|
Mustang on Merseyside Mustang on Merseyside editor’s note: Former Cal Poly midfielder and current Everton Football Club member Anton Peterlin offers insight to his life as a professional in the Barclays Premier League for GoPoly.com. Selected to both the All-Big West Conference first team and NSCAA All-Far West Region team as a senior in 2008, Peterlin officially joined Everton from Premier Developmental League side Ventura County Fusion on July 1, 2009. Prior to the transfer, Peterlin had enjoyed a 10-day training session with the 2009 FA Cup finalists. Peterlin finished his initial season with Everton by starting four of the final five reserve league matches. All of Peterlin’s entries are available below, beginning with the most recent (images courtesy of Everton Football Club).
JUNE 22, 2010 I can take a lot of positives and very few negatives when looking back on my first season in professional football. First and foremost among the positives was the opportunity to play with some of the most talented and skilled players in the world. I learned more about myself as a player when playing with the likes of (former French international) Louis Saha, (South African international) Steven Pienaar, (United States goalkeeper) Tim Howard and many more than I ever could have imagined. They were teachers, role models and teammates to me – all at the same time. Learning how players such as Mikel Arteta read the game was an amazing experience. His ability to scan the pitch and come up with the best possible pass to pierce the other team’s defense (and in less time than it took the write this sentence) was astounding. Figuring out how to attack and be more direct is one of the biggest lessons I learned this season. We played possession football, but with an attacking sense and always in a forward direction. We always tried to ask questions of the defense and probe the field to find weaknesses. Besides teaching me the beautiful game of football, I became friends with some of the Everton players, as well. Since we all ate lunch together after training, I got to talk to almost everyone throughout the year. It brought us closer together and created a family atmosphere. That is something that, from the beginning, I felt with Everton. The club has been nothing but very welcoming and respectful. There were a lot of languages spoken throughout Finch Farm (Everton’s training complex), such as French and Spanish. Everyone was excited to be there, which made for a festive and entertaining atmosphere. In addition, I ended up developing lasting friendships at Everton with not only (roommate and former Wake Forest standout) Cody Arnoux, but also with Seamus Coleman. The moment I enjoyed most during my first year was when we beat Liverpool reserves, 1-0, in the 90th minute and I played really well. The worst moment was probably against Manchester United reserves, when I had a horrible game against some of the best when it could not be afforded. The thing that surprised me most about English football was the raw nature of the sport and incredible desire to be direct and strike at goal. The thing that least surprised me was the weather. I was ready for some bad weather and I wasn’t let down. While I missed my family and friends, I was closer to my Danish relatives. I am proud to say that after an entire year in Liverpool, I can speak a little Scouse (the specific Merseyside accent dialect) and call myself a Blue. Football in England is like nothing one has witnessed, unless you have been to a professional football match here. The fans are beyond loyal, know everything there is to know about their team and are very demanding and critical of players and the style of play. They add to the beautiful game and create an atmosphere like nowhere else. Being part of this culture has opened me up to a new world and I hope to remain in this world for as long as I can. I would like to give the entire Everton family a warm thanks. I have learned a lot during this past year after playing football with some of the best players in the world. David Moyes is an exceptional manager and is given respect everywhere. My reserve coaches, Andy Holden and Alan Stubbs, were both very helpful this year and allowed me to progress to new heights. Furthermore, I want to say thanks to all the people involved in the everyday duties at Everton that go unnoticed. Those people epitomize the heart and soul of the club’s hardworking mentality. My future is still being sorted out and will be addressed in the near future, but I am heading back to England this week. So far my summer has been five weeks of unbelievable adventures. All players that are not involved in the World Cup get about five or six weeks off before they have to report back to England. The second day home in the United States I got my wisdom teeth removed. The oral surgeon said the process would take 45 minutes, but it ended up being nearly three hours. I was then out for a week, but spent the time relaxing and catching up on sleep, books and magazines. After I recovered, I visited San Luis Obispo on Memorial Day weekend, attended Beer Fest in Avila Beach with friends and had an amazing time. We ended up jumping in the ocean afterward, which was probably the first time I had touched the Pacific in more than a year. Otherwise I traveled little places here and there, but the following weekend my dad, best friend Ilya Gendelman and I biked from San Francisco to San Luis Obispo. It took us a leisurely four days and we enjoyed both the beautiful weather and sore butts. The journey was a total of 280 miles with my dad arriving first into San Luis Obispo after I suffered a flat (the tortoise won the race). I remained in San Luis Obispo for about five days until June 12 when all of my boys graduated from Cal Poly! It was a huge accomplishment and I was glad I could be there and celebrate with them. Not only did they graduate, but the United States held England to a 1-1 draw, so it turned out to be a great start to a beautiful World Cup. Anton
As April came our season was drawing to a close and Everton reserves played its final four games during a 17-day span. It was also a month were I turned 23 and my roommate, Cody Arnoux, turned 22. Cody, unfortunately, had returned to the United States in early April because of a hamstring injury. I, however, have remained through May. We played the first of our final four games at home against Hull City on April 12. They made the two-hour journey down to play us and had a couple of first team players playing in the reserve match. We played an evenly fought match and should have won, but the game ended in a 0-0 draw. I started the match and it was the first time this year that I had to wear firm ground boots. April was actually a very dry month in comparison to the rest of the season, but there was still not a lot of sun and heat. Since the winter had been extremely wet and cold, the pitch was very bumpy and uneven. This added a new dimension to the match and we ended up having three very good scoring chances, but were unable to convert. We then played Liverpool reserves on April 20 on yet another abused pitch. I did not start this match because (Switzerland international and Arsenal loanee) Philip Senderos and (Nigerian international) Victor Anichebe were in the squad to face Liverpool. The game was close and stayed at 0-0 the entire first half. Then in the second half, I came on with 35 minutes left and played as a right midfielder. I played well and attacked the right flank well, even though this isn’t my natural position. I had a few good crosses and we hit the bar in the closing minutes of regulation. Finally, in the third or fourth minute of added time, Jose Baxter scored a cracker of a goal from 18 yards out to put us ahead, 1-0. It is always a great feeling to score and be part of a scoring sequence, but when we scored in extra time to defeat Liverpool, we erupted and celebrated emphatically. We rode that high into our next match against Bolton reserves at home on April 26. Although we took the lead in the first half with a severe error on Bolton’s part, we were, in fact, playing them off the pitch. I started the match and played well in the middle of the park. Yet football can be very unforgiving if you don’t concentrate for the entire 90 minutes and we came to realize this when we conceded two goals in under two minutes. This destroyed our momentum and erased anything good we had accomplished. I got subbed with 20 minutes left against Bolton, though I felt I had played one of my better matches. The game ended 2-1 to Bolton. Our last match of the season was away to Blackburn on April 29. We played in a very nice stadium and it was by far the best pitch we had played on this season, minus the Stadium of Light at Sunderland. We started out positively and almost scored twice inside the first ten minutes, but then Blackburn scored two goals. It clearly showed that if you don’t finish your scoring chances, you'll most likely get punished. This had been a reoccurring theme throughout the season for us; not being able to finish our chances left us looking for a goal in the dying minutes of some matches. We ended up losing the final match of the season, 4-0 – I result, I thought, that was undeserved. However, we did lack concentration at certain times and were dully punished, thus resulting in a very one-sided defeat. Since our last reserve game was played on April 29 and the last first team match for Everton was not played until May 9, we trained with the first team. Training was good and even more enjoyable because almost everyone was back healthy from injury, minus (Belgian international) Marouane Fellaini. The sessions were short but concise and had a lot of tempo to them. In addition, the sun was starting to peak through the clouds at times and we only had to wear t-shirts to training instead of pants and sweaters. As May 9 drew to a close, I began to pack up my locker for summer vacation in Denmark and the United States. Anton
It’s finally spring over here in Liverpool. The sun is starting to break through the clouds and my skin is finally seeing sun. There are tons of daffodils that are blowing as well as cherry trees that are starting to blossom. The temperature finally hit a high of 60 degrees today and it felt amazing to train in warm weather again. A lot has happened in the past month. First of all, my roommate, (former Wake Forest standout) Cody Arnoux, and I went up to Motherwell F.C. (Scotland) for a week trial that included a game and some first team trainings. It was wet and cold and the countryside was filled with a lot of stone hedges and sheep. Motherwell is a very cool little club that competes in the Scottish Premier League. The manager, Craig Brown, was very warm and had positive things to say to both Cody and I and wants to take another look at us in a game before the season comes to a close in May. We played Celtic reserves at their training facility, Lennoxtown. The place reminded me of Everton’s Finch Farm training ground, which is one of the most amazing facilities that I have ever had the honor to train at. With Motherwell, we helped beat Celtic, 2-0, and Cody and I were involved in both goals. I played both right mid and center mid in that game. Playing on the wing was interesting since it has been a while since I have been flying up and down the flanks (or at least trying to). The levels between the English Premier League and Scottish Premier League are different for sure, but both leagues exhibit a very high level of skill and tempo. We then had a day off and had the opportunity to go and check out Edinburgh, which was amazing. A castle, which overlooked the entire city, had the Crown Jewels on display, which were fantastic to see. What made Scotland and the week more special was the companionship of Nadia, who was visiting me from the United States on spring break, even though the sun barely showed itself. Cody, Nadia and I explored Edinburgh and its amazing architecture and lively community. On the way back from Scotland to England, Nadia and I discovered some very funny town names like, Eccleston and Bladnoch. Nadia was here for a total of eight days and we got to see some cooler parts of England together. Then, as she was leaving, my good friends Julian and Shannon came on March 30. That same night, Cody and I were going to play again for Motherwell, but the game got rained out so instead we played for Everton reserves at home against Manchester City reserves. The pitch was so waterlogged that at times the ball would stop in the middle of a puddle. Cody started and got hurt 22 minutes into the match. I came on with 20 minutes to go and played the remainder of the game. We ended up tying, 0-0, and went home very muddy. Unfortunately, Cody is now injured and had to leave for the United States and is not coming back to England before next season. Julian and Shannon got to see me play and had the chance to witness the skill level of the reserve teams. However, we didn’t play a very nice style of football that night because of the conditions. Julian, Shannon and I got to explore Manchester the day after the match and we saw both some old buildings and Manchester United’s home ground, Old Trafford. This was a couple of days before United played Chelsea (April 3) so the hype was growing. Old Trafford is massive, seating 75,00 people and the pitch was amazing. Furthermore, Everton’s first team played West Ham United on April 3 and Julian and Shannon got to see us tie, 2-2. Before they left, they also got to see my good mate Seamus Coleman play for Blackpool F.C. and be awarded Man of the Match during a 2-0 victory against Doncaster Rovers. Seamus is currently on loan from Everton at Blackpool, which plays in the Championship (one level below the Premier League). This past Tuesday (April 6), Julian and Shannon left and I traveled to Sunderland, a three-hour journey northeast. Everton played Sunderland reserves and I started at center mid and completed 90 minutes. We lost 2-0, but the scoreline was unjust. We hit the crossbar once in the first half and then twice in the second. I hit the crossbar in the dying moments of the game, as did (Switzerland international) Philippe Senderos, who played center back. Tony Hibbert also played in the match. Sunderland’s first goal was off a corner and the second was a good breakaway finish. In the end it was good for fitness but it highlighted that I still need to get stronger and think faster. That is the main difference from playing in the United States. In addition to the tackling, the speed and directness of play is so much higher here. Furthermore, the pitches are much more bumpy since the weather is not as nice as over in the U.S. The game was a rough loss, but hopefully we will bounce back on Monday night against Hull City at home (Everton drew, 0-0, with Peterlin starting). As the season is coming to a close I am really looking forward to coming home, but not yet. Hope all is well back home in San Luis Obispo and San Francisco! Anton
FEB. 9, 2010 It has been a while since I have last written and I will do my best to summarize the past few months. Since October there have been a lot of games for both the first team and youth teams, but the reserve team has been lacking games. The matches have been either canceled due to weather and field conditions or because of other conflicting games. There were a couple of games scheduled for January, yet the field was frozen rock solid. Although they tried to thaw it out by setting ablaze large metal garbage cans filled with wood to heat the pitch, it was short lived when a snowstorm hit the next day to cancel the game.
For the past two months we have been training nonstop and I’ve been in and out with the first team, reserves and the youth academy. Mostly I have been training with the reserves moving up to the first team on an as-needed basis. Our first team has been injected with some good wins of late that have raised the spirits and confidence at Finch Farm (Everton’s training ground). In addition, many of you might know that United States international Landon Donovan is over from Los Angeles Galaxy on a three-month loan and has immediately made an impact on and off the field. He is a very nice man and a very respected professional with an incredible work rate. In addition, he has the utmost respect for the game. I have had the honor of training with both (United States Men’s National Team goalkeeper) Tim Howard and Landon on the same pitch, which has been an incredible experience. U.S. manager Bob Bradley was also over here to visit for a day or so. During the holidays Cody went back to his hometown while my family graced me with their presence, which was amazing. Having my family in Liverpool over the holidays made it even more special and we got to watch two first team matches and spend some quality time exploring other local villages in England. They all got to see the training ground and see how amazing Everton’s facilities are. Overall, their visit was extremely important to me and gave me the opportunity to show them my lifestyle. We also went to the Lakes district, which is a national park an hour north of Liverpool. I recommend it to anyone who comes to visit England. The day my family left, Cody came back and since then it has been non-stop training since Jan. 1. Although we have not had a reserve league fixture yet in 2010, we just played in the quarterfinals of the Liverpool Senior Cup last night against Bootle F.C. in front of about 2,000 fans. Bootle is a local team and the Liverpool Senior Cup is one of the oldest cup competitions in all of England. We won at New Bucks Park, 4-2, on a worn-down pitch that has definitely seen better days. I got the start and played the entire 90 minutes at center mid. I was cramping up by the end of the match since it was as if we were doing a sand workout and my calves were shot. I had a helping hand in setting up our two penalties in each respective half, both of which were chipped balls over the top and in front of Bootle’s goalkeeper. It was a football match based in the old English style, much like when George Best played. These matches consisted of run-down pitches and hard-fought matches. The principle was to get to the man first, tackle hard and then worry about the ball. It was a good win for us and it sent us through to the semifinals. Besides football, I got to watch the Saints win the Super Bowl at 11 p.m. my time. Of course, the Super Bowl is not as known about over here, but it is surprising how many Everton players enjoy American football. Our first team plays Chelsea at home on Wednesday, which will be a great game. As a professional footballer, one has a lot of free time and finding hobbies to fill that void is always challenging. At our apartment we have local games of mini-golf, two-touch juggling, putting challenges and we play a lot of pranks on one another. I have also taken up piano and art lessons again. I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas and a great beginning to this bright New Year. This is the year of the World Cup and anything can happen. Anton
OCT. 8, 2009 The past few weeks have been hectic with first team matches and reserve matches. Although I’m not with the Everton first team traveling to Belarus or Athens for the Europa League matches, we train everyday. Since we are now in the international break for World Cup qualifying, there is a little time for players such as myself who are not with their respective national team to get a couple days off. There are a couple of changes in Merseyside Liverpool. I’m realizing more and more that there is going to be a cold winter over here. I haven’t seen a true change of seasons since living in Denmark when I was a child, so it is beautiful to see the colors of the trees change form green to yellow and then finally to dark red and brown. In addition to getting colder in the past couple of months there is less daylight, but you are woken up by a beautiful mist on the football pitch as well from your own body. I have played in the past two reserve games for Everton. We played Blackburn Rovers on Sept. 29 and lost, 3-0. It was a tough loss since we were doing well until they broke us down twice in a short period and it was very difficult to recover from that deficit. I got in for the last 20 minutes in that game and showed well, even though I was on when we were already losing, 3-0. The pace and time on the ball is very ferocious and limited to one- or two-touch football. But then again, that’s when football is at its most beautiful. On Oct. 4, the Everton first team played Stoke City and drew, 1-1. Liverpool lost against Chelsea, 2-0. The latter result was very interesting because Liverpool’s Fernando Torres and Chelsea’s Didier Drogba are both acclaimed to be the best strikers in England, along with Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney. This past Tuesday we played Manchester United reserves at Widnes, our home stadium, in front of a little over 1,200 people. It had rained all day and the pitch was very soggy and a perfect environment for football. Throughout the warm-up, it poured. We all wore studs and as you can imagine we tore the field up pretty bad by the end of the night. Starting out in a 4-5-1 formation, I was the holding midfielder behind Dan Gosling and Hope Akpan. United came out in a 4-4-2 and, in goal, had (Dutch international) Edwin van der Sar, who is returning from a broken hand. In addition, Kiko Macheda, Fabio and Joshua King were all playing. Each player has first team experience for United. Needless to say, it was a very hard fought match with few chances for both teams. In the middle of the pitch, we didn’t have too much time on the ball and had to get up the field quickly since United was very organized in its defense. At half, it was 0-0 and we were containing their firepower. They were a very good side and had the majority of the possession, but we had our spells. In the second half, we gave up a goal in the 55th minute and never leveled the score. In all, the experience was amazing. I played a full 90 minutes, which was both a great feeling and something I needed for my overall fitness. I hope to be on the pitch at the next match (at Bolton on Oct. 19). Hope all is well in San Luis Obispo and around the world. Hope the boys keep winning. Anton
AUG. 23, 2009 Liverpool has shown its true colors of late. Not only has the football been good, but the weather has also been very good. For the past two weeks we have had a lot of really good training sessions leading up to our first game on Aug. 25 against Burnley reserves. In addition, I have moved into my apartment in Liverpool with (former Wake Forest player) Cody Arnoux. The apartment overlooks Albert Docks, Liverpool One and the River Mersey. I have also recently tried scouse, a dish the locals go by. It is a type of beef stew that is very good and tasty. Scouse is also the term for the local English dialect. I have come to realize that they love their soups over here, which I have taken a liking to, as well. On the football side of things, everything is good. We’re training very hard in the amazing facilities, which are unreal. The coaching staff has us do weight measurements every two weeks to make sure we aren’t eating to many pastries. The level of football everyday is very high and demands the highest levels of concentration and consistency. There is a lot of competition for spots, but a healthy environment nonetheless. Prior to engaging in weight training the other day, we played some soccer tennis, which was relaxing. Keeping the body tuned, especially the core, is something that is key. Besides football, I have discovered a little bit of Liverpool and have been playing some golf with a friend who always beats me. Good luck to Cal Poly this week as they open the season with the exhibition against San Diego State. Best Regards, Anton
AUG. 1, 2009 So we just arrived back from Austria last night at 7 p.m. Starting Monday (July 27), we had been there for five days. Once again Everton picked an amazing place to go and do more preseason training. We arrived Monday night and had a two-mile run through the woods and mountains, which in Austria are like skyscrapers. They are amazing. We lived in a village called Obertraun and had lived in a sports complex with other football teams and youngsters. We trained hard three times a day and then finished up with a match on Thursday evening against 1860 Munich’s reserve team. We won, 2-1, and I played a full 90 minutes, which was a good fitness test for myself. We got to go rafting on Wednesday and that was amazing and a lot of fun getting to relax and do something different. We jumped from all sorts of obstacles and got bit to pieces by some mutated form of Austrian mosquito, which I have no clue as to what the actual name is. And on the way back from Munich we saw the famous Sir Bobby Charlton, who played with Manchester United and helped England win the 1966 World Cup. Today (Aug. 1), we have training with the first team and then a possibility of traveling to Coventry to play in a preseason match. Last week, we trained in Liverpool and worked on fitness and more aspects of the game. We had two matches, both of which we won. Besides football, I have been hanging in my hotel still and getting to know the staff whom are very nice and have incredible stories of famous people coming in. Cody Arnoux – the Wake Forest player who is to sign shortly – and I are going to move into our apartment in the coming week, which will be really nice. Anyway, I know it is August 1 and that means Cal Poly begins preseason shortly, so do work and work hard boys. Anton
JULY 19, 2009 The second week of preseason training at Everton has finished and we ended it with a win and with room to grow. We’ve trained twice everyday: once in the morning and then again in the afternoon, which usually consisted of strength training or some cross training. The trainings were very good and more physical as more and more first team players have returned. It is amazing how much football is in the news over here. Being immersed in a football country like England or anywhere in Europe is something I feel everyone should experience. We had a game yesterday (July 18) against Airbus UK, a club in the Welsh Premier League. I played with the reserves and got 70 minutes of good running in before I was taken out. The pace is faster and more physical over here, but getting more comfortable is the key in the game. Besides training twice a day there is some time to walk around and explore the great city of Liverpool, which is famous for its music and lively people. I have explored the docks and taken walks with some of the other players on the team. Finally the week has come to an end on Sunday and I get to go into town and relax on my day off, for tomorrow the third week starts with a mid-week game on Wednesday. Anton
JULY 14, 2009 The first week of preseason training was held in Scotland and near one of the oldest golf clubs in the world, St. Andrews. We started on Tuesday, July 7 and went until last Friday. The practices were three-a-day sessions and consisted of ball work and running. It was very tiring, but also very rewarding to train and sweat with some of the best players in the world. Everton had a game that same Friday against Bury, a League Two (fourth tier) team. We lost, 2-1, but I got my first minutes for Everton in the second half. The pace was fast and physical and I played a decent game. The reserves and myself then had to come in on Saturday and train – sort of a warm down after the game from the previous night. We also did a contrast of ice and hot baths, which actually helped a lot. Other than that, I am being well taken care of in the professional life of a footballer and it is great being in Liverpool and playing for Everton. Next, we start two-a-day sessions and will continue the second week of preseason training. I am in good spirits and loving every minute that I am here. Anton |
MAY 20, 2010
APRIL 16, 2010
The last reserve match we played was against Sunderland back in late November. We tied 1-1, but deserved to win with a missed penalty and some other missed opportunities. In the end we got a point out of the fixture. I started that game as well and played a full 90 minutes in pouring rain, which now seems more common than seeing the sun. I played well, helping set up (former Wake Forest All-American and roommate) Cody Arnoux’s goal in the opening five minutes of the second half.
