It did not take Nathan Burns long to know that AEK Athens were just going to be his next club.
Burns, the 20-year-old kid from Blayney in country NSW, this week signed a four-year contract with the Greek giants to realise his childhood dream of becoming a professional in Europe.
The Adelaide United star who will play for Australia in the forthcoming Olympic Games in Beijing said he was highly impressed with the faith shown in him by the third biggest club in Athens - after Olympiacos and Panathinaikos.
"I was there at the weekend to check out the club and they showed a lot of interest in me,'' Burns said.
"Being a young player I was pretty keen to sign because the coach said he wanted to include me in his plans for the future.
"I had a fair bit of interest from other clubs but I felt almost immediately that this club was the most appropriate for me. And that is important.''
Burns was surprised to learn that AEK knew a fair bit about him and did not even need to have a look at him in a trial. Such was their faith in his ability.
"I also liked the fact that most senior management people and coaching staff are pretty young,'' Burns added.
"The president (Demis) Nikolaidis, who is a former player and European champion in 2004, does things differently at the club and everything seems to be working for them.''
AEK sold Hungarian left-sided midfielder Daniel Tozser to Belgian club Genk in the off-season.
And Burns believes that this will give him a better opportunity to cement a first-team place in a high-quality squad that includes 2002 World Cup winner Rivaldo of Brazil and Greece internationals Traianos Dellas and Nikos Liberopoulos.
"Playing regularly is important so hopefully I'll slot into the team as soon as possible and make a lot of appearances,'' he said.
"But it's going to be difficult because there is plenty of depth in the squad.
"Rivaldo is one of the greats, isn't he. He's in good form, he scored 20 odd goals last season and it would be good to get on the field with him and run off him.''
Burns is one of Australia's finest prospects and many observers regard him as a possible 2010 World Cup Socceroo, if the national team negotiates its Asian qualifying minefield successfully.
"The World Cup is a long way away but it is my ultimate goal,'' Burns said. "So I've got to focus on my club and get some appearances in.''
Burns, who will go to Greece on his own, said he was looking forward to the challenge that he rates as "the next step'' in the progression of his career.
"It's pretty hectic in Athens and it's going to take a little while to adjust,'' he admitted.
"I've got a person in Athens who is going to set me up and get me comfortable. Hopefully I'll fit in pretty easily.''
Burns's agent Bernie Mandic admitted that the pitfalls facing any young player in such a huge metropolis as Athens were considerable and "it did cross my mind'' but he said he had no doubts that his player would handle the pressure.
"We will keep an eye on him but I've got no doubts that he'll cope with the pressure quite well,'' Mandic said.
"He's a tough kid and he's got great attributes. Many people forget that he's been living on his own for six years since he left Blayney, first at Westfields, then in Adelaide.
"He's been fielding offers from such clubs as Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Brugge, Aston Villa and Brann Bergen for a year but he's taken his time (to decide where to go).
"He finally chose AEK mainly because he likes the set-up although he could have earned double with the other clubs.''
Burns made 54 appearances and scored 11 goals for the Reds in two A-League seasons.
He made his Socceroos debut when he came on as a second-half substitute against Singapore in 2007.
You're like him, "I won't speak till after the euros"
Anyway apparently Ramos is interested in us, and he's already been linked with us in the Ronny transfer. I can't offer any opinion though, 
