Some Golden Soft Sombrero Moments with Michael Petkovic Petkovic on life training in France… Diegos: "You spent a season with Strasbourg in France mainly training because you couldn't secure a clearance from South Melbourne. What was the full time French Café latté and croissant experience like and how frustrating was it not playing games?" Petkovic: "France is a beautiful country and was good to be training and playing in that professional environment but at the end of the day you just want to play. I just got frustrated with the whole thing in the end so when South gave me the opportunity to come back I accepted." Soft Sombrero Moment 2001
Diegos: "Strasbourg are struggling this season at the foot of the French first division but they signed the Four Diegos favorite loose cannon goal scoring Paraguayan keeper Jose Luis Chilavert. Do you regret not hanging around and being understudy to the great Madman?" Petkovic: "I would've loved to have met and watched him train. I reckon I could've learnt a thing or two about taking free kicks. It would be nice to be a goal scoring keeper." Diegos: "Do you ever feel like going 'Il loco' and racing up the ground, pushing South Melbourne free kick specialists away, grabbing the ball and taking the free kicks yourself?' Petkovic: "I wouldn't mind doing that. If we are winning five or six - nil maybe the boys might let me take one but in the meantime my job is to keep a clean sheet and I think that's where I'll stay." Soft Sombrero Moment 2001
Diegos: "You often go head to head on the pitch with your brother Jason who is currently Perth Glory's number one goalkeeper. It's bizarre how one family can yield two such great goalkeepers. What were your backyard clashes like?" Petkovic: "We had a cousin who used to live next door to us who was a striker. He was in paradise and became quite a good player because of us. It ended up being pretty competitive and sometimes we would end up in a spit fight and a wrestle." Soft Sombrero Moment 2001
Diegos: "Did you become a good keeper because you were scared of letting the ball hit your Dad's tomato plants?" Petkovic: "Dad wasn't into gardening so we didn't have to worry about that. Dad was actually a goalkeeper when played so obviously it rubbed off on us." Diegos: "What do you do at home to make sure your goalkeeping skills are up to scratch?' Petkovic: "I like to relax and spend time with my family especially on the day of the game. It tends to get me into a good groove for the game." Soft Sombrero Moment 2001
Diegos: "If you drop something on the day of the game like the soap in the shower, a plate or your kids etc, do you get worried that you've lost form and mightn't be in good shape for the game?" Petkovic: "I never drop anything so I suppose I've never had to deal with that situation. On the day of the game I let my family do everything for me anyway so I won't lose confidence if things unexpectedly go wrong." Soft Sombrero Moment 2001 |