28/07/2026
Open letter to Oliver O'Carroll
Oliver,
Firstly, I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to write this letter.
From the age of seven, I have had the absolute pleasure of watching you grow.
From those early Saturday morning starts in Albert Park, there was always something uniquely special about you.
For someone so young, you possessed an incredible maturity. You were a tall kid with a beautifully coordinated left foot, and you took to technical training like a duck to water.
There were trying moments, of course. Times when you became frustrated because you couldn’t do something as well as you wanted. It wasn’t necessarily because the task was too difficult; it was because you demanded perfection from yourself.
The training required endless repetition, attention to detail, and, eventually, ex*****on at vigorous speed. Yet you continued patiently, taking everything one step at a time.
Then it was time to launch TOP GUN.
Based in Point Cook, it was certainly a “trek” from the Bayside suburbs.
“Early Saturday morning, no traffic, mate—you’ll be there in 20 minutes.”
It was quicker to get there than it was to get out, that’s for sure.
It was there that your journey took another enormous leap forward. The level of detail you absorbed was unlike anything I had seen before.
Although you had a group of talented, up-and-coming players around you, there was one player in particular who also stood out—someone who complemented you perfectly in both training and games.
From there, Williams Landing FC happened.
It was a blank canvas where you and the others could develop under one message and pursue one major football objective: to become professional footballers.
Watching you and the others grow has given me some of my favourite and fondest memories. No clubrooms, no lights, grass that wasn't being watered. A blank canvas indeed.
The year 2019 also marked the beginning of what often felt like everyone being against us, simply because we were different.
The attacks were constant, but the parents of AFG and Williams Landing FC stood firm throughout those critical development years.
Their belief allowed you and the others to flourish.
We were never about winning at all costs.
You understood that, even at a young age.
There was a higher purpose, even though many people either didn’t understand it or didn’t want to understand it.
What you and the others were doing was not easy.
It was incredibly hard.
“Playing football is very simple, but playing simple football is the hardest thing there is,” Johan Cruyff famously said.
And it was true.
You were not allowed to “boot it.”
You were not allowed to “kick it out.”
You were not allowed to “just get rid of it.”
Every action had to have a thought and a purpose behind it.
By that stage, the parents completely understood my madness.
This was where you made massive leaps.
Although I always believed you would ultimately become a central midfielder, you played every other position as though you had claimed it as your own.
Your attention to detail and your ability to absorb a message were—and still are—the standard. Not many players can match it.
You were completely embedded in football.
You were writing a new chapter in Australian football.
The heartache of the Shepparton Cup, the Gold Coast Cup, and the Singa Cup was merely a blip on the journey.
Once again, you never wavered from what you needed to do.
Then came COVID.
To you, it was simply another obstacle on the road.
The hundreds of hours of technical skills training were always going to benefit all of you. Your touches on the ball were already ahead of the masses, but COVID only made that gap even greater.
Once again, you and the others flourished.
At times, it was emotional watching you all through a screen, but the overwhelming emotion was pride.
After COVID, the PAL Nationals in Sydney brought more heartache.
It is what it is.
That is football.
It wasn’t only about a loss. It was about what was right and righteous in football.
The journey continued in Melbourne.
You became our captain—not only of the 2009 group, but in many ways, of the entire club.
That wasn’t simply because of what you did on the field. It was also because of how you conducted yourself away from it.
Your character was that of an absolute gentleman.
You quietly went about your own personal business without needing attention or praise.
We often spoke about the importance of the individual.
It was a difficult concept for some people to grasp, but that belief remains with me today.
You were part of a team, but each of you was also on your own individual journey.
Although the team itself was outstanding, not everyone shared your level of detail or your desire to pursue perfection, despite knowing full well that perfection can never truly be achieved.
You did, however, have your partner in crime beside you.
Individually, the two of you were elite.
Together, it was like watching football magic.
People often forget to acknowledge the work both of you were doing away from the pitch—the hours you were completing on your own when nobody was watching.
Those things matter.
Eventually, the inevitable happened.
The A-League clubs came calling.
What was super impressive is that you and your father didn't drowl towards them like a hungry puppy running towards a dog treat.
The decision to delay that move by a year paid enormous dividends, in my opinion.
But eventually, the time was right, and Melbourne City became your destination.
I was once asked by someone at an A-League club:
“What’s stopping me from taking your players?”
My answer?
“Because they’ve f****d with bigger clubs than yours.”
And in your case, that was absolutely true.
Even at a young age, there were clubs in Europe that would have signed you on the spot.
But Melbourne City was the right move for you at that particular stage of your development.
Joey's call-up happened, and I wish I could have had the opportunity to see you play in China, but it wasn't to be. The reports from your Australian performances have been glowing, and it wasn’t going to be long before the next step would arrive.
Now you are at the Central Coast Mariners.
Once again, I believe it is the right Australian club for you.
AFG, Williams Landing FC, Melbourne City FC, and now the Central Coast Mariners have all been—and continue to be—stepping stones towards something much greater.
As I have said to your dad, it has never been a matter of “if.”
It has always been a matter of “when.”
Your parents deserve enormous credit.
This journey has not been easy. Mentally, financially, or even physically.
I thank them for trusting me and allowing me to give you everything I had.
“A great coach must strive for their students to become better than them.”
Thank you, Oliver, for becoming much, much better than me.
Your dream is my dream.
I hope that one day I get to see you and your buddy playing side by side again, whether that is for club or country.
Australia and the football world need to see that.
You are different.
You are special.
Congratulations, and well done, little bro.
It has been an absolute honour.
And this really, truly is only the beginning.
Your Coach
Stacy Christakakis
