Will Booth 
Sydney FC's Douglas Costa in action during the Sydney Derby in Round 1 of the 2024/25 A-League Men season. Photo: Joshua Davis
When Sydney FC took to the field against the Western Sydney Wanderers in the opening round of the A-League campaign, most eyes would have understandably been drawn to Douglas Costa or Juan Mata, however it was some of the lesser-known talent from the Sky Blues that stole the show.
From the first whistle Sydney showed the reason they have been so heavily tipped to win silverware this season, with intricate passages of play coming from all positions across the field.
Douglas Costa immediately showed why there had been so much hype built up around this game, orchestrating Sydney’s early chances with deft touches. Wanderers import Juan Mata only saw 30 minutes on the field, unable to make an impact in his cameo with the team conceding almost immediately after his injection into the game.
There were a few stand out performers that have been around the league for some time now, with Jordan Courtney-Perkins in particular getting off to a flying start, but it was the new signings that impressed as a collective the most.
There were some doubts over the issue of the squad gelling together will these arrivals, but with the final product they have shown already, they look ready to compete even if they are not at full potential, which is a frightening thought for their opponents.
Much of this can be put down to their positional fluidity. The players are comfortable filling in gaps where required, evident in the build-up phase of play that saw Leo Sena dropping into the back line to receive the ball and Rhyan Grant inverting into midfield to fill the gap.
It was even more obvious in the attacking areas, with Joe Lolley, Anas Ouahim, and Douglas Costa constantly swapping positions which made man-marking nearly impossible for the helpless Wanderers defence.
Ufuk Talay has shown he is willing to give players the individual freedom needed to express themselves, and it appears as though this is the right choice in terms of getting the best out of them.
“We’re not very rigid in the way that we’re doing things this season, we’re trying to be fluid, we’re allowing players to find the space,” Talay said.
“We don’t tell players where they need to run.”
Talay also puts down the flexibility of his side to one player in particular, who played multiple roles throughout the match depending on the substitutions that were made.
Anthony Caceres was initially paired with Sena as a six, however, when Corey Hollman came on for Ouahim in the 58th minute he then pushed up into the number 10 role, in what Talay confirmed Caceres sees as his best role.
“Caceres will say he’s a 10, I think he’s an eight,” Talay said.
“I think he can go in between lines as a 10, and I think he can drop down and play as a six.”
Caceres would drop back into the pivot when Max Burgess replaced Sena later in the match, highlighting his versatility and a potential fix to the lack of depth Sydney have in their defensive midfield ranks.
However Caceres is deployed, Sydney FC have lived up to the early expectations and have sent some warning signs to the league after their dismantling of the Wanderers in the Sydney Derby.