By ADEM SARICAOGLU
WERRIBEE City’s long-awaited return to top flight Victorian soccer gets underway this Sunday.
The Bees will hit the road for their first National Premier Leagues encounter against the established Green Gully Cavaliers of the old Victorian Premier League.
City coach and technical director Nino Ragusa said the entire club is looking forward to its first foray into the top flight since the 1990s.
“It is an excitement, but it is a little bit of a reserved excitement,” Ragusa said of the mood around Galvin Park.
“Everyone’s been keen to hit it but at the same time I’ve just been keeping a lid on it, because the reality is in round one we go to Green Gully, who’s a vastly experienced side.
“A lot of my young boys are going to get hit with a standard and quality that they’ve never really experienced before.
“Very few of my players have ever experienced Premier League football, so they are excited but at the same time I do give them some advice in terms of reality of what’s going to hit them, and they’ve got to prepare for it.”
The Bees have added Ryan Filipovic (Melbourne Knights) and Boddy Vidanovski (Altona Magic) to their squad but will largely remain a young line-up from week to week.
Given their abundance of youth, Ragusa isn’t expecting his side to be a title contender straight away, but is hoping City can remain competitive in what will be a tough league.
“I think it’s going to be a very strong competition this year,” Ragusa said.
“There’s really no weak opponent. Heidelberg (United) and ourselves from the first division (State League One) are fairly strong, and I know Heidelberg has signed heavily.
“So on paper I can’t really see a weak side at the moment.”
Along with his usual senior coaching duties, Ragusa recently came on board as City’s interim technical director and has barely had a moment to breathe.
He said the club is still looking to fill spots in its under-13s, under-15s and under-16s teams, and has urged youngsters from across the region to get involved with the new NPL entity.
The Bees’ first home match will be against Hume City on 30 March.
