Hibs star gave dad sleepless night as World Cup dream received major boost - Suto on Socceroos and family ties
Dinner with Aussie legend, a goal and a coveted call-up for overnight sensation signing
He could have given his dad the gift of a full night’s sleep. All it would have taken was a little heads-up.
But Ante Suto didn’t want to spoil the surprise. After all, your son only gets his first senior international call-up once.
So Aussie-born Anthony Suto, who lived in Melbourne until moving to Croatia in his 20s, dragged himself up for a 3 am (local time) press conference live from Sydney. And almost certainly whooped with delight when his boy’s name was confirmed in the Socceroos squad for the upcoming FIFA Series against Cameroon and Curacao.
For Ante, born and raised in Croatia but always keenly aware of his Australian roots, the chance to travel Down Under for the very first time – he’ll join Hibs team-mate Martin Boyle in dashing off almost directly from tomorrow’s Scottish Premiership clash with Motherwell at Fir Park – could hardly be more exciting. With a World Cup just around the corner and Aussie boss Tony Popovic speaking in glowing terms about the 25-year-old, the timing is exquisite.
“Yeah, first of all, I'm proud, I'm honoured to be in the squad,” said Suto, the Deadline Day signing adding: “It's amazing, I couldn't believe when I got the call, but, yeah, I'm here for it. I always believed I could get to that level, and now I'm here.
“The family? Yeah, they are so happy. They are also very proud, especially my father, who is from Australia.
“This press conference for the squad was at three in the morning in Croatia, and my father was up, looking at it. So, yeah, you can see how much it means to him, but also it means to me ... I cannot explain it in words.
“I mean, I knew the day before, but I didn't tell him. So, yeah, they were expecting me to tell them, but I didn't. I wanted them to know like that, to watch the announcement, because I think it's more exciting.”
Croatian-Australian mix of cultures
Melbourne is a melting pot of different cultures and nationalities, a fact reflected in its traditional football teams; Greeks, Croats, Italians and other groups are embedded in the sport. The Suto tale will be familiar to anyone who knows someone from that part of the world.
“My grandfather is from Croatia, but he moved to Australia in the 1960s, maybe,” explained Ante. “So, yeah, he was there for 40, 50 years.
“But the last 10 years of his life he was in Croatia. So, yeah, I mean they are from Croatia, they moved to Australia.
“And they were travelling back and forward, you know, once a year, every two years. And, yeah, my mum and dad met, fell in love, and he stays in Croatia.
“I mean, I didn’t ask my dad if he always wanted me to play for Australia. But probably!
“I’ve seen how happy he is. And the next day after the call-up, I was on the video call with him, and he couldn't hide his smile, you know, all the time. So, yeah, he's very proud. But, you know, all my family is very proud of me, so it means a lot.”
Suto, who is on a group chat with a small army of Aussie cousins, has never actually visited the country of his father’s birth. The only boy in a family of five kids, he explains that it wasn’t always easy to get the whole clan together for a big trip halfway across the world.
Looking forward to the first fixture in Sydney and then what is sure to be an emotional ‘homecoming’ in Melbourne, he said: “Yeah, I've never been to Australia, and I never thought it would be my first time like this. Because it's a big thing.
“In my family, we were always talking about going to Australia as a whole family, but there are seven of us, My parents, me and four sisters, so it's hard to organise and all that. But with this, maybe it's going to happen soon.
“I have a lot of family there in Australia. They are also very happy, very proud, and they're going to be there. And some of them I didn't see for years, so, yeah, they're happy, I'm happy.
“But, you know, I'm there for football, I'm concentrated on that. Of course, I'll see them, I'll speak to them. But, yeah, I'm focused on the field.”
Jedinak dinner before scoring against St Mirren
Popovic revealed this week that he’d been scouting Suto since just before his January move to Scotland. Once the versatile forward made the switch to Easter Road, he wasted little time in sending assistant coach – and all-round Socceroos legend – Mile Jedinak to touch base with the international wannabe.
Confirming that he’d dined with Jedinak before being inspired to score one of his three Hibs goals, to date, in a 2-0 home win over St Mirren, Suto said: “Yeah, he was here for the game. And I came on and scored.
So the day before that we were at dinner, me, my friend and him. We had a good chat, we were not speaking about football, we were speaking about everything else, so it was a good chat, he's a good guy.
“And, yeah, it was also amazing to meet such a legend of Australian football. So it was a good experience.
“To be fair, I was thinking about it (getting a call-up). I was thinking about it, because in Croatia I had a good season also, and in my head it was always ... Because I believe in myself, I believe in my abilities, and I knew I could reach that level.
“It was crazy, but, yeah, I was thinking about it. But now, when I'm here, it's an amazing feeling.”
Suto, looking to add to his goal tally in tomorrow’s crucial Euro eliminator against fourth-placed Motherwell, will be one of two Socceroos jetting off next week. Martin Boyle, on a World Cup mission of redemption after missing the last finals through injury, will be there to guide the new boy along.
“He’s happy for me,” said Suto. “He's happy because we are team-mates here.
“It’s going to be easier to play for him also, because we are connected already. And, yeah, we'll see in these games.
“It's going to be easier, because he's also a legend there. He has 40 caps or something. So, it's going to be easier for me.”