Under-appreciated Patterson-Sewell eyes A-League

After nearly eight years overseas, the A-League could be beckoning for Portugal-based Australian goalkeeper Caleb Patterson-Sewell as he seeks a fresh start to kick-start his career.

Portugal-based goalkeeper Caleb Patterson-Sewell is eager to sample life in the A-League (Picture Supplied)

Portugal-based goalkeeper Caleb Patterson-Sewell is eager to sample life in the A-League (Picture Supplied)

Despite Gil Vicente suffering back-to-back five-goal hammerings and being tethered to the bottom of the Primeira Liga table, Patterson-Sewell – who was born in Tennessee, USA, but raised in Queensland – believes he will not see any game time under the regime of coach Jose Mota.

And while clubs in France, Germany, Poland and Portugal have expressed an interest, the gloveman is eying a potential January transfer window move back to his roots.

With his contract up at the end of the season, Patterson-Sewell has made just one first team appearance for the team that remains winless on six points from its 15 games this season.

There was strong interest in the the 27 year-old from Melbourne Victory in the middle of last year but the timing didn’t probe to be right.

Now, though, a new beginning is high on his agenda after previous stints in MLS with New York Red Bulls and having played for three clubs in Portugal.

"I am keeping my options open but the A-League would really interest me ... as everybody knows now football in Australia is on the map," Patterson-Sewell said.

"It's come a long way from my time playing in the Brisbane Premier League with Toowoomba Raiders nine years ago and it's a league, which is attracting a lot of quality players.

"I came here to Gil Vcente after being told I would get more game time than I have and that's been disappointing and of course frustrating.

"Jose Mota, who used to be in charge during my time at Atletico CP, which was my first club in Portugal, is here now and I was never his preferred option back then and I am not now.

"It's an unfortunate situation for me and really I just want to get first team football – and if that could be in the A-League that would be great.

"You only get anywhere my playing first team games – nobody remembers the fella on the bench.

"I could easily have stayed with the Red Bulls (back in 2009) and picked up money by sitting on the sideline but that has never been the way I like to approach things."

Known for his positional sense and sweeper-keeper abilities, Patterson-Sewell went to Cavendish Road State High school with fringe Socceroos attacker Dario Vidosic in Brisbane and he was coached by Rado Vidosic.

Patterson-Sewell attended the Queensland Academy of Sport and was a junior with Queensland Lions.

Though he has been largely off the radar as far as most Australians are concerned, Socceroos goalkeeping coach Tony Franken has been keeping tabs.

"He came to watch me play for my former club Vitoria Setubal in Portugal about 18 months back and gave me a lot of good feedback," Patterson-Sewell said.

"I remember we lost to Benfica with 10 men that day and I had plenty to do.

"The message was that I needed to play more games to have a shot with the national team and he keeps in touch with text messages from time to time.

"I would above to one day be involved with the Socceroos but that's obviously a long way off right now and there’s a lot of work to do."


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3 min read
Published 11 January 2015 2:18am
Updated 11 January 2015 1:06pm
By David Lewis
Source: SBS

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