By JARROD POTTER
BLAZING his own trail away from the family sporting passion is starting to pay off for Sanih Zijai.
The 14-year-old from Dandenong comes from rich football stock, making his switch from Australian rules football to soccer a few years back all the more difficult.
His father Sermi, a star footballer himself, brought his boys up to love the Australian code which made things even tougher for his move.
Zijai has cousins playing VFL and TAC Cup and in local leagues around Victoria.
But despite the family pull which wanted the crafty midfielder to stick with footy, the former Endeavour Hills footballer knew the oval ball just wasn’t his future.
That switch took him from the Dandenong District Junior Football League (now South East Juniors) to Dandenong Thunder’s juniors … and he hasn’t looked back.
“I started playing footy when I was seven and I changed when I was 11 and played my first game of soccer when I was 12,” Zijai said.
“I didn’t like footy but I had a few mates that made me change to soccer and I’m liking it a lot better.”
He made the switch across to the round ball code and hasn’t looked back as his soccer star has started to rise – and he’s made the Victorian National Training Centre (NTC) under-16 side for 2016.
The wily striker – who believes his time in football helped develop his aggression and intensity at the contest – has been in such great form for the Thunder that he tried his hand at the NTC trials and was thrilled to get the literal call-up.
“I play for the under-16s NTC and went to a few trials and then they called me up and said ‘you’ve made the team’ so it was pretty good,” Zijai said.
“I was happy, that’s for sure.”
Zijai’s call up was made all the more likely after an extraordinary 2015 where he booted 38 goals from 26 games in the Thunder’s under-14 NPL East campaign.
The NTC program aims to prepare identified Victorian players for the State Institute Challenge and possible selection in Australian National programs such as the Australian Institute of Sport and Qantas Joeys.
He hopes to cap off 2016 with a strong season at the Dandenong Thunder and parlay that form into the NTC side’s final squad, which will head to the national tournament later this year.
But Zijai lets his soccer do the talking and is happy to let the season pan out and eventually look towards the likes of NPL sides Melbourne Victory or Melbourne City – proven hunting grounds for up-and-coming junior Victorian talent.
“Go with the flow – if I wanted to do something I probably want to be in the end of the year NTC to make the last 18,” Zijai said.
“That’s in the future, of course. I’ve been looking at that (NPL sides), but I just want to be ready for the season and, hopefully, have a good year.”
Zijai’s start to NPL 2016 is already flying along as he’s drilled 10 goals in four games for Thunder, including a five-goal haul against Richmond on 6 April.
