Sofia Sakalis is living the dream at Melbourne Victory – and she wants to keep it going when facing Canberra United.
The 23-year-old is flying at the start of her second season for the Club, and was on target for her first Victory goal when Perth Glory were swatted aside 3-0 at the Home of the Matildas last weekend.
Next up for Jeff Hopkins’ side, who currently sit top of the Ninja A-League, is eighth-place Canberra on Friday, December 5, kick-off 7pm AEDT.
And the attacking-midfielder, often deployed off the left-hand side, is champing at the bit for more moments to savour in Navy Blue
Speaking during her pre-match press conference, Sakalis detailed her life-long association with Melbourne and how, after playing in Western Australia between 2021 and 2024, she is thrilled to be back in Victoria, where her football inspiration stems from.
“It’s very special. Melbourne’s my home. It always has been. Football’s a bit of a rollercoaster journey, so sometimes you do have to move away from home, and that was a great experience for me.
“But Melbourne Victory was a club that I supported from a very young age. I would always come to the games and wear my jerseys. I had a Marco Rojas on my back. I remember always being a fan of the way he played. I bumped into him in the offices, so that’s a full circle moment.”
Sakalis has started all five of Victory’s league matches, completing the full 90 in three of these outings.
These stats put her on course to eclipse last term’s appearance tally before Christmas, and she revealed how conversations with the Head Coach have focused her energies in the best possible way.
“Coming off last season, I knew that I needed to get a bit of game time in the off-season and focus on the areas that I touched on with Jeff following last season.
“I think I really honed in on that, and then having a good NPL season really also helped me come in confident and fit into pre-season.”
Watch Sakalis’ full press conference below.
