An immature Melbourne footy fan worked at a florist before he became radicalised and plotted to behead a police officer in an Anzac Day terror attack.
Sevdet Ramadan Besim did "normal" teenage things and dreamt of becoming an architect before he was influenced by extremists, including senior Islamic State recruiter Neil Prakash, the Victorian Supreme Court has been told.
The 19-year-old Hallam man will be jailed after planning to run down a police officer and cut off his head in a violent rampage that would end in his own death.
Besim chose Anzac Day last year for his gruesome attack to "make sure the dogs remember this as well as there fallen heros (sic)".
He said he was "ready to fight these dogs on there (sic) doorstep".
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"I'd love to take out some cops," Besim said in online chats with a UK teenager, where he discussed his deadly ideas.
"I was gonna meet with them then take some heads ahaha."
Besim had a pledge to the leader of IS on his phone and had created a "martyrdom" note discussing his burial wishes, the court heard on Monday.
He was in the later years of high school when he was introduced to the now defunct Al-Furqan Islamic Centre in Springvale, which has been linked to radical figures.
There, he met Prakash who gave him contact details for the UK teen, his barrister George Georgiou, SC, said.
"At a young and impressionable age, he is being exposed to some pretty dangerous ideologies by older, charismatic, persuasive individuals," Mr Georgiou said.
Besim also became friends with Numan Haider about this time and was deeply affected by his death.
Crown prosecutor Jeremy Rapke, QC said Haider's death was a catalyst for Besim's murder plot "in the pursuit of violent jihad".
Haider, 18, was shot dead outside Endeavour Hills police station in 2014 after stabbing two counter-terrorism officers.
"He wanted to emulate Haider," Mr Rapke said of Besim, who was flanked by extra security in court.
If overseas authorities had not pounced on the UK teen, revealing communication with Besim, there was a real chance the Anzac Day beheading would have happened, the prosecutor told the court.
Besim last month told a psychologist he remains dedicated to Islam, but now rejects violent extremism, the court heard.
The single offence he pleaded guilty to - doing acts in preparation or planning for a terrorist act - carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
He has been in custody since April 18 last year when heavily armed officers swooped on his home.
The teenager planned his attack from mid-March to mid-April, including researching Anzac Day services in Melbourne and Dandenong.
He wrote: "I feel like a young kid with a ticket to disney world cant wait ahahah. Yeh i wanna make sure i get shot to. Not b4 i take out at least 1."
Justice Michael Croucher said the comments were "putrid".
Besim will return to court on Tuesday.
