A-League grand finals at Allianz Stadium bookend Sydney FC veteran David Carney’s career

FIRST time around he was just trying to take in the occasion, now David Carney wants to use his grand final experience to help the next generation.

David Carney will be chasing titles with Sydney 11 years apart.

FIRST time around he was a 22-year-old just trying to take in the occasion, now David Carney wants to use his grand final experience to help the next generation.

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His second appearance in an A-League showpiece at Allianz Stadium will bookend his career, back where it all began.

Carney started in the A-League’s inaugural grand final in 2006 in his first season at the Sky Blues, and after a nomadic career around the world will be on the bench for Graham Arnold’s side on Sunday against Melbourne Victory.

David Carney will be chasing titles with Sydney 11 years apart.

As the hype around the game starts to come to the boil, Carney can offer a unique perspective for the younger members of the Sydney side.

“It’s surreal a bit, to think I played in one right at the start of my career, and now another one as I come to the end of it,” he said.

“I’m just happy it’s at Allianz Stadium.

“With big finals like this week, experience is vital. You want the young ones to do what they do and not get fazed by it all. They’ve got the work rate, they need to go about the game in the normal way. The build-up to a game like this can sometimes take a toll — but we must just play our normal game.

“That’s what’s positive about this team, we like to press and fight straight from the start. That will work to our advantage this week.

“I remember we started off very slowly against Central Coast in 2006 — they had a couple of chances at the start. For some reason we were a bit flat — I was talking to (assistant coach) Steve Corica about it and we were lucky to be still at 0-0 after 25 minutes. I think our experience in that team at the time overcame it — we had the likes of Dwight Yorke, Corica, that got us over the line.

David Carney during the 2006 A-League grand final

“The first 20 minutes (in 2006) I don’t think I was the greatest myself. It took something like a good run to get into the game, sometimes you need that as a kid. You want to start off well but you might need a bit of fortune to go your way.

“I started that one, this time I just have to be there for the boys and if I do make an impact, hopefully it’s a good one. I seem to do well against Victory so I’m glad it’s against them.”

Originally published as A-League grand finals at Allianz Stadium bookend Sydney FC veteran David Carney’s career