Mark Robertson Skilled Soccer Coaching Academy was developed by myself after a long and successful career as a professional soccer player both here in Australia and as far abroad as Europe picking up representative honours along the way with the Young Socceroos, Olyroos and Socceroos with team mates such as Lucas Neill, Harry Kewell, Brett Emerton, Vinnie Grella, Marco Bresciano, Chris Coyne and Hayden Foxe.
As an Eastern Suburbs Junior soccer player with Sydney City and Maroubra United, I believe this is where my dream of becoming a professional soccer player started. That dream saw me go on to play matches in front of 70,000 thousand fans in Japan for the Socceroos, a long way from the early morning games at Queens Park and Coral Sea park in Maroubra.
I look back on my junior representative career with great memories playing for Eastern Suburbs as a youngster at Jellicoe Park Pagewood, then going on to represent NSW and the Australian School Boys where I picked up the "Best School Boys Soccer Player" in Australia (1995) award.
I then Captained the New South Wales state side before receiving a 3 year contract with the then Australian National League giants Marconi Fairfield. Little did I know, this was just the start of the senior representative honours, as I was selected to captain the U/20 Young Socceroos which then found me playing in the Worlds largest tournament the Youth World Cup in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia playing against the mighty South American country Argentina fielding world class players such as Riquelme and Cambiasso who we went on to beat in a thrilling match which ended 4-3.
Preparation for the Olympic Games in Sydney was next on the agenda, a long process of jet setting around the world to play games and attend training camps.
In the midst of a busy representative schedule I had time to play in what is arguably the best game of soccer ever witnessed in Australian history. The 2000 Grand Final between Perth Glory and my team the Mighty Wollongong Wolves, forever etched in my memory that afternoon at Subiaco Oval Perth which was packed to the rafters with 45,000 screaming fans. This, I believe was one of my best ever performances as a soccer player which saw me get my hands on the biggest prize in Australian soccer the Grand Finalist winners medal.
What followed the biggest game of my career was a transfer to the United Kingdom to sign for Scottish Premier League team Dundee FC where I have great memories playing in the UEFA Cup, European Intertoto Cup and games versus giant Scottish teams Glasgow Rangers and Glasgow Celtic. It was from the exposure with Dundee FC which found me on the phone in the middle of the night in Scotland speaking with then Head Coach of the Socceroos Frank Farina asking me if I would come to Japan to play in the AFC/OFC Challenge Cup final against the 2002 World Cup Team of Japan. This game stands alone as the proudest moment in my soccer career as this is what I dreamed of as a young Eastern Suburbs junior soccer player and it had finally arrived after a lot of hard work and sacrifice. Singing Advanced Australia Fair that night had never been so purposeful for me as a player representing his country proudly even though it ended in defeat at the hands of a very strong Japanese team.
After a nine year career in Europe I returned to Australia to play for Perth Glory in the Hyundai A League. Next stop and the last stop was home to play for my home town club Sydney FC also of the Hyundai A League, some might say that my career has gone full circle and this is me back to the start where it all began with Sydney City some Twenty Six years ago at Queens Park.
Goals
Through the Mark Robertson Skilled Soccer Coaching Academy, a career is now about to start in coaching and I look forward to passing on many great experiences and the knowledge on how to become a successful professional soccer player to the kids who attend my Soccer Coaching Academy.
It is important for children to gain a broad understanding of Soccer skills, technique and teamwork. At the Mark Robertson Skilled Soccer Coaching Academy we aim to provide all children with the opportunity to fulfill the same dreams as I did.
Regards
Mark Robertson
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