If you had to pick one Australian for whom the second match in the Olympic tournament will be an event to savour, it would probably be Carl Valeri. A highly promising young midfielder, Valeri will be celebrating his 20th birthday as his team step out to face Serbia-Montenegro on 14 August. But neither him nor his Olyroo team-mates expect that the spanking handed out by Argentina has broken the Serbs' spirit.

Still a teenager for a day at least, Carl Valeri is already a fixture in the Australian under-23 side and has more experience under his belt than many of his elders. Captain of the team that reached the U-17 quarter-finals in Trinidad and Tobago 2001, and a key figure in the World Youth Championship squad that made it to the second round in the United Arab Emirates two years later, Valeri knows what the big tournaments feel like: "my experience in youth tournaments all over the world has been helpful so, whatever the occasion, I won't be too nervous".

Undeniably modest, this talented young man is not unaware that these Olympics can help his game. The same cannot be said with any confidence for his Olyroo colleagues, most of them older than he is. "I can't really say that my experience rubs off on the squad, seeing as I'm one of the youngest of the 22 players here," admits Valeri, and you get a sense that things might have been delicate for him; "it could have been tricky coming into a group of guys older than me, but my team-mates don't think about my age, just about how I play. There's a lot of respect. Even the three guys over 23 deal with it like that."

Nothing appears to fluster this young man with the trademark Bondi Beach surfer look. It's a coolness that runs deep, Valeri having left his family and friends behind to join Inter Milan at the tender age of 18. Was relocating 8000 kilometres away difficult for him so young?  "The first six months were hard without a doubt. Little by little, things got better and last season I got a big kick out of playing. It's all about getting used to it, that's all."

Valeri seems used to Inter enough to want more. "Even though it's not easy to be so far from my family and all my friends, I reckon I'll be sticking in Europe for a while. It's where I need to be for my career. I don't know for how long, though, it depends on how things go for me.  Ten years maybe!" he adds, breaking out in disarming laughter.

Football in the blood
This young Australian's love of the game is a family virus. From his folks back home there is nothing less than total support. "Football's like a family business for the Valeris. My Dad was a youth international but had to quit due to injuries, otherwise he would have kept going a long time. My brothers play as well, so it just became natural for me to do the same. Because of that, all my family understood me going to Europe, even though I was only 18 at the time. My Dad especially, so it was like a dream."

Conscious of how lucky he is to be playing the sport he loves for a living, this particular Olyroo wants to make the most of these Olympics. Having watched the Sydney games and savoured the intensity of the atmosphere, it's almost as if Valeri feels there are scores to settle: "I've got lasting memories of the tournament in 2000 which pretty much happened at home for me. It's all fresh in my mind. What I remember most is that our team didn't do very well despite having a great chance. I haven't forgotten that and it's another reason why I want to do well here. We owe it to ourselves to do better." 

No question of letting the opportunity go begging this time. But while the draw with Tunisia in the first match doesn't harm the Australian cause, it doesn't make their task any easier. "There's two games left, and we're aiming to improve. It goes without saying that there's more pressure now. If we'd got three points from the first match, it would be a totally different story."

The Olyroo's next opponents were surprise finalists at the last U-21 European Championships. It's a credential that's hard to deny; "I saw the Serbs in that final against Italy. They played well and lost to an excellent azzurri. We know they're here in Greece without some key players but that doesn't change a thing - they're still a dangerous team to face."

"We were worried," admits Petrovic
Not even Valeri denies that the 6-0 drubbing inflicted on Serbia-Montenegro by Argentina has given him and his colleagues confidence, though. And the Serbian manager, Vladimir Petrovic, sounded nothing if not shell-shocked after the encounter: "Argentina are the best team in the tournament as everyone saw tonight. We were worried before this match and we have been proved right."

The Serb coach can claim mitigating circumstances, having had the majority of his best players denied the chance to take part by their clubs. "We are desperately lacking experience. We'll just have to see how the rest of the tournament goes," he lamented without much optimism.

Valeri won't be feeling sorry for Petrovic and his team. Quite the opposite - he's hoping they gift him the perfect birthday present; "my dream birthday would be to play, to score and to win!" Surely that's not asking too much.