Denis Genreau is ready to receive two pep talks before Melbourne Victory get their Isuzu UTE A-League Finals Series underway this weekend.
The Boys in Blue face long-time foes Sydney FC in an Elimination Final on Saturday, May 2, kick-off 7.40pm AEST, at AAMI Park.
And in the rooms, the players’ ears will likely be glazed with Arthur Diles’ infamous ‘Kill or be killed’ battle cry as the countdown to the 71st Big Blue ramps up.
But for Victory’s 26-year-old midfielder, a different, yet no less powerful message, is set to come a lot closer to home.
Speaking to MelbourneVictory.com.au, Genreau, a father of two young children, talked about an additional source of motivation – pre-match words of encouragement from his son.
“For me, it’s massive to have them on the field at the end of the games, celebrating, jumping with the fans.
“I told my boy the other day, ‘You can only come on the field if we win.’ So he’s always saying, ‘Try your best to win.’ So it’s an extra motivation. He loves to come on the field, and he loves all the boys; they love him also – he’s a joy.”
Genreau, despite spending the previous four years plying his trade in Europe between Toulouse and Deportivo La Coruna, is a household name in the Australian game, boasting half a dozen full international caps.
He started his career at Melbourne City, later joining a Macarthur FC outfit that finished sixth in 2021, but has yet to play in a Finals series.
“I think the Finals is reward for a good season. Personally, I qualified with Macarthur, but I was away with the Socceroos for the Finals Series, so I missed out. It’s super exciting to come to this point of the season where it’s one game.
“It’s like a completely different competition that starts. Feels like one part is over, and it’s starting a new one. We don’t have any time to prepare. It’s just straight into it and all on one game. I feel as ready as ever.”
Victory have lost just twice since the start of February, and more recently took points off Premiers Newcastle Jets and Auckland FC, who looked set for second spot until a Round 26 reshuffle.
Then Diles’ men won at Western Sydney Wanderers, a result which sealed the Home Elimination Final, and for all their high-level performances this term, Genreau believes there is plenty that can be taken from grinding out a win when it matters most.
“I think that’s what we’ve lacked this season. In some games, we played really, really well and haven’t won, and there hasn’t really been a game where we’ve played badly and still won. So I think that coming into the Finals, to be able to know that even if we’re not playing at our best, that we can still win, is so important.”
Arguably, Victory’s most eyecatching display came in 2025/26’s second Big Blue, swatting Sydney aside 4-0, on an occasion when they also had three goals disallowed.
But with heaps of football played since, and the Sky Blues now managed by Patrick Kisnorbo, a lot of different elements will be mixing in the AAMI Park cauldron.
Accordingly, Genreau knows that this one-off match takes on a different form from the three regular-season meetings, but that the influence of Victory’s supporters remains a constant.
“You can play bad and win, play good and win. So that needs to be the mentality, just win at all costs. The previous games were all battles regardless of the scoreline.
“Every time we score, we hear the roar of the crowd. We hear them even when we get up to the goal or win corners, throw-ins, tackles, the crowd roars. We can really feel them behind us for every action, and we know that in these games, every action counts, so we’re gonna need that support after every action.”
