MetroStars midfielder Tony Hatzis attributes Sergio Melta Medal win to professional stint in Greece
FOUR years in the cutthroat environment of professional football has led MetroStars' Tony Hatzis to SA soccer's highest individual honour.
FOUR years learning his trade in the cutthroat environment of professional football has led MetroStars Tony Hatzis to SA soccer's highest individual honour.
The midfielder - who played full-time in Greece and Australia - tied for the Sergio Melta Medal with Cumberland United's Jim Stavrides at the FFSA awards night last month.
Hatzis, 27, said the medal, awarded to the SA Premier League's best and fairest player, was the individual highlight of his career.
"Some of the previous winners and Serg (Melta), who the medal is named after, were players I used to watch and always aspired to be like," Hatzis said.
"Players like Corey Artone, who I was lucky enough to play with, and Richie Alagich, who I was lucky enough to play with too, you're always trying to be as good as them.
"To be recognised in the same group as them was a massive honour."
Hatzis started his junior career at Birkalla before a stint at Adelaide City and the SA Institute of Sport.
He was signed by Adelaide United in 2005 and won the minor premiership in the inaugural A-League season.
Hatzis then moved to Greece where he secured promotion to the Greek Super League with Olympiakos Volou in 2010.
"Gaining promotion was pretty phenomenal and as European as you get with the crowd and the flares and the fans after the game.
"I definitely grew as a person and became a lot more mature.
"I experienced a lot playing with incredible players over there and they made me better as player."
Hatzis said experience at the top level helped him adapt his game this season when asked to occupy a deeper midfield role in front of the back four.
"Consistency was the key and as you get a bit more experience you tend to be not so much like a roller-coaster."
An ever-present in his second year at the club, Hatzis said MetroStars' end to the season was hard to swallow.
After winning the minor premiership by 13 points, Metro crashed out in the preliminary final with a 1-0 loss to Campbelltown City.
"We were favourites to win the championship and we had it in our own hands but let it slip, so we were disappointed," he said.
"It definitely leaves a fire in the belly to try to get a championship next year."