Young Brisbane Roar striker Dimitri Petratos has celebrated his rich vein of form by putting pen to paper on a new contract that will keep him at the club for another two seasons. The 21-year-old joined the A-League leaders at the start of the season on a one-year deal, following a brief stint in Malaysia. He will now remain with Brisbane until the end of the 2015/16 A-League campaign.
Petratos, who has been heavily involved in Strathfield Sports Club's (SSC) Golden Goal Academy, has netted four goals in his last three games for the the Roar, including a brilliant hat-trick against his former club Sydney FC on Boxing Day. He also found his name on the scoresheet in his side's 3-0 demolition of Melbourne Victory the following week.
In the off-season Dimi can often be seen down at SSC practising his skills and passing on training advice to our young Golden Goal Academy players. His father Angelo is one of the directors of the program and himself a former NSL player. Meanwhile mother Chris can regularly be found taking charge of the social bookings.
Dimitri's younger brother Kosta is also an emerging football talent, having represented the Joeys in Hong Kong last year. Kosta was part of the young national squad that qualified for the Asian Football Confederation's U-16 Championship that will be staged in Thailand later this year. He scored two goals against Macau and can also regularly be found practising on the Golden Goal fields with his brothers and sisters. Quite the talented football family!
Roar coach Mike Mulvey sung the praises of Petratos following news his young signing had agreed to extend his stay with the two-time A-League Champions.
“This is a result of Dimi’s hard work on and off the football pitch,” Mulvey said. “I’ve been impressed with his attitude since joining us.
“Dimi understood he needed to be patient and now he’s reaping the rewards. I can see he’s continually pushing himself to perform and improve as a Brisbane Roar player.”
Dimitri was similarly elated to be offered a new deal to stay with the Roar and had little hesitation agreeing to terms having discovered career best form in the orange jersey.
“I’m really happy because I feel comfortable here and I’m enjoying my football,” said Petratos. “The club made me feel welcome right from the start and I think the way we play our football suits me as a player.”
Petratos said he was relishing the hard work under Mulvey and was determined to continue to fight for a place in Brisbane's starting XI as he continues his development.
“When I joined the club, my focus was on getting game time but I knew I would have to work hard,” he said. “I feel like I’ve grown as a player since coming to Brisbane so I hope I can keep doing that.”
Dimitri has made 12 appearances for Brisbane Roar so far this season, starting five games (including the last three) and coming off the bench on the other occasions.
Petratos will no doubt be hoping he can help ensure his side return to the winners list this weekend following their surprise loss to Adelaide in Round 14. The Roar travel to Perth to play the Glory on Friday night and you'll be able to catch all the action on the big screen at SSC.