Sydney FC winger Christopher Naumoff has likely made himself a target for Melbourne Victory next week after a standout display against Adelaide which he’s labelled one of the best of his life.
The pacey 19-year-old proved a handful for the Reds’ backline, running rampant on the left wing to set up two goals and score one himself in Sydney’s 4-1 semi-final win at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.
But Naumoff says he’ll be looking to be even better next Sunday when the Sky Blues face Victory in the grand final.
“I try to improve my game every week,” Naumoff said.
“This was definitely one of my best performances but I can only look forward and that game is in the past now.
“The biggest game of the season is next week so I’m just looking forward to that.”
Not a constant feature of Graham Arnold’s starting side early this season, Naumoff has become a mainstay in the side’s front third, starting all but one of the last 13 games.
He admits he’s not surprised to be playing as well as he is, saying he’s always backed his own ability.
And he’s not the only one.
“He’s a great kid. The good thing about Chris is he’s getting a lot more belief in himself,” Arnold said.
“He’s a shy kid but it doesn’t look it after putting him on the pitch in front of 30,000 and playing like that. He was outstanding.
“One-on-one situations he’s so quick and we’ve been working on his decision making because he’s a kid and it’s a learning experience for him.
“He’s definitely got a huge amount of talent and that’s one of the reasons I’ve shown a lot of faith in the kid.”
Naumoff says repaying Arnold’s faith has been a huge driver for him.
But he’s also credited the likes of skipper Alex Brosque, marquee striker Marc Janko and fellow young-gun Bernie Ibini, who have all combined so well up front in Sydney’s best campaign in five years, for helping him lift.
“For me they’re unbelievable players,” he said.
“Brosque and Marc have a lot of experienced and Bernie is still quite young but he’s an unbelievable player.
“I learn a lot from them in training and games and they really help me week in week out.”
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