Miloš Degenek: ‘I escaped war as a baby – football is not hardship, it’s joy’

The Socceroos defender says his life of struggle and success helps him keep perspective ahead of Australia’s pressure match against Tunisia

Miloš Degenek was 16, the temperature was minus eight degrees, and a jacket was not part of his sartorial repertoire. “I had, like, two pairs of trackies underneath one another, and then four jumpers,” he says, “because I didn’t have money to buy a winter jacket.”

Every day the budding Australian defender layered his clothes in this manner, then shivered his way through the 90-minute journey to VfB Stuttgart’s youth team training. Then, once it was done, he’d turn around and travel 90 minutes back.

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