Many players tend to leave Australian shores in an attempt to further their careers and develop as footballers. At the tender age of 17, the then teenager Sasa Macura was one of them.
Many players tend to leave Australian shores in an attempt to further their careers and develop as footballers. At the tender age of 17, the then teenager Sasa Macura was one of them.
After five years playing abroad and growing up as both a footballer and a person, Macura will be ripping up the pitches in the IGA National Premier Leagues NSW Mens 1 competition for Blacktown City FC.
Macura last played for the Bonnyrigg White Eagles in 2008 before heading to Serbia for trials with highly rated Serbian Super Liga outfit FK Vojvodina. After spending some time with Vojvodina, he soon moved countries and went to Hungary.
“I first went to Serbia and was offered a trial at FK Vojvodina, I did really well for the youth team and they offered me the opportunity to stay.”
After spending some time with Vojvodina, he soon moved countries and went to Hungary.
“However, at the same time I had another opportunity to go to Hungary and play with MTK Budapest”.
“MTK was a very young team and it appealed to me more because i wanted to be part of that setup”.
“MTK Budapest proved to be a good choice, I trained and played with some quality players that I learnt a lot from and helped me improve. I was also fortunate enough to travel around Europe to play football against some quality teams”.
Most young players get homesick when they go abroad, leaving their families and friends behind as their whole lifestyle changes.
Macura-s move overseas had a mixed effect on him.
“It was my first time away from the family so it was very different, but I was playing and training all the time so I tried to be focused and concentrated on football as much as possible”.
Things started getting tough on Macura and this forced his return to Australia.
“I came back to Australia after I had an abdominal hernia operation and re occurring injuries that resulted in more than half a year of no football. I came back here to recover and get back to 100%”.
As soon as Macura was available, he was snapped up by IGA National Premier Leagues NSW Mens 1 side Blacktown City.
“David O'Keefe and Ken Schembri offered me the opportunity to play with Blacktown FC and after speaking with them, I made my decision to stay”.
“Blacktown are a club who are known for producing players and have always played attractive football”.
So what are Macura-s plans for the future?
“At the moment I am looking to just get myself into the best possible shape, form and have an injury free season with Blacktown City”.
“If everything goes well, I will see what my options are here in Australia or somewhere again overseas”.