Barbarouses hoping to stay with Nix as they chase title
To have a chance to do it this year would be unbelievable.
Kosta Barbarouses
For Wellington Phoenix striker Kosta Barbarouses, this season has been perfect — except for one small thing.
The Phoenix have confounded the pundits with their form, after being widely tipped to struggle. They have already booked a top-two spot for the finals for the first time, and ahead of their last regular-season fixture against Macarthur tonight, could still win the Premiers Plate if Central Coast Mariners drop points across their remaining two matches.
And Barbarouses, in his third spell at his hometown club, has had the season of his life. He’s been the focal point of Wellington’s attacking play all season and has scored 12 goals, a total he has exceeded only once during a long career that has seen him win four A-League titles with Brisbane Roar, Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory. The only quibble this time?
He has found the net just once in the capital. Barbarouses has scored at Campbelltown Stadium (four), Adelaide (two), CommBank Stadium (two), Allianz Stadium, Newcastle and Eden Park, with his solitary goal in Wellington coming against Western Sydney Wanderers just before Christmas, when he broke a 0-0 deadlock in the 92nd minute.
“I’m gutted about it,” Barbarouses said with a laugh. “That goal against Wanderers in the last minute was the best feeling I’ve had on a football pitch for a long time, especially with my kids in the stands and the situation, a top-of-the-table game.
“It was great and I’d love to have a few more but obviously a lot of [my] goals have come at important times and we’ve picked up a lot of important points away from home.”
His renaissance has been noteworthy, after a frustrating 2022-23 season, derailed by niggling injuries.
“It hurts your rhythm. As hard as I tried, I didn’t really hit my stride last [season].”
That has all changed now. He is enjoying the approach of coach Giancarlo Italiano — “we’re playing really free” — and is thriving on the responsibility he has been given, especially with last season’s top scorer Oskar Zwada sidelined for long periods with injury.
He feels close to career-best form.
“It has got be be pretty up there; how clinical I’ve been, how clinical the team has been. I don’t think I’ve had a ton of chances where I have been wasteful. I’ve put a good number of my chances away.”
It has been an opportunity for Barbarouses to show his true worth to those who matter most.
He was an underused teenager in his first Phoenix stint during 2007-10, then part of a talented but underachieving roster in 2016-17.
His future beyond this season is unknown, as talks continue with the club. He would like to remain in the capital but is pragmatic.
“Nothing has been decided yet. Staying would be a great option but there are a few discussions going on. As a footballer, you can’t really rule anything out, and I’m just going to keep going and see where it takes me. If it’s still here beyond this year, then great, and if not, let’s leave a lasting legacy with what we did this season and see how far we can go.”
Barbarouses has a glittering A-League CV but achieving success in Wellington — and maybe a first trophy for the club — means more.
“We’ve come close in the past, making a semifinal when I was really young, then the last time I was here, we had a great squad and it didn’t exactly work out.
“To have a chance to do it this year would be unbelievable, in front of my friends and family I’ve grown up with, with two young kids that have lived here for two years. It probably would be a crowning achievement.”
Tonight’s assignment is simple for the Phoenix, who lead the Mariners by one point. They have to beat fourth-placed Macarthur, then hope Central Coast claim three points or less from their final two matches, against Newcastle at the same time tonight and Adelaide next Wednesday.
Wellington’s frustrating draw in Newcastle last week stung — especially with Alex Rufer’s last-minute penalty miss — but Barbarouses is backing the captain to take another spot kick if required, after converting his previous three A-League attempts.
“Those things happen. If he wants to take the next one, he can. If he doesn’t want to, if he tells me to take it, or if Oskar is on the field, then we’ll take it, too. ”
It could be a massive night in the capital, with the Premiers Plate flown in from Australia, just in case Wellington clinch the title, although Central Coast are favourites.
“In football, you can’t predict anything. We need to do our part first.”