I KNEW Aurelio Vidmar when he was 11.

As fate would have it we were situated on opposite sides of a great chasm. At stake was the ongoing struggle for primary school football supremacy in the Woodville district competition.

He played for Flinders Park, one of the two sworn enemies of my school, Seaton Park. The other was Fulham Gardens and between the three of us a fierce battle raged.

Aurelio was somewhat disadvantaged. Fulham Gardens and Seaton Park had quite a spread of decent players to call on. The stocks of talent at Flinders Park were not so deep. Basically they had Aurelio, playing as striker, and ten other players who were simply charged with getting the ball into his vicinity as often as they could. He’d then do the rest.

His skills and football know-how, even at such a young age, were clearly evident. He had the most annoying knack (speaking as an opposition player!) of always being in the right place at the right time. In terms of reading the game, he was nearing the end of the book whilst the rest of us were just finishing the introduction.

One particular game against Aurelio clearly sticks in my mind. It was the day I was given the task of man-marking him. I think it was a punishment for turning up late to training. He managed to score a goal but I stuck to the task as best I could and for that one match, became his shadow.

After primary school Aurelio and I both went on to play for the same district club for a few years. He still has the same mischievous grin now as he did back then. In days since, although we’ve lost contact, I’ve followed his football path and achievements with great interest.

He played 454 senior matches for clubs in Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Spain, Japan and Australia, scoring 126 goals. He also ran out 53 times for the national team, scoring 18 goals. Not a bad effort really.

This week he was inducted into the Football Hall of Champions for his contribution to Australian football. It’s an acknowledgement that’s well deserved.

To this honour I’d like to add my own contribution.

Aurelio, please accept the ‘If it wasn’t for that damn striker, we could knock off Flinders Park with our eyes closed’ Award!

Great memories, thanks mate.