Words: Steve Pitman, Brisbane Strikers
Image: Brisbane Strikers

Brisbane Strikers confirmed tonight Greg King will wear the captain’s armband in Tuesday’s historic Westfield FFA Cup showdown with Broadmeadow Magic in Newcastle.

Despite former A-League star and regular club captain Jonti Richter being confirmed in the travelling squad following injury, King will receive the the honour of leading Strikers in their first national appearance since the folding of the National Soccer League in 2004.

King, 26, appreciated the nature of the accolade after several years as one of Strikers most reliable contributors in the Queensland State League and now NPL Queensland.

“To be playing in the first televised game in the Round of 32 in the first-ever Westfield FFA Cup – it’s a real honour to be involved in that, from a player’s point of view,” he said.

“It’s an honour any time to captain the club, but in such a prestigious game that will go down in history it’s really something personally to be very proud of,” King added.

King, who has netted twice for Strikers this season in NPL Queensland and set up many more, said there was a real buzz in training ahead of the historic clash.

“For many guys this is the ultimate opportunity. At the end of the day we’re a semi-professional club and we don’t get this sort of exposure very often,” he explained.

“Since the end of the NSL this club hasn’t really had this exposure ever, so for the guys that haven’t played professionally this is about as good as you’ll get.”

Strikers will field a young squad for the Westfield FFA Cup, many of whom weren’t even teenagers when Strikers last tasted success on the national stage when the club won the  National Soccer League Grand Final in 1997

Thankfully, King has a degree in psychology that will assist him with calming nerves before their date with destiny.

“With some guys you want them to feel that excitement because it will help their game, and some guys you need to calm down a little bit – it really varies from player to player.”, King said.

“For those that I think might need to just sort of calm down and treat it as a normal game, I’ll probably have a word with them, but for some others it’ll probably help them to feel the excitement of the game”.

He said despite limited knowledge of Magic, who currently sit seventh in NPL Northern New South Wales, Strikers won’t underestimate a team that has won three straight Grand Finals.

“We’re making sure that our boys don’t read too much into their current position on the league table”, King said.

Tuesday’s Westfield FFA Cup game will be shown LIVE on Fox Sports 3 with coverage starting from 7PM and kick-off scheduled for 7:30pm.