Burns Burning Up Adelaide
Extract from ABSW
Tue 10/10/06
By Mark Stavroulakis
From the lonely outskirts of Blayney, situated in the central-west of NSW near Bathurst and Orange to the city of churches, namely Adelaide, 18-year-old striker sensation Nathan burns has certainly caught the attention of many in this season’s A-League.
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Many fans will remember Burns as the player that scored the equalising goal for Adelaide in it’s 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Sydney FC during round 6, which nevertheless will be a goal the youngster will never forget.
“I was certainly on a high for at least two minutes before they scored again but it’s something that I will never forget.”
“It was a goal I will always remember as that was my first ever strike in the A-League.”
The Young Socceroo won possession in his own half, gave a little one two to Greg Owens before linking up with Carl Veart who produced a quality give and go to a dashing Burns who dissected the Sydney defence and clinically put the ball past keeper Clint Bolton.
It was a goal of high class from Burns who will no doubt score many in his career at the club.
Burns then made the headlines again after scoring his second in as many weeks against the Central Coast Mariners with a delicate finish beyond Danny Vukovic.
Burns has quickly adapted to the fast pace of the A-League and admits that the quality has been fantastic.
“You can easily say that the standard of football this year has been better than last. I know that I wasn’t involved last season but the fact that so many quality players have come from overseas and also some good former Socceroos and rising stars that have been signed have bettered the competition.”
The former NSWIS graduate credited the Socceroos’ success in Germany as a telling point in the standard of the A-League this year.
“They has a huge impact on the promotion and marketing of the league no doubt. Thanks to their showing, football has been seen as one of the most talked about sports in Australia and the signs are strong that it could only get better.”
Currently on a two-year deal with the Reds, Nathan has settled nicely in the quiet city of Adelaide.
“It’s not a bad city at all. I’ve been used to Sydney but being born in the country over in Blayney, Adelaides a mix between the two……….
Speaking about the AIS, Burns spent a solid six months there before being spotted by Kosmina at Adelaide.
“The fact that we trained everyday, ate the right foods and we were put in a professional program really made the AIS one of the best things I have done to date. Both Rocks (Steve O’Connor) and Reggie (Ray Junna) were great and taught me many things in my six months there.”
The AIS wasn’t the only thing that credited to Burns development.
His former high school in Westfields Sports which is situated in Sydney’s West was to be Nathan’s major school of learning.
“I love Westfields”
“It played a major role in my development as a footballer and has certainly helped me out in my career thus far.”
“It’s a great school and has a great coach in Trevor Morgan who taught me so much.”
With his A-League career up and running with the Reds, Burn’s international career has also taken a turn for the better. After representing Australia in the Under 17 World Cup in Peru last year, Burns has fixed his sights on the up and coming U20 World Cup qualifiers in India and also the Asian Cup.
“We’re off to India in two weeks for the qualifiers where we hope to do our best in getting through to the World Cup which will be held in Canada.”
With his mind set on becoming one of the A-League’s up and coming players, Burns admits his ultimate dream is to play abroad in the English Premier League or Spanish Primera Liga..
“I want to be one of the dominate players in the A-League before I can think of going overseas so playing as good as I can with Adelaide is my main focus at the moment.”
Posted Wednesday 11th October 2006
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