Sydney FC star Michael Zullo says he is ready to put the seal on perfect year - for him and his club

A MOVE to Sydney FC gave Michael Zullo a second chance after a career plagued by injuries. Now the Sky Blues star is ready to repay the club with a title.

Sydney FC's Michael Zullo has bounced back from his injury woes. Picture: Gregg Porteous

ALREADY he has played more games this season than in any other, and now Sydney FC star Michael Zullo has revealed how switching to the Sky Blues has helped him resurrect a career some feared might be blighted by injury.

Confident he has “never been in better physical shape”, Zullo has missed just one of Sydney’s 27 A-League games this season, and that through suspension. His attacking forays will be key to Graham Arnold’s game plan against Perth in Saturday’s A-League semi-final, and already Zullo is looking forward to next season and building on his work in this campaign.

The 28-year-old said that the prospect of working with Sky Blues conditioning coach Andrew Clark had been part of the attraction in joining Sydney, seeking the form and consistency that earned him an A-League debut at 18 and international honours two years later.

In 2011 Zullo appeared to be at his peak, established at Dutch side Utrecht and playing in Holger Osieck’s Socceroos side in World Cup qualifiers. But Zullo now admits he was already struggling with the demands being placed on his body, culminating in a series of injuries from which he only now feels fully recovered.

“From the outside I can see why it looked like I was at my peak, but really, behind the scenes my body wasn’t in great shape,” Zullo said.

“It was inevitable really that I’d have problems later on because the training loads I was being put under, and the management of my body, wasn’t the best.

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“I’ve made peace with the fact that I wasn’t in a position to cope with those loads, and I did end up having a couple of really frustrating years. I see it happen to other players now and I can understand what they’re going through.

“I did my ACL for instance and that’s a nine-10 month injury in itself, but afterwards it’s the niggles and strains that you get in the comeback. I’ve read that it takes as long as you were out to fully recover your fitness, so if it’s a 10-month injury you can anticipate it will take another 10 months to get over it.

“Realistically it’s only this year that I’ve been able to get to a level of having complete confidence in my body, and that’s got a lot to do with Andrew Clark. He was a major draw for me in coming to Sydney, and it feels like I’ve never been in better physical shape, with the energy to get forward and recover defensively.”

Sydney FC's Michael Zullo has bounced back from his injury woes. Picture: Gregg Porteous

Given his debut as an 18-year-old by Frank Farina at Brisbane Roar, Zullo is still only 28 - and with ambitions to extend his career for many seasons to come.

“Looking at other players in our squad, you see guys who have had a new lease of life because of the way they’re managed and the fitness they can achieve,” he said. “Alex Brosque is one who jumps out, he had a troubling year last year but he has his body together now in such a way that he’s been one of the players of the season.

“First of all we only have one game to worry about (on Saturday), and then hopefully the grand final, but it is a fact that in the A-League successful teams struggle to stay together. So that’s why it’s so important we’ve got so many players re-signed for next season, and we can ensure a good foundation is there.

“If we have that core, hopefully we can give the Asian Champions League a good tilt as well, and make sure this squad leaves something a bit longer lasting.”