Melbourne Victory attacker Marco Rojas has spoken of his ‘unreal’ experience at the London Olympics as he continues his preparations for the upcoming Hyundai A-League season.
Melbourne Victory attacker Marco Rojas has spoken of his ‘unreal’ experience at the London Olympics as he continues his preparations for the upcoming Hyundai A-League season.
The 20-year-old started all three of New Zealand’s matches at the Games as they finished bottom of Group C with one point.
Rojas’ experience included starting against a star-studded Brazil team, who were 3-0 victors in the clash and went on to win the silver medal.
He said having the opportunity to play at the Olympics was unforgettable and hailed the quality of the Brazil side.
“The Olympics was unreal. It was such a good experience and something that I’ll never forget,” Rojas told melbournevictory.com.au on Thursday.
“Playing against Brazil was something special. All of those players are world-class players like Neymar – one of the best up and coming in the world.
“To play against those guys was such a good experience and it showed us how much we need to do to get to that stage.”
Rojas said he was enjoying pre-season training with Victory under coach Ange Postecoglou, who won back-to-back championships with the Brisbane Roar before taking over at the AAMI Park club.
“Pre-season’s been really good. Training has been tough but it’s always been football-based, but really good and I’m feeling better than I have in a while and I’m ready to go,” he said.
“Under Ange it’s a different style of play that he wants to have. Working hard, working together as a group, keeping the ball and that’s what training is all about.
“All the trainings are based on how we want to play.”
Rojas caught the eye with his strong displays out wide while playing for both the Wellington Phoenix and Victory.
He said he was unfazed by where Postecoglou deployed him, as long as he played regularly.
“As long as I’m on the pitch (I’m happy),” Rojas said.
“We all rotate (throughout matches) but I’ve been pretty much playing up front.”
Victory have made several signings in the off-season, including Argentine Marcos Flores, Brazilian Guilherme Finkler and Mauritian Jonathan Bru.
Rojas said the trio – along with Adama Traore, Sam Gallagher, Theo Markelis, Spase Dilevski and the returning Mark Milligan – had settled in well.
“Every new player that’s come in is really good and adapted well,” he said.
“They’ve been training really hard.”
