘‘I’ve kept my spot and the goal now that the boys did such a great job to qualify is to keep my name in the mix and to go the Olympics,’’ he said.
‘‘It will be so tough. There’s so many good young Australians for those 15 or so spots for the players who are under-23. But all you can do is work as hard as you can and hopefully put your name in the mix.
‘‘All you can do is what you can control and that’s playing well and training well and working hard, and I know I’ll do that and hopefully it pays off. It’s not something that I’ll beat myself up if I don’t [get selected] but all I know is that I’ll do everything in my power to get there.
‘‘Like I said it’s been a dream of mine forever and now that they’ve qualified for the Olympics, that is where I do want to be.’’