EXCLUSIVE: Sydney FC skipper Steve Corica has hailed Parramatta Stadium as an ideal A-League venue ahead of Sunday’s crucial clash with Perth Glory.

Sydney FC have moved this week’s game to Parramatta, 23km west of Sydney’s CBD, as their regular home ground is double-booked.

The 44,000-seat Sydney Football Stadium will host the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, allowing the club to reach out to potential fans in the city’s west.

Parramatta Stadium is the hot tip as home venue for Sydney Rovers when they kick off their A-League life in 2011 and Sydney’s second A-League franchise, which will be based in the west, will be watching Sunday’s crowd with interest.

Even if the sky blues match their season average of 12,149, it should make for a terrific atmosphere.

But Corica is not worried about the enforced change, saying the 20,857 all-seater rectangular venue is the perfect configuration for an A-League base.

“The other [Sydney A-League] team that comes in, I don’t know where they’re going to play their games but that’s definitely a good stadium,” Corica told au.fourfourtwo.com.

“It’s a very nice stadium to play at. The pitch is very flat and it’s a good atmosphere for supporters too. It’s not too big; it’s probably the right size for an A-League match.”

The stadium has long been a favourite of football fans and it’s hosted some memorable club and Socceroo games. It was the location for the very last kick of NSL football when Perth Glory defeated Parramatta Power 1-0 in 2004.

And the Brett Emerton-skippered Olyroos memorably defeated Brazil 2-1 there in a 1998 friendly in front of over 20,000 fans.

A year earlier and a Ned Zelic cracker helped the Socceroos see off New Zealand in a World Cup qualifier 2-0 while in 1988 Tony Henderson helped Marconi to an NSL grand final trophy after slamming the winning penalty in a shootout in the big defender’s final game.

Corica too has sweet memories of a stadium steeped in Aussie football history. Sixteen years ago, the 21 year old scored one of the great NSL goals to help his then club Marconi defeat Sydney Olympic in a 1993/1994 second leg elimination final.

A year earlier he was part of a Marconi side that featured Mark Schwarzer in goal and Ufuk Talay in midfield that triumphed 1-0 over Adelaide City in that season’s NSL Grand Final.

More recently, two goals by Corica in a 2007 Asian Champions League win over Persik Kediri has added to the stadium’s allure for the veteran Sydney schemer. But it’s his fabulous goal against Olympic that remains embedded in his memory.

“I was only a young boy at the time and at the time my game was built around dribbling and taking on players. So that’s what I wanted to do,” he said.

“I remember picking the ball up inside our half on the right. I headed across field towards goal and everything opened up, I think I beat a couple of players and got to the box, it opened up nicely, I shot and it went in.”

Corica added: “I’m a different player now but they were good memories.”

The Sydney versus Perth game kicks-off at 5pm local time with the National Youth League starting at 2pm. The Cove will be in Bays 55, 56 and 57 at the northern end of the stadium. See www.sydneyfc.com for further ticket and transport details.