Jul 30th, 2019

Jul 30th, 2019

One of the A-League's biggest international stars has delivered a warning for Australian football, arguing that clubs need to do more to support young talent in the country or risk facing some dark times ahead for the national team.

Sydney FC's Milos Ninkovic said unless A-League clubs give a greater platform for upcoming players, the Socceroos will continue to suffer on the world stage.

"If you look at all A-League teams, they don’t really give a chance to enough young players which is really bad," Ninkovic said at Sydney FC's launch of their new Under Armour kit for the 2019-20 season.

"I know some clubs need foreigners but in Australia there are a lot of really good, young players.

"When I played in the Ukraine, if they had a young Ukrainian player, even if he wasn’t so good they would give him every game. I really think every club in the A-League needs to give more chances to young players because otherwise the Australian national team will have a big problem on their hands."

Sydney FC player Milos Ninkovic at the 2019/20 new Under Armour kit launch. (AAP)

The attacking maestro has won five trophies in four years with Sydney FC (two A-League Championships, two A-League Premierships and an FFA Cup) and has seen first-hand how the Socceroos have evolved, having played against Australia in the Serbian national team at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

"We beat Germany for the first time in 37 years there and then we played Australia [and lost]. We should have won. We played very well in the first half," a smiling Ninkovic recalled from that World Cup.

"But if you look at the Socceroos from 2010 and then from 2006 and then to now, it’s very different. I just want to be realistic and say there’s a big difference, and that’s why clubs need to give more chances to young players, otherwise it’s going to be very tough.

"I’m a foreigner, but now I’m an Aussie, and that’s the biggest problem in Australian football."

Serbia's Milos Ninkovic evades Australia's Jason Culina during the 2010 World Cup group D match. (AAP)

Ninkovic's interest on the subject doesn't just come from his international experience, his time at football giants Dynamo Kiev and Red Star Belgrade, or from his extremely successful stint in Sydney witnessing many young A-league players struggle with the leap to international football.

Speaking to Wide World of Sports on the same week he received his Australian permanent residency, Ninkovic proudly declared he now considers Sydney home, and with his son Novak born here too, he is passionate about the issue he believes will have a huge effect on the next generation of Socceroos talent.

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"Me and my family we love Australia and we will probably stay here after my career. That means if Novak decides to play soccer, maybe he will play for the Socceroos, we will see," Ninkovic, the 2016-17 Johnny Warren Medallist, said.

"But young players, they go overseas too early.

"Two years ago when [Daniel] Arzani still played for Melbourne City they asked me what I thought if it’s better for him to go overseas or stay here, and I said I think he is still young, he should stay a few more years here in the A-League and then go to Europe.

"I grew up in Serbia and when I was 19 I signed a contract with Dynamo Kiev, a huge club. It was so hard for me because I was still a kid, and you go away from your family. You can’t be focused just on football on the pitch like that.

"Here it’s worse because between Ukraine and Serbia it’s maybe two hours on the plane but Australia and Europe are far away.

"Clubs need to be patient. They can’t expect a young player to score two goals, get two assists and be the best player on the pitch. There are only two or three 19-year-old players in the world that are consistently the best player on the pitch, like [France star Kylian] Mbappe and maybe one or two more."

It's not lip service from Ninkovic either.

He's been proud to mentor a handful of younger players that have come through the ranks at Sydney FC, with Luke Ivanovic the latest to light up the pitch for the Sky Blues. The 19-year-old has been a standout in Sydney FC's pre-season fixtures, scoring four goals in two matches and is expected to be a breakout story this season in the A-League.

But despite their shared heritage, Ninkovic said there were some hurdles to mentoring the youngster.

"Last year my English was not so good then and he doesn’t speak Serbian so we had a communication problem, but this year it’s much better. And you can see that the on-field communication is getting better," he said.

"He’s a very nice guy and an unbelievable player. He is still young and he needs to work hard every day. I’ve told him that many times if he wants to have a good, long career. That’s the only way he can become a great player."

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Although he is hoping the A-League makes more of an effort to promote young footballers, Ninkovic is upbeat on the future of the sport in Australia.

"In 5-10 years time I really think soccer will be the number one sport in Australia, because if you look at all the kids, they’re all playing and watching soccer," he said

"To be honest, from the first year I came here to now, it’s much better. You have so many good players in every team in the A-League and it’s harder to win each week."

This season Ninkovic has big goals for the club along with developing the next crop of youth stars, setting his sights on a treble for the club - the A-League Championship, A-League Premiership and the FFA Cup.

"This year I think we can win all three trophies because a few years ago we broke all the records, we won two trophies and lost in the FFA Cup final, but now I think it’s a season where we can finally win all three," he said.

A pre-season friendly against French mega-club Paris Saint-Germain in China Tuesday evening at 10pm (AEST) where they will debut their new Under Armour kit, should be a good test for the Sydney side.

With international football stars like Mbappe, Julian Draxler, Edinson Cavani and Neymar at PSG, Sydney FC certainly have their work cut out for them, especially as illness struck much of the squad upon their arrival in China. But Ninkovic is up for a battle.

"I’ve played a couple of times against them and I know what we can expect. This PSG team is a bit better than back then, but it’s exciting to play against them," Ninkovic said.

"To me PSG is a top-three club in the world. They have some unbelievable players. I’m really looking forward to the match."