TWG: You've had the opportunity to take part in several training sessions now with the 'Tim Cahills' and 'Mile Jedinaks' and the rest of the established Socceroos in Dubai. How has that been for you?
DE SILVA: Oh, it's been unbelievable. Since I was a kid I've always watched those players and the Socceroos as a team and now to be a part of the squad and playing with some of the greats, like Tim and Mile, it's fantastic.
The younger players usually say that when they do start training with players like that, they not only learn from watching them but those players are always forthcoming with advice. Is that how it's been already for you?
Yes, exactly like that. Obviously watching them you pick up certain bits of professionalism from them and stuff like that. They've played at the highest level, so being able to watch what they do at training and off the field as well is such a great thing for me and will definitely benefit me in my career. They've talked to me and they're helping me out with the best approach to training and games and I'm very appreciative of that. I'm listening to what they say because it's going to help me become a better footballer.
So it's about learning ways of doing things better and also how to best fit into the team?
Yes, again, that's exactly what is happening. They're helping me out with everything I do. I have a little bit of a feel for it from playing for the Young Socceroos - obviously we try to mimic what the Socceroos do with our preparation there - but coming in here it's a different level and they're helping me adjust.
Has coach Ange Postecoglou said much to you one-on-one at this stage, or is he still letting you settle in?
He hasn't said a lot so far. I'm just happy that he picked me in the squad and I'm just going out there and working hard for him. Hopefully, I can show what I've got on the training pitch and it will pay off, but at the moment I'm just thrilled to be in the squad and meet all the lads and be a part of it.
When do you go to Roma to join up with the Serie A club and how are you feeling with it getting so close now? At just 18 years old you must be over the moon about all of that.
Yeah, definitely. I talked to a lot of clubs and that was the one I wanted to go to, so I'm really looking forward to getting over there and starting my career in Italy. I go there in about three weeks, so it's getting really close now - should be good!
You've been playing in the A-League since you were 15, so you've had to grow up in a hurry. You must look to the future and think that if you do everything right, then with your ability on top of that you've got potentially 10 or 15 years of a great football career ahead of you.
Yeah, obviously that would be perfect - another 10-to-15 years would be fantastic. I hope that's what I do. Like you said, I started at a very young age and I've always looked at that as a positive. This is the profession I've chosen and I love doing it, so I'm certainly not complaining about that. If I can play for that much longer and have a really successful career it will be a dream come true for me, because there's nothing better than playing football as far as I'm concerned. It's always been a passion of mine and I'll continue to do it for as long as I can.
Do you remember clearly that debut for Perth Glory as a 15 year-old, or is it a bit of a blur?
I do remember it clearly because it was a pretty fantastic moment in my life, being one of the youngest players in the A-League. It was against Sydney FC and to make my debut against one of the greatest players in the game, Alessandro Del Piero, was incredible for me. Hopefully, there will be more moments like that to come.
Did you watch the UEFA Champions League final last weekend?
I watched a bit of it, but it was very early where I was and I was thinking about the training session I had the next morning. It was a fantastic game, what I saw of it.
Where you're going, if it all works out how you would like, the opportunity to play in the Champions League can open up for you.
Yeah, definitely. Roma is in the Champions League next year after finishing second in the Serie A, so hopefully I'll be lucky enough to get the opportunity to play against some of those great teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid, and Juventus is in the Serie A anyway. Playing in the Champions League, one of the biggest competitions in the world, it would be fantastic if I got the opportunity to be a part of that somewhere down the track.
Obviously Roma has a very strong squad, with a lot of quality depth, but do you go there believing you can play first-team football on a regular basis next season and genuinely aim at that?
Yeah, I think that's what any player in my position would do. You don't want to go there to play in the reserves or whatever, you want to play in the first team, so I'm just going to go over there with a positive attitude, work really hard at training and try to be the best player that I can be and hopefully that will be enough for me to get into the team. Once you get into the team, if you play well and continue to have a good attitude then you can get those opportunities. I'm just looking forward to playing with some of the greatest footballers in the world.
Is that the attitude you've had for many years now, that if you do the hard work on top of your natural ability then everything is on the table?
Yeah, that's all you can do as a footballer, have the most positive attitude possible and every time you step out on the field try to work harder than anybody else. That's what has gotten me through all these years as a footballer and allowed me to make the teams that I've made and that's what I'm going to continue to do. If I keep that attitude, then hopefully it will keep working for me.
How do you see yourself fitting into the Socceroo team in the long-term and do you see yourself playing in next week's opening World Cup qualifier against Kyrgyzstan?
I'm still very young and this is my first camp, so I'm just happy to be here. If I get an opportunity to play next week, that will be fantastic. It would mean I'd debuted at a very young age and to play with the Socceroos in an actual match would be a fantastic moment in my life and a great opportunity. But if I'm not the team next week I'm still very young and hopefully I've got a lot more camps to come and a lot more matches to play, so we'll just see how I go.
You must see your style of football as suitable under Ange, because, for a start, he has picked you in the squad and you've seen how his teams play and there is room for attacking midfielders as a priority.
Yeah, the way his teams play is with a very positive mindset. He likes to always go forward and I love to play like that. The way the Socceroos are playing is changing a lot. Previously, it was a bit more defensive-minded, but now we have this belief that we can go out there and beat teams and win games. That's exactly what we'll do and hopefully there will be room for me in that squad to become an attacking midfielder in the team. But I'm still very young and I've got a lot to learn, so I'll just keep working hard.
