New recruit Phillip Cancar on returning to Australia after three years in Europe and taking all his chances at the Wanderers.
The 19-year-old defender joins the club from a recent stint overseas with Croatian side NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac where he has spent the last three years.
Cancar said the overseas opportunity at such a young age gave him some memorable experiences against some of the biggest clubs in Europe and forced him to mature both as a player and a person.
“Being 16 at the time and living most of the time all alone in Europe was a massive experience, to be honest,” said Cancar.
“The language for me at the start was hard as I understood Croatian but didn’t know how to speak it, so being able to communicate with teammates or coaches was hard.
“I think it made me also mature more as a person and as a footballer, I had to deal with everything on my own, any bad games or bad training sessions it was all up to me to decide what am I going to do about it because I had no one here to talk about it.
“The schedule was a massive difference as well… I went from training four times a week in Australia to having double sessions every day in Europe. Then going to verse teams in pre-season tournaments like FC Schalke, Ausburg, Stoke City, and Sassuolo. Overall an unbelievable experience.”
Cancar is set to play in his first A-League season with the Wanderers and is eager to get the most out of it, learning from both the coaches and players around him.
“Right now, I don’t have any real expectations. I’m excited to work under such a great coach and coaching staff, to be able to learn from them and the more experienced players in the club as much as I can,” explained Cancar.
“A club like the Wanderers has such a great history and an amazing fan base so it’s a dream come true.
“As a team, we just want to achieve a healthy season… if we all end the season healthy I think that’s a successful season ad to help each other improve every gaem and every session.
“I just want to help the team success and grow into a top quality player.
