This Hawk is Flying

Wassim Hijazi has consistently been finding the net for Stanmore Hawks, and can often be seen racing away in passionate delight towards a group of family and friends who share in his delight in piercing the opposition goal.
I thought it may be time to get a little closer to Hijazi, and find out what makes him tick, who his role models are, and the secret behind his goal scoring feats.

FULL NAME: Wassim Hijazi
DATE/PLACE OF BIRTH: 31-July-1984 (25) /  Born Sydney, Australia
PREVIOUS CLUBS (including junior clubs): junior clubs: St.George and Stanmore Hawks. senior clubs: Canterbury Marrickville Berries, Sydney Olympic (NYL), Wollongong United
PREFERRED POSITION: Striker
BEST GOAL EVER SCORED: Against Balmain last year, it was a bomb from 35 metres out at Lambert Park, and my whole family and friends were there to see it which made it even better.
(I happened to be at that match on reporting duty, and saw the goal this way?..
?It was yet another stray pass that was this time snapped up by Hijazi, and he hit a missile from fully 35 yards that threatened to take the net off the posts as it hit the top corner.
Hijazi then raced off to celebrate with the Stanmore fans, his ecstatic team mates in hot pursuit as referee Mr Blackwood brought an end to the night?s entertainment.?)
MOST IMPORTANT GOAL SCORED: Semi final for Sydney Olympic (NYL) against Sydney United. It was special as both teams were really strong.
MOST DIFFICULT OPPONENT: The Blacktown Spartans goalkeeper, Carlos Saliadarre. The guy is brilliant and it takes a really good shot to get past him. I think he is the best keeper I have played against so far in my life.
FAVOURITE SOCCEROO PLAYER & WHY: Mark Viduka, he is my favourite all time player, and it was always a pleasure to watch him. He is humble and passionate, which are two attributes I hold very important. 
FAVOURITE OVERSEAS PLAYER & WHY: Even though he is also an Aussie,  I?ll put Tim Cahill here. I love the Aussie players in Europe and support them all, and I think right now he is achieving amazing success with Everton.
FAVOURITE OVERSEAS TEAM & WHY: Man Utd, always supported them since I was a kid, and I loved Eric Cantona especially. But to be honest, I really enjoy watching Arsenal play as well.
FUNNIEST TEAM MATE: My long lasting team mate Tony Papadopolos. We have played everywhere together and he is just a happy, funny man who helps create a fun team atmosphere wherever he goes. I think I have played with Papa for 8 years now and he is funnier each time I see him. Top player as well!
BIGGEST INFLUENCE: My family, cousins and friends come to every game and sometimes there will be 20 (truly) of them in the stands supporting me, so this really makes me proud and hungry to succeed as I want to do well for them as much as do well for myself.
But the person who has had the biggest influence and always believed in me no matter what is my brother Tarek, he is my hero.
THE SECRET BEHIND YOUR CONSISTENCY IN GOAL SCORING: Just staying hungry and patient. I always tell myself the goals will come as long as you want it more than the opponent and are patient. I also like to shoot from anywhere, as to score you must shoot!
WHY DO YOU AND ELI(SQUILLACIOTI, HIJAZI?S STRIKE PARTNER AT STANMORE) COMBINE SO WELL? We both work hard for each other and work in the best interest of the team. As a result we both score many of our teams goals. This is also because we  have a brilliant midfield of DJ, Beenie, Papa, Stuey and Joshy who all set up our goals and they truly would rather Eli or myself to score than themselves. Our midfield is very unselfish so I think this is why me and Eli have scored so many goals this year. 
MOST EMBARRASSING THING TO HAPPEN TO YOU ON A FOOTBALL FIELD: Red card last year against Schofields, I tackled the keeper and scored a goal when our team kicked the ball back to him after an injury. I really didn’t know what was happening until I was sitting down in the changing rooms after and realised that I may be at fault . I’m still not exactly sure what happened. It was a debatable incident but in hindsight I  will never do something like that again.
(I also happened to be at that match on reporting duty, and saw the incident in question this way?..
?Then on 75 minutes came the controversial incident that held up play for well over five minutes.
In possession of the ball in the Stanmore half, the Scorpions kicked the ball out of play to allow a player to receive attention.
Upon resumption of play, a long punt towards Schofields keeper, Akers, caused confusion, as both teams disagreed as to when the ball was deemed to have been ?in play?.
Stanmore striker, Hijazi, raced forward, winning a block challenge with Akers just outside his penalty area, and tapped the ball into an empty net from 10 yards to equalize for Stanmore.
Absolute mayhem ensued, with plenty of lip, accompanied by some pushing and shoving, and escalating into a melee. Mr Peddie restored order after what seemed an eternity, and Bazina of Schofields, and Stanmore?s striker, Hijazi, were sent from the field for early showers, sending the Stanmore fans, especially, into a frenzy.?)
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS IN FOOTBALL? My brother Tarek has always told me that I will be a late bloomer if I iron out some of the weaknesses from my game. If I told you my goals you would probably laugh as they are set very high, so lets just say that I still have ambitions of playing in a much higher league, and feel that I am not far away from being able to achieve this.
Having watched Wassim Hijazi a number of times over the past couple of seasons, I have observed a striker with a real instinct in front of goal, a striker who works hard in the attacking third, and a striker who is patient, and reacts clinically when an opportunity presents itself.
And I have observed a striker who gets a real kick out of scoring goals, as evidenced by his exuberant celebrations with his family and friends.
Division One defences be warned, as Wassim Hijazi is out to catapult Stanmore Hawks into semi final contention.

– Frank Speranza