Aytek Genc to continue the new era at Sydney Olympic

Sydney Olympic appointed Aytek Genc to continue the great work done by Milan Blagojevic in 2008.
Blagojevic himself was Aytek’s assistant at Blacktown where they won the NSW Premier League Premiership and the State Cup in 2006 and the Premiership and Championship in 2007.
Aytek Genc was born on 3 February 1966.  He made his NSL debut with Parramatta Melita Eagles in the 1989/90 season (the season where Olympic won it’s first National Championship).  Between 1994 and 1998 he played for Malaysian side Johor and Sydney United in the NSL.  Genc also earned three appearances for the Australian team.  He was also part of the legendary 1996/97 Sydney United side.   In 1999 he returned to Sydney where he finished his playing career with United until retiring in 2002.
Genc comes to Sydney Olympic with a big advantage over other new coaches who take on new squads.  He is very familiar with many of the players whom he had coached at Blacktown.
“That was important. I knew a lot of the boys already at the club. It did make it easy because I know their mentality, I know what i can do to get the best out of them. It’s also good that we’ve got players who are the heart and soul of the club like Peter Zorbas, Anthony Doumanis, Manny Giannaros and Sam Emmanouil, and we were able to bring all the new boys to make it a good side”, Genc explained.
Sydney Olympic’s major off-season signing coup was Tolgay Ozbey.  The ‘sharp shooter’ and former Olympic youth player bagged 15 goals in the warm up matches prior to this season.  He was an integral part of Blacktown’s success and Genc clearly knows how important Ozbey will be to Olympic in 2009.
“Tolgay was a key signing for us. A lot of goals last year were coming from various players but there was nobody there who was a fifteen to twenty goals-a-season man. Ozbey has been fantastic for us in pre season.  He’s scored a lot of goals and hopefully he’ll continue that through the league. Tolgay’s one of those guys who if he gets on a bit of a run he misses more than he scores – I’m saying it in a nice way because I rate him so highly.  If he scored fifty percent of his chances he’d score thirty or even more.  If we can get fifteen to twenty out of him that would help us out big time. We’ve got plenty of strikepower in the team”. 
“The guy’s got a cracking shot on him. At the moment he blasts a lot.  If he brought a bit of subtelty to his game he could be anything. He is a wonderful player. Everytime he gets the ball you know something is going to happen”, Genc excitedly remarked.

So far Sydney Olympic has won all it’s pre-season trial games in Sydney, including impressive wins against Premier League outfits Sydney Tigers and Penrith Nepean United.  The club also participated in a tournament in Brisbane and were runners-up to Heidelberg United from Melbourne.  Genc has had time to try younger players and allow the first graders to begin creating what we hope will be a winning side.  That said, the new Olympic mentor acknowledges that things have not been ideal.
“Our preparation has been a bit chequered. We’ve had guys just come in now, such as Emmanuel Zunino who was overseas and only joined us a couple of weeks ago, Jordan Simpson and Adam Biddle have just joined us, Zorbas is looking good after his knee reconstruction and I’m really happy for him – he’s been outstanding.  Bobby Dragas has come off a long lay off and so too has Peter McPherson. It wasn’t the best pre-season we could have but we have done enough.  The key for us is that if we are thereabouts after round five then we will be a very dangerous team.  I believe that we are the best footballing team in the league”.
There’s no doubt that Sydney Olympic faces a new season with a challenge ahead of it..  Many other sides have gone through interesting changes and others are expected to have better 2009’s than they did 2008’s.  Genc believes that looking for a winner will not be easy:
“It’s going to be a very even competition.  It won’t be clear cut. I don’t think there will be a team that will race ahead. We’ve got to watch out for a couple of x factors – teams like Bonnyrigg and Sydney Tigers who have recruited well, Bankstown and Marconi will recover well, Manly and Sutherland have stability. There’s a lot of clubs that have been pretty cagey – we don’t hear too much with what is going on. We aren’t concerned too much about anyone else.  If we compete well and do the things that champion teams need to do like grafting wins when we have to. then I’m confident we will do well.”
2008 turned out to be a year where Sydney Olympic was a victim of it’s own success.  Towards the end of the season at the big show, Olympic suffered from suspensions and injuries following a gruelling playing schedule of mid-week cup games and postponed league games.   The toll for the club was paid at the final of the Tiger Turf Cup and the subsequent league semi finals.  Playing depth is something that Genc is very aware of
“I’m conscious that we need a squad with depth so we can deal with injuries and suspensions throughout the season.  We need to take this competition a game at a time.  I’ll let the squad mould itself and I’m a big believer in having plenty of competition for places as possible.  This obviously keeps players on their toes.  The club has been fantastic in supporting the players that I’ve brought here. I can’t praise the board of directors high enough for what they’ve done so far.  I think they see the vision of where we can go. Our main focus is the minor premiership and secure a semi final spot initially.  I’m confident that our boys will bond and develop a special character as a team.
In the lead up to the start of the new season Genc has not been shy in trying out younger players in first grade hit-outs.
“I’ve used a lot of young boys to see where they’re at. It’s a good experience for them and they can understand what is needed to play at this level.  There are a few boys I like, such as Jerry Kalouris who is a strong boy with a good character and David Smith who has got a lot of game time.  A lot of boys in the youth team have still have got a way to go for me before they can play at this level.
Genc’s tenure at Olympic has not been finalised as yet.  Both Genc and the club are happy to see how things work out in 2009.
“I’d love to stay at the club for as long as I can. It’s a great club with plenty of history.  We’ve all set ourselves targets and the club wants success. Sydney Olympic is different to Blacktown. Olympic is more passionate.  There is more happening.  You get a lot of media attention and you’ve got to do things a bit differently here which is a good experience for me. There’s usually a buzz around the place as well”, Genc added. 
Olympic opens the 2009 season with a home game against West Sydney Berries.  Genc refuses to believe that it will be a walk in the park for his side.
“Our first game against the Berries is going to be tough.  The first game is important because it’s all about a result.  We’ve got to take the game to them and make a difference”, Genc stated.
Sydney Olympic welcomes Aytek Genc to the club and wishes nothing but success in 2009.  It will be a season full of excitement and promises to be even better than 2008.
-By Peter Kambounias
Source www.sydneyolympicfc.com