Brendan Gan stepping it up

Ever heard the name Brendan Gan?
If so, then you?re one step ahead. If not, you?ve heard it now and you?ll definitely be hearing it again.
The 20-year-old from Sydney?s Sutherland Shire has the ability to become one of the biggest names in Australian football.
?Superman Gan? is the name his Sutherland Sharks teammates call him.
He doesn?t like to hear or believe it, but in truth, they?re not far off the mark.
?The name came from the local newspaper when I scored a goal against West Sydney Berries and my celebration was with my arms out like Superman sort of thing,? Gan laughs.
?I didn?t even notice I was doing it. I was just running as you do when you celebrate and they took a photo of it and blew it up.?
?At first it was trivial and funny, I laughed and everyone had a joke about it but then it came a time where you just get over the hype and people saying that sort of thing.?
As he sat snugly on his couch calmly chatting away, the 20-year-old looked strangely comfortable for his first real interview. His cool sense of character along with his lean physique harmonized his sky blue t-shirt and dark denim jeans as if he were weaving through the opposition?s defence. His freshly-cut, styled black hair stood firm as a unique aura surrounded his beaming white smile, his natural charisma evident. Transfer that charisma onto the football field and you?ll see nothing different either.
The magnitude of talent this bloke oozes is something of a revelation. Gan has played representative football with Sutherland, Australia?s biggest junior association, for eight years touring overseas to countries like China and South America, gaining NSW selection along the way. However, this season was his first in the top grade.
Not only does Gan play football, but the University Business Student has also swum at an elite level alongside Ian Thorpe. His mother sent him off to swimming lessons at a young age where he eventually worked his way up to the squad one below that of the great ?Thorpedo?, a name that any athlete worth their salt would be familiar with.
Gan, by all accounts, is just as good at Badminton. Adding to his superb list of achievements, he has played the English-originated sport for NSW and competed in a national tournament held in Tasmania along the way. Who would have thought? He has also achieved his level 6 piano certificate which puts him at a level just beneath that required to become a qualified piano teacher. Yes, that?s right. Superman himself is capable of teaching you how to twiddle your fingers around the ivory keys of a piano.
However, just eight months ago, Gan wasn?t feeling so super.
It was the night before his first university exam in November last year.
?I had cramps in my feet, I had a splitting headache and I basically couldn?t talk,? he said.
Fact is, Gan couldn?t walk either.
?It was the worst feeling because it was about 2 o?clock in the morning and my parent?s room is upstairs,? he recalled.
?I had to crawl on my arms and pull myself along the ground to get to them because I couldn?t call out.?
?It wasn?t good, but luckily my dogs barked so that woke my parents up.?
An hour later, Gan was taken to Sutherland hospital. The pain was excruciating and it was getting all too much. Toes were cramping, sweat was dripping and his body weighed a tonne.
Gan was immediately placed on a drip; morphine slowly being pumped around his deteriorated and weakened body as he lay in the emergency ward at the hospital. At the time, doctors didn?t realise he was suffering from meningococcal meningitis – a serious disease caused by bacteria invading the body, which can then cause inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.
Put simply- it could have been fatal, but doctors remained optimistic.
?I sort of got better and the doctors sent me home, only to find out a week later that I had meningococcal and I was chronically ill.?
?I then had about 12 blood samples taken, plenty of ultra sounds on my liver and kidneys that were enlarged and I was put on antibiotics. All I could do was lie around for a month or so.?
Even if you?re suffering from a potentially fatal disease, things rarely happen quickly in hospitals these days. Gan went to sleep in traction that night with little understanding of what was actually happening. Would he ever play football again? Would he even be able to walk again? Was there a risk of brain damage or his muscles becoming paralysed?
?It definitely crossed my mind. I was so worried by stories I had heard in the news and by word of mouth? it was more of a surprise than anything,? he evokes.
?I saw it as something that was passing rather than progressing though so I wasn?t really worried about the symptoms or dying part but I guess when you find out you always have those doubts.?
?All I really wanted to do was just get back into soccer. It was my way of getting away from everything and all the worries in life so I just wanted to be back on the pitch even if it was running laps.?
So as Superman always does, Gan came through out on top. He ran those laps, completed those butt-kicks and weaved his way back onto the field. It wasn?t just a case of fun and games however. With his body taking almost two months to recover, Gan wasn?t the only one placed on precautionary antibiotics. His teammates too had to join in on the drama as the disease was potentially transferable.
?Looking back now I guess it is easy to laugh at but at the time it was really quite hectic for everyone. I felt really bad that the others could have caught the disease so we had to be very cautious,? he said with a grim, set look on his face.
?I went on tablets to help build my immune system back up until my liver was finally getting the correct level of enzymes. I was pretty worried that it would take a lot longer to recover than it did, but everything is pretty sweet now.?
So after missing half of the pre-season, Gan rebounded from the nasty disease, earning selection in Sutherland Sharks first grade squad. With the past behind him, Gan would now take things as they come, assess them and shoot back. He wasn?t about to disappoint. From the outset in round one, Gan was the pick of the bunch. After numerous training sessions and games in the junior ranks, he had stepped it up. He couldn?t believe he was actually making his first grade debut.
?To even be on the pitch when the first whistle blew was amazing. I still couldn?t believe I was playing after everything that had happened, so I thought I?d just give everything I had and keep on running.?
And that he did.
Gan made a stunning impression from the start, scoring two goals and earning himself ?Man of the Match? honours after his defeated A.P.I.A Leichhardt. As the season progressed he returned to his brilliant best and towards the end of the regular season, A-League clubs, the Central Coast Mariners and Sydney FC were over him like a rash. But it wasn?t just a case of signing on the dotted line as quick as possible?done deal, sweet, thank you very much. No, it took some time.
But as the time ticked by, Sydney FC were simply too good to refuse. The glamour club got their man Gan, the first to be chosen in the youth side. He will now take part in the A-League?s inaugural Youth Competition this coming season on a one-year-deal and admits it has all been ?very overwhelming.?
?I still can?t believe it. It was an awesome feeling to sign with Sydney FC and I am really looking forward to the challenge ahead.?
?I think the training and how much I will be taught from the quality coaching staff as well as learning from the experienced players in the first team is going to be an amazing experience that I will always cherish.?
So why was Sydney so keen to sign the versatile attacking midfielder?  Sutherland Coach Brian Brown believes Gan?s scintillating form this season has him rating as one of the superstars in the NSW Premier League.
?He has a real touch of pace. His work ethic and approach to training are his real strengths and there?s no doubt he has been one of the stars for us this year,? Brown quipped.
?He just seems to get better every game and I?m actually quite surprised that none of the elite clubs have given him a chance in the first side instead of just the youth squad but I think if Brendan can get physically stronger, he is a real chance of playing in the A-League this season.?
?The fact that he can still play under 20?s though just shows you how good he is. He is probably one of the top players in the Premier League so I think he will go very well.?
But Sutherland?s season isn?t over yet. They have some finals to play and Gan can?t wait. Strangely though, he started to sound edgy? Was he really that keen to play another game of football or was something missing?
Gradually, some faint spotty scars over his slim, athletic body became noticeable. Surely, they weren?t the remains from the fight he got into with meningococcal?
?Nah, I?ve just had the chicken pox,? he retorts, telling of his latest health battle in late July this year.
Ah, Sorry??
?Yeah I had it for about a week and half pretty bad, I have just gotten over it,? he laughs.
?I lost six kilos and it was so itchy. There was this one night and one day I just could not stop scratching, even with the calamine (lotion) and everything? it was the worst feeling.?
And it could not have come at a worse time for Gan.
His side, along with Wollongong FC, sat equal first on the competition ladder heading into the final round of the Telechoice NSW Premier League.
Their opposition? Yep, you guessed it; Wollongong.
?Oh it was a killer. I was in bed all week and I knew I was going to miss the decider,? Gan recalls.
?Sitting on the sideline and just seeing everyone else in the change rooms was devastating. I wasn?t even going to watch the game because I was so sick, but I eventually went.?
?I wanted to be on the pitch so bad, but things happen I guess.?
Yes, things do happen. Gan?s side finally won the club?s first minor premiership in 17 years and although he didn?t play in that final game, if it wasn?t for his efforts throughout the season then his side would never have been there.
So with those special qualities he has shown everyone this season – endurance, speed, skill and passion – who knows? He may just get a start in Sydney FC?s A-League side this season.
-By Reece Carter