Growing up a Liverpool supporter, Melbourne Victory’s Andrew Nabbout never expected to be taking on some of his childhood heroes in front of more than 90,000 people at the MCG.
Growing up a Liverpool supporter, Melbourne Victory’s Andrew Nabbout never expected to be taking on some of his childhood heroes in front of more than 90,000 people at the MCG.
But that’s exactly what he’ll do this week when the English Premier League giants come to Melbourne.
Press play on the video above to hear Nabbout’s thoughts on Wednesday’s match against Liverpool and what he’s made of his pre-season so far.
“I’m nervous and excited at the same time… it’s not often a big team from Europe comes down and we’re all pumped to be playing against them,” Nabbout said.
“I started following them when I was about five or six and it’s a big thing for them to come to Melbourne. It’s a dream come true for me to play against them.”
The 20-year-old said the sell-out crowd at the MCG would be intimidating but something all players would have to put it in the back of their minds once the game started.
“It’s going to be nerve-wracking, but at the end of the day we’re going to have to forget that everyone’s there and play a strong game.”
This pre-season is Nabbout’s first full pre-season, after signing a professional contract last season following his rise-to-fame in the 2012/13 Hyundai A-League season.
Nabbout scored four goals last season and said his fitness levels were improving following his first proper pre-season campaign. He’s already netted two goals in the club’s first three pre-season encounters.
“I expected (our pre-season) to be real tough, especially under Ange (Postecoglou). His expectations are really high for us and it’s up to us to meet those expectations.
“Of course I thought it was going to be hard and it turned out to be really tough.”
