One of our own: Interview with Nathan, Sydney FC fan and Kennards team member

You may have seen our announcement that we’ve joined the club with Sydney FC, and noticed one team member wearing the Kennards Hire uniform.

Nope! That is not an actor.  That’s our very own Nathan, member of the Kennards Hire team since 2008. Nathan will be our social ambassador on Derby Day, so check out our social media channels for his behind the scenes shots before and during the game.

In the meantime, check out our little interview with Nathan on why he backs Sydney FC and what it was like shooting our video with the Sydney FC players.

So why football?  What attracted you to the sport?

I started playing football when I was 5. At the time, I wasn’t the biggest fan and didn’t really enjoy it. As I got older though, more of my friends got involved so it really became a big part of my social life. I remember my cousin gave me a heap of football posters of Juventus when I was 7 and since then, I really developed an interest in the game and appetite to watch it. 

Why Sydney FC?

I’ve been a fan of Sydney FC since 2004.  Back then, there weren’t many teams to choose from! Looking back, it’s a club I feel that resonates with my view of football. It has a great culture, it has become a big club and really raised the bar with their major signings – notably, Alessandro Del Piero, my all-time favourite footballer.

What’s your first memory of Sydney FC?

I’ve pretty much gone to every game since the first season. Our first home game was against Melbourne Victory, the team poised to be our biggest rival. I remember the atmosphere was nothing I had experienced before, and when our marquee at the time, ex-Manchester United Striker Dwight Yorke, scored a diving header to open the score the crowd went wild. We finished the game 1-1.

What was your reaction when you found out Kennards Hire was going to be a sponsor to Sydney FC?

I started planning what merchandise I’d be buying! It was pretty exciting, I’ve been at Kennards for a while and never imagined the two would collide.

Why do you think Kennards Hire and Sydney FC make a good fit?

Football is a tough sport to crack.  Fans have high standards for their team, and always expect the best from their club and its players. Kennards Hire and Sydney FC are aligned with an allegiance to their communities and their ‘raving fans’. As a Sydney FC supporter, I feel that the club owes part of its success to the fan base that supports it, and just like Kennards Hire, it’s the customer that really makes the organisation tick. With that, Kennards Hire and Sydney FC have a shared vision to be the best in what they do, from the ground up. It’s our common way of taking Hire Higher, and really be leaders on and off the field in the industries they occupy.

 What was the video shoot like?  Was it what you expected?

The video shoot was good fun, I didn’t really know what to expect but it was definitely an experience to be having a bit of a kick around with some of the players from the playing squad.

Were you nervous?

I think I was more nervous about going down with an injury trying to play in my steel caps!

Was that the first time meeting some of the players?

I’d been to a training session or two beforehand and have briefly met a few players but nothing like this.

What are the players like off the field?

They were good fun, always ready to make a joke and have a laugh between them. Between the senior players and the younger lads in the team, you could see that there was good chemistry in the squad. They didn’t make me feel out of place at all.

What was it like to actually kick the ball around with the team?

 It was fun! Kicking the ball with a player like Bobo who’s played in the UEFA Champions League, which is every player’s dream, was an experience in itself. The other guys like Alex Wilkinson who grew up in the A-League playing for Central Coast Mariners for 7 seasons before a transfer to Asia then coming back to Australia, and Josh Brilliante who started at Gold Coast United and Newcastle Jets before a spell in Europe.

It was good fun, at times a bit surreal, but such a great experience!

Anything funny happen on the shoot?

Well, we had one moment early in the shoot. As a group, we’d set up our tika taka routine ready for filming. Tika Taka is basically one touch passing in a circle, with a player trying to win the ball in the middle. To set the scene, the 4 Sydney FC players were at full swing, with the cameraman aiming down his line of sight to the centre of the routine. My role was to run in and receive a pass from one of the players as I joined the team. Ready for my 15 seconds of fame, I jogged into sight, ready to receive the pass swinging in from the right boot of Josh Brilliante. With my newly shined steel caps, I swung out my weaker left foot to send the pass back the other way, only to misjudge the extra weight, height, and thickness of my steel cap boots! At that moment, I felt the ball get stuck under my foot as I half stumble, almost slicing the pass and tumbling over! Luckily, I regained my footing, despite the humiliation, I had the support of Alex Wilkinson defending (pun intended) my choice of footwear as the reason for my mishap. I’d say I recovered pretty well from there!

 

Well there you have it, a brief behind the scenes take on what it’s like to film with some of the fantastic Sydney FC team. Tickets are still available for the February 25 Derby Day match through Ticketek, but get in quick as they could sell out!