FREMANTLE “FULL OF POTENTIAL”: ATEKHIS 13/01/2012
New Fremantle Spirit president Elhossain ‘Nassa’ Atekhis says putting his hand up for the job was the right thing to do, both from a personal point of view as well as for the club. Atekhis kept goal for Fremantle last season and after witnessing their slow decline from close quarters felt it his duty to help the port side out. “Knowing the club was struggling, I had to get involved,” he said. “Under the right management and with a lot of hard work Fremantle is a club full of potential. I always enjoy a challenge and that’s one of the reasons I put my hand up to be president.”
Atekhis may have been Fremantle’s president only a couple of months but it has been long enough for him to stabilise a club that was on the brink of State League extinction. “The main priority at the moment is to keep Fremantle afloat and moving forward,” Atekhis explained. “We need to take things slowly and steadily so we can develop a good squad which will provide our opponents with a good challenge. There are plenty of juniors within the club that we want to be teaching and developing as, ultimately, they are the future of the Fremantle club.”
Aged just 24, Atekhis is the youngest of the State League presidents but what he lacks in experience he more than makes up for in ambition. “Taking on something like this is obviously a challenge at any age, however, Fremantle is a club I am passionate about and want to see it live up to its potential,” he said. “I am happy that I have been given this opportunity, there will be hurdles along the way but I am prepared for them. I am going to put a lot of hard work into this and I know it will pay off.”
The appointment of Ljupco ‘Bobby’ Taneski as coach of Fremantle this week is a big step in the right direction for the club. “Bobby is just what Fremantle needs at this stage,” commented Atekhis. “Bobby is going to bring a lot to the club, both on and off the field. He is going to be effective in teaching, motivating and recruiting our squad, and will play a big part in leading the club forward. Bobby is with us for the long haul, he sees the potential the club has and is passionate about rebuilding Fremantle.”
Taneski has wasted little moulding what will be a new-look Fremantle squad into a cohesive unit. “We have a mix of players from last year and new talent, and we’re also looking to move up some of our juniors,” said Atekhis. “Under new coaching obviously there is going to be a few changes and new methods. We are happy to have players like Sean Treacey, Chris Wollaston, Josh Auguste and Kenny Ftynogiannis join the club. We’re hopeful about our season, with the right mentoring and coaching we can place comfortably.”
One of Fremantle’s major downfalls last year was a lack of depth across the entire club, from first team through to under-18s. “We are hopeful the strategies we are putting into place will mean depth is not a major issue this year,” said Atekhis. “Obviously it’s hard to take over a struggling club and we are going to depend on the support of our community, players and coaches. We all need to work together to turn things around. The players we have moving up within the club gives me confidence we will have a strong under-18 squad.”
Atekhis has every confidence 2012 will bring a change in the fortunes of Fremantle. “We have a good group of staff and a good selection of players, the new committee have some fresh strategies to overcome some of the clubs previous issues, and there is plenty of support from our community,” said the club president. “It’s not going to be easy and it’s not going to happen overnight but I have every confidence in the people working within the club. We all want to see this club succeed and show the Fremantle spirit.”
Fremantle youth taste success in Malaysia - 2009
This year's youth team achieved success once again in Malaysia. The squad comprising players from our 14's & 16's teams displayed good football and were more than a match for the local youth sides. Good results against the Kuala Lumpur Football Club Youth as well as a great win against the powerful Royal Selangor Sports Club youth has once again unveiled some players for the future. The pinnacle game was against the under 16's Malaysian National team which proved a very stern test and unfortunately our boys were defeated by the class and disciplined level of the national team. The boys acquitted themselves very well and have done the club very proud and ensured our relationship with Malaysian Football is very strong. The team arrived back in Perth on the 19th October. A big thank you to Marin Vlasich - the tour manager for ensuring everything ran smoothly, John Teixeira - for coaching the team, Paul Wozny - Adviser/coach - for his valuable input, advice and experience & Paul Loveless - team trainer ensuring all the boys were well looked after. Also, a big thank you to all the parents who assisted on the trip and support they provided. Lastly, to all the boys who participated in this years trip for their good attitude and sportsmanship.
Freo's under 15's successful tour of Malaysia 19/10/2008
Fremantle Spirit Under 15's
have completed a very successful and enjoyable tour of Malaysia. The boys
played a total of four matches in six days in very humid and trying
conditions. The boys had a huge impact with the locals and were even
mentioned in the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) official website and
in the local "Star" newspaper. First Game was with the Arsenal
Development squad which the Freo boys displayed a flawless display on the
perfect - carpet like ground winning 3-0 - scorers: Jamie Street, Caleb Dixon and
Victor Dos Santos. The second game was against the Victorian based AFS
(Australian Football Skool) which our boys demonstrated their qualities by
beating the Vics 1-0 - scorer: Corey Muirhead.
The third match the boys were pitted against the national Malaysian school boys in very wet conditions which the game was cut short due to lightening and bad weather after 20 minutes with the score locked at 0-0. The last match was certainly the stiffest where the boys were up against the National Malaysian under 15's on a very hot afternoon. The boys showed plenty of fight and dominated the play in patches. With the Malaysian team having the luxury of 23 players as apposed with Freo's 13 man squad it was a matter of attrition. The boys certainly had their opportunities to score and were denied a late penalty when the score was 2-1. With the superior bench the Malaysian boys ran out winners beating a resilient Freo team 3-1 - scorer: Jamie Street. The experience and opportunity for the boys to play abroad in camp like conditions playing against different styles of football was a privilege and rewarding. Credit to all the boys who showed maturity beyond their years and made their state proud by demonstrating good football and sportsmanship.
A big Thank you to Marin Vlasich for making the tour possible. To all the coaching staff John Teixeira (coach), Paul Street (Team Manager/Asst Coach), Paul Loveless (Trainer) and Bill Levitt (logistics). To all the family members who attended and provided huge support in all games as well as off the field. To Alun Powell from Sadliers International in sponsoring the team. We look forward to next year.
AFC Website Link - www.the-afc.com/eng/articles/viewArticle.jsp_168296620.html