Sydney FC striker Adam Le Fondre is proud to be carrying the flag for the beautiful game and providing people with their football fix as one of the few players in the world still playing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The spread of Covid-19 has shaken society to its foundations, with the sporting calendar decimated in a bid to quell the vicious disease sweeping the globe.
Just a handful of events are still going ahead and the A-League, Australia's premier men's competition, is among those ploughing on.
It means that Le Fondre, formerly of Rochdale, Rotherham, Reading and several other English clubs, will be one the only players gracing the turf this weekend, when Sydney taking on local rivals Western Sydney Wanderers.
"With us being the only football going, the onus is sort of on you to carry the flag of that, I guess," he told the PA news agency.
"I guess everyone is going to be watching because we're the only football fix you can have, so it's on us to keep people entertained. That's what we have to do.
Le Fondre swapped Bolton for Sydney in August 2018 and the free-scoring striker has netted 16 goals in 19 appearances for the table-topping Sky Blues this season, having helped them become A-League champions in his first campaign.
There is a winning mindset around the club and the Stockport-born striker knows mentality will be more important than ever when the world watches a derby played in front of empty stands on Saturday.
"I've never played a league game behind closed doors," said Le Fondre, a Manchester United fan who watched their crowdless Europa League clash at LASK on TV last week.
"I've only had that in friendlies and even friendlies I've struggled to do that – it's like training ground games, really.
"Obviously, the mentality on everyone has to be better.
"Whoever mentally prepares best for this game is obviously going to come out on top, so it's a great test for us all, really, as players because we're all looking forward to this.
"It should be a great spectacle for us all to get involved in and hopefully we put on a great show for people watching and people can get their football fix watching us.
"Hopefully we all perform to our high standards and it's a great game for everyone to watch."
