Some parents go to extraordinary lengths to support their children’s footballing ambitions. James Troisi's father went a step further. "Basically my dad opened up an academy," reflects the Melbourne Victory midfielder. "And from there, we toured Europe a few times – played the likes of your Chelseas, went to Holland and played Ajax – and that's when I got selected by Newcastle. I left when I was 15 and off I went really."

Troisi Jr laughs that his dad was "an old-school defender", nothing like the son he produced: a flashy, goal-scoring midfielder, who just happens to be the most damaging player in Australian right now. Thirteen games into the season, he has scored seven goals and set up a couple of others. Along with Mitch Nichols and substitute Gui Finkler, he is part of a strikerless 4-2-2-2 set-up which is trying to show the A-League how a pair of 10s can trump a No9.

"It’s something I'd never really heard of to be honest [playing without a No9]. But it is working, and for me it's fantastic. I've always wanted to play more central, that's just always suited me best, because I can run in behind, I can come in deep and get the ball and run at players as well.”

There have been many quirks to Troisi's career. He's an Australian who thrived in Turkey's Süper Lig, for example. "Something just clicked," he says of a four-year stint at Genclerbirligi and Kayserispor, which saw him notch up close to 100 games. In his final season, he was among the league's leading scorers, netting 10 times from behind the striker, before winning a contract to Serie A with Juventus and Atalanta. "It's a co-ownership. Yeah, it is a little bit weird, but it's very common in Italy. Nearly every player is like that."

Yet he was barely in the thinking of then-Socceroos coach Holger Osieck, who used Troisi sparingly, at best. "I did really well in Turkey, and had a great season, but he never seemed to pick me which was a little bit disappointing as a player. But that’s how football is I guess. If the manager doesn't like you, then you're not going to get picked."

He still struggles to put his finger on why Osieck so rarely called on his talents – "I never had a problem with him, or an argument with him or anything. Yeah, I don't understand it" – but he's hoping for more of a look-in under the new national coach, Ange Postecoglou. After all, it was Postecoglou who convinced Troisi to come to Melbourne Victory on a one-year loan. "He's the main reason I'm here, and obviously I know he likes me."

Postecoglou’s ascension just weeks into Troisi’s one-year loan to Victory left the midfielder noticeably disappointed, despite what it may mean for his prospects with the Socceroos. "It's hard to replace a coach like that, because obviously he's very good and he's very highly rated. He's now the national team coach, that says it all.

“But in terms of the style, and the formation, and the way we are training, not much has changed. Kevin Muscat was with Ange from day one at Melbourne Victory, and he believes in that system and that's the way we are doing it at the moment. It's working quite well.”

The new Victory coach also has his players playing for him, says Troisi, and having seen both Melbourne teams in training recently, it’s hard to disagree. At Heart, there were sniping between players and coaches. At Victory, it was disciplined, sharp and competitive, but also friendly and upbeat. "Yeah, and that's a massive thing in football, if players want to play for their coach.”

Still, the Victory have only beaten one other top six outfit this season, and that came in late October against Brisbane, the present league leaders who totally outclassed their hosts in the return fixture at the weekend. “We've had a few ups and downs and a few disappointing results, but when we are at our best it's going to be very hard for anyone to beat us."

He says he is yet to play to his full potential either this season, no matter what the goal scoring charts say. "Obviously I haven't hit my full form yet [after barely getting a run last season in Italy], but my fitness is pretty good now, and it's not taking me long to recover after games.”

Fitness and form will, of course, be in his favour when Postecoglou comes to selecting his squad for Brazil, and given the coach has less than a handful of games to implement any changes to the team's style, Troisi's knowledge of the Postecoglou system will also be an advantage. “He's only got three or four games before the World Cup, so it is going to be a little difficult and obviously the group we've got is going to be very tough. But I think we do have the right players to give it a fair go. It’s going to interesting though."

The possibility of a trip to Brazil aside, Troisi has a return to Italy later this year to look forward to. “I’ve still got two years left over there. They are keeping an eye on me and the first few weeks, they were sending me texts and saying well done and keep it up. But you never know what's going to happen with football, so I take every week as it comes and just focus and then we'll see what happens after that." Given all that’s happened so far, his next chapter is bound to be at least a little unconventional.