Sydney grand final loss a distant memory for Janjetovic

Sydney FC goalkeeper Vedran Janjetovic has a DVD copy of the team's grand final loss to Melbourne Victory sitting at home, but he does not intend watching it - ever.

Vedran Janjetovic Sydney FC

Vedran Janjetovic takes the ball from the back of the net after the first goal of the A-League Grand Final against Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park on 17 May, 2015 (AAP Image) Source: AAP

It is not going to change the result and now that there is a new season to prepare for, what would be the point?

"I asked for a DVD from the club after the game," Janjetovic told The World Game. "But I haven't watched it yet. I was thinking about it,  but I still haven't gone through with it. It's probably not worthwhile now.

"Yeah, I don't think about the grand final now anyway. That's gone, it's done and dusted. I haven't watched it and I probably won't, unless we were to use it for some sort of video analysis before a game. But I wouldn't watch it out of choice, no."

Janjetovic said the pain of losing an A-League decider - Sydney went down 3-0 to Victory in May - was something he found difficult to describe.

"It's never fun to lose a grand final," he said. "You work all season and have your goals set in place and we achieved literally everything we set out to do except win the grand final.

"We missed that step, so obviously the boys were all disappointed. It's not a good feeling. Everyone who's ever been in that position knows the feeling, but you can't really describe it to people. It's hard to get that emotion across.

"It's been a couple of months now. We've come back into training and had a couple of practice games. We just need to build our confidence again as a team and set ourselves some goals, just as we did last year.

"I'm pretty sure that with 'Arnie' (coach Graham Arnold) having everything under control and bringing in some new boys as well, everyone will be on top of their game and looking forward to the challenges ahead."

Janjetovic provided an insight into how a coach like Arnold tries to build from one season to the next, so that even during the period when the players are having a break from training they still regularly think about where they can improve.

"We had a debrief after the grand final," he said. "We all sat down as a team and talked about a few things - the goals we did achieve and the goals we didn't achieve, what we could have done better, that sort of thing.

"After that it was one-on-one meetings between each player and the coach. 'Arnie' gives you a rundown on the year stat-wise and maybe a little bit of video showing where you've improved and where you can improve further.

"The keys for me were that he wanted us to work more on distribution from the back, to have that style that he had at the Mariners in the last couple of years he was there.

"Just work on playing out from the back and having good structure in defence and conceding less goals as a result. Being solid on the set pieces, stuff like that.

"Last season we got a lot of what Arnie wanted us to do down-pat, but obviously nothing's ever perfect. There's always room for improvement and that's what we're working on now, in preparation for the coming season.

"Now that the trials have started, we can build some team chemistry. It'll be fun. I'm going to enjoy it and I'm sure everyone else will, too.

"The mood's been good. Everyone's enjoying training and the first couple of games. Everyone's ready to be in the spotlight again and the heat of things again and the pressure that comes with game day in the A-League. We're all looking forward to it."

Sydney's key signings from overseas are yet to arrive at the club, but according to Janjetovic the club's major signing from within the A-League - Andrew Hoole, from Newcastle Jets - is making a big impression.

"I think he's going to add another dimension to the team," Janjetovic said.

"He's very keen to do well here.

"Everyone's got their own personal goals, to reach a certain level they want to achieve, and as a team we're working on a lot of stuff ahead of the FFA Cup, so that we're ready to go in that one."

Sydney will play a FFA Cup round of 32 game against Perth club Sorrento FC at nib Stadium on Wednesday.


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4 min read
Published 1 August 2015 7:06pm
By Greg Prichard
Source: SBS

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