You can listen to the full interview with Daniel Colbertaldo on the Tier Two Talk podcast HERE.
The first men's team to represent Canberra in over 24 years in a national football league is waiting in anticipation. Hoping that by the end of the final group stage round, they can be one of the last eight teams in this year's tournament.
Canberra Croatia booked their spot in this year's Australian Championship back in August after securing their 26th NPL ACT Premiership. The serial winners have built a strong foundation, allowing them to be competitive every season and continue to push the barriers of this historic club.
“[We have] a good few young boys that are coming up through the ranks, but then also being able to hold on to a squad that hasn't fared too badly,” Colbertaldo said.
“Year in, year out, players leave, players come. But every year we seem to have found something that has worked and tweaked where needed to be able to remain competitive.”
Though this coming weekend, the club that was founded back in 1958 faces possibly their biggest game of the 21st century if they are still alive in the Championship come kickoff on Sunday.
Going into this last round, three teams remain undecided in Group C, with Preston, NWS Spirit and Canberra all remaining in the race for a quarterfinal spot. Though with only one spot available, it is set up for a blockbuster finish.
Group leaders Avondale take on second-place Preston at home, with Preston only ahead of Canberra by two points; the Lions could lock up their quarterfinal spot with a win. Anything less than that and it's game on at Deakin Stadium on Sunday
“We're going about our week-to-week, because if we have another week, like you know, it's all well and good to obviously hope Avondale can get the result. But providing they do, we still need to be ready on Sunday,” Colbertaldo said.
Canberra will play NWS Spirit on Sunday in front of their home fans, a venue they have only lost at eight times all year across all competitions, meaning that in a potential do-or-die match against the NSW premiers, the home-field advantage could play a huge factor.
“The club is passionate. This is where the club wants to be. The club's worked hard to be here, just as much as you know, the players have been.” Colbertaldo said.
“So the fans, they've been there week in week out. So it's definitely something that you know as players, we hope to obviously give back.”
Croatia are familiar with having its back up against the wall. Last weekend, they earned a hard-fought draw against Preston to keep their tournament hopes alive. Depending on the Avonalde versus Preston result on Saturday, they know they will once again be up against it. Having lost to Spirit 2-1 in the return fixture, Canberra will need to flip the script and hope that, come the end of the 90 minutes, they emerge victorious and march into the quarterfinals.
“We know that every game is hard, but we do back ourselves in and we are confident that we can get a result regardless of who we're playing,” Colbertaldo said.
“Obviously, being at home [and] with a bit of luck, all these things kind of stack up in our favour.”