Last year we tipped Michael Zullo as one of the 10 best players outside the A-League. Check out who made the list this year after we scoured the state leagues and junior competitions last summer...
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Robbie Cattanach
Age 23
Club Manly United FC
League NSW Premier League
Position Striker
One man who knows “Catto” well is his coach in the NSW Premier League Phil Moss. The Manly United boss says his striker has recognised the areas he has needed to work on – and has started 2008 a much better player as a result.
“The things that have probably held him back from making the A-League have been [a lack of] aggression and strength as well as his aerial power. But to be fair, we had a chat at the end of last season and he’s gone away and worked hard on those three aspects of his game,” Moss explains to FourFourTwo.
“I think he’s one of the best finishers in the NSW Premier League and he’ll be hard for A-League coaches to ignore.”
Cattanach – the 2005 and 2007 NSW Gold Medal Winner as the Premier League’s Player of the Year – briefly played for Sydney FC last season as short-term cover – ironically on the same teamsheet as Matt Nash, who’s also in this feature.
And Cattanach reminded us of his talent on the opening day of the 2008 NSW Premier League season when he nabbed a hat-trick on the road at Bankstown.
The Canberra-born 23-year-old played in the ACT Premier League before moving to the NSW competition. He had a successful year with the Belconnen Blue Devils then joined Manly – both former clubs of Nikolai Topor-Stanley. Cattanach is in his third year at Manly and is now a matured talent.
“He’s technically very good and quick,” adds Moss, a former Northern Spirit player. “He can score but also create goals. He’s one of those players who’s knocking on the door of the A-League.
“When the new clubs finally come in it’s the age old argument, where are they going to get the players from? They’ll have to look at the state leagues and if you look at our state league – which I think is the strongest in Australia – Robbie Cattanach is the pick of the crop.”
Aidan Ormand
Matthew Nash
Age 26
Club Apia Leichhardt Tigers
League NSW Premier League
Position Goalkeeper
Sydney FC fans may remember Matthew Nash. The unknown keeper was thrown into the fray in round two last season and turned in an A-1 performance between the sticks against Glory in Perth.
With Clint Bolton on international duty and back-up goalkeeper Ivan Necevski out injured – Necevski was also named in last year’s FourFourTwo 10 Best Players Outside the A-League feature [May 2007, page 40] – Nash introduced himself to A-League fans with an assured performance in the West.
“I was pretty nervous before the game but I knew about two weeks before that I’d be playing. When I got back to Sydney and training, it gave me real confidence that I could do it at that level,” Nash tells FourFourTwo.
Since the return of the two regular FC keepers, Nash continued his development in the NSW Premier League at APIA’s Lambert Park, where his burgeoning reputation as a commanding shot stopper has continued with the Tigers.
“It was great at Sydney because it [training and playing] was the only thing you had to concentrate on and I learned so much from Clint Bolton too. Just the way he conducts himself.
“For me a good keeper is all about cutting out the errors as much as possible and being consistent because one mistake and you could cost your team."
Will the former Illawarra League player be back in the A-League? Well, that’s the plan. “I moved up to Sydney to pretty much just play soccer,” explains the former NSWIS student.
“My goal is to do well and try to make it in the A-League. If not the A-League then I’d still want to play – it’s a long time in-between Premier League seasons too.”
Aidan Ormond
Fabio DiLizia
Age 17
Club Victorian Institute of Sport
League Victorian Foxtel Cup Under-21
Position Defender
DiLizia isn’t your ordinary 17-year-old. The Victorian Institute of Sport scholarship holder has already captained both the VIS and the Qantas Joeys and enjoyed trials with European heavyweights AS Roma and Liverpool – although the latter was more of a training session with the club’s youth team while the VIS was on a tour of England last year.
His vast achievements and ability have also led many to label DiLizia as Australia’s best player in his age-group – a belief that was given some extra credence when he was named the Best Junior Male by Football Federation Victoria in late 2007.
VIS coach Ian Greener is another singing the praises of his captain, who he believes has what it takes to make the leap into the A-League.
“At this stage, Fab is focused and certainly working hard to make that jump [into the A-League] and hopefully if given the chance, I think he can certainly do it,” he says.
“He’s an outstanding talent. He’s a very astute player and reads the game very, very well. He may not be one of the quickest but he’s certainly very sharp in reading situations.”
DiLizia has become a regular train-on member with Melbourne Victory – one of the perks emanating from the relationship between the VIS and the Victory – and he would love nothing more than to don the big white “V” at the Telstra Dome in the near future alongside the likes of Kevin Muscat and Roddy Vargas.
“For sure,” DiLizia exclaims. “Hopefully in the next couple of years something happens and we’ll take it from there. With the new National Youth League starting in August, hopefully I’ll get in somewhere and next year or the year after I make my senior debut.”
With Victory coach Ernie Merrick’s penchant for developing talent, it seems only a matter of time before this young gem is snapped up.
John Iannantuono
Adam Sarota
Age 19
Club Brisbane Strikers
League Brisbane Premier League
Position Attacking midfielder
Brisbane product Adam Sarota has already attracted the attention of Queensland coach Frank Farina, spending two months training with the Roar. And the attacking midfielder is currently cooling his heels in the Brisbane Premier League under ex-Roar defender and Brisbane Strikers’ coach Stuart McLaren, who tipped young flyer Michael Zullo as the next big thing this time last year.
“The kid has as much potential as any of the young players that we’ve seen burst onto the scene in the A-League. He’s the same vintage as Robbie Kruse and grew up playing with both him and Zullo. He’s slightly different though to those two – more central and unique in that sense,” says McLaren.
“He’s got a wonderful first touch, very nimble feet on the ball and great awareness of the game and other players about him – it’s why he suits an attacking midfield role.”
The mild-mannered teenager has just returned from Germany where he refined his skills with FC Köln youth academy Taxofit during a two-year scholarship deal that saw him take off at only 15.
“When I got the scholarship, that was when I thought, ‘I could actually make this a career.’ It was the turning point for me,” says Sarota. “It was difficult at first being away from my family, but after learning the language it got easier. I’ve always dreamed of playing football for a living and hopefully I’ll get the chance to try and match it with the A-League players.”
Michelle Fowler
Age 23
Club Manly United FC
League NSW Premier League
Position Striker
One man who knows “Catto” well is his coach in the NSW Premier League Phil Moss. The Manly United boss says his striker has recognised the areas he has needed to work on – and has started 2008 a much better player as a result.
“The things that have probably held him back from making the A-League have been [a lack of] aggression and strength as well as his aerial power. But to be fair, we had a chat at the end of last season and he’s gone away and worked hard on those three aspects of his game,” Moss explains to FourFourTwo.
“I think he’s one of the best finishers in the NSW Premier League and he’ll be hard for A-League coaches to ignore.”
Cattanach – the 2005 and 2007 NSW Gold Medal Winner as the Premier League’s Player of the Year – briefly played for Sydney FC last season as short-term cover – ironically on the same teamsheet as Matt Nash, who’s also in this feature.
And Cattanach reminded us of his talent on the opening day of the 2008 NSW Premier League season when he nabbed a hat-trick on the road at Bankstown.
The Canberra-born 23-year-old played in the ACT Premier League before moving to the NSW competition. He had a successful year with the Belconnen Blue Devils then joined Manly – both former clubs of Nikolai Topor-Stanley. Cattanach is in his third year at Manly and is now a matured talent.
“He’s technically very good and quick,” adds Moss, a former Northern Spirit player. “He can score but also create goals. He’s one of those players who’s knocking on the door of the A-League.
“When the new clubs finally come in it’s the age old argument, where are they going to get the players from? They’ll have to look at the state leagues and if you look at our state league – which I think is the strongest in Australia – Robbie Cattanach is the pick of the crop.”
Aidan Ormand
Matthew Nash
Age 26
Club Apia Leichhardt Tigers
League NSW Premier League
Position Goalkeeper
Sydney FC fans may remember Matthew Nash. The unknown keeper was thrown into the fray in round two last season and turned in an A-1 performance between the sticks against Glory in Perth.
With Clint Bolton on international duty and back-up goalkeeper Ivan Necevski out injured – Necevski was also named in last year’s FourFourTwo 10 Best Players Outside the A-League feature [May 2007, page 40] – Nash introduced himself to A-League fans with an assured performance in the West.
“I was pretty nervous before the game but I knew about two weeks before that I’d be playing. When I got back to Sydney and training, it gave me real confidence that I could do it at that level,” Nash tells FourFourTwo.
Since the return of the two regular FC keepers, Nash continued his development in the NSW Premier League at APIA’s Lambert Park, where his burgeoning reputation as a commanding shot stopper has continued with the Tigers.
“It was great at Sydney because it [training and playing] was the only thing you had to concentrate on and I learned so much from Clint Bolton too. Just the way he conducts himself.
“For me a good keeper is all about cutting out the errors as much as possible and being consistent because one mistake and you could cost your team."
Will the former Illawarra League player be back in the A-League? Well, that’s the plan. “I moved up to Sydney to pretty much just play soccer,” explains the former NSWIS student.
“My goal is to do well and try to make it in the A-League. If not the A-League then I’d still want to play – it’s a long time in-between Premier League seasons too.”
Aidan Ormond
Fabio DiLizia
Age 17
Club Victorian Institute of Sport
League Victorian Foxtel Cup Under-21
Position Defender
DiLizia isn’t your ordinary 17-year-old. The Victorian Institute of Sport scholarship holder has already captained both the VIS and the Qantas Joeys and enjoyed trials with European heavyweights AS Roma and Liverpool – although the latter was more of a training session with the club’s youth team while the VIS was on a tour of England last year.
His vast achievements and ability have also led many to label DiLizia as Australia’s best player in his age-group – a belief that was given some extra credence when he was named the Best Junior Male by Football Federation Victoria in late 2007.
VIS coach Ian Greener is another singing the praises of his captain, who he believes has what it takes to make the leap into the A-League.
“At this stage, Fab is focused and certainly working hard to make that jump [into the A-League] and hopefully if given the chance, I think he can certainly do it,” he says.
“He’s an outstanding talent. He’s a very astute player and reads the game very, very well. He may not be one of the quickest but he’s certainly very sharp in reading situations.”
DiLizia has become a regular train-on member with Melbourne Victory – one of the perks emanating from the relationship between the VIS and the Victory – and he would love nothing more than to don the big white “V” at the Telstra Dome in the near future alongside the likes of Kevin Muscat and Roddy Vargas.
“For sure,” DiLizia exclaims. “Hopefully in the next couple of years something happens and we’ll take it from there. With the new National Youth League starting in August, hopefully I’ll get in somewhere and next year or the year after I make my senior debut.”
With Victory coach Ernie Merrick’s penchant for developing talent, it seems only a matter of time before this young gem is snapped up.
John Iannantuono
Adam Sarota
Age 19
Club Brisbane Strikers
League Brisbane Premier League
Position Attacking midfielder
Brisbane product Adam Sarota has already attracted the attention of Queensland coach Frank Farina, spending two months training with the Roar. And the attacking midfielder is currently cooling his heels in the Brisbane Premier League under ex-Roar defender and Brisbane Strikers’ coach Stuart McLaren, who tipped young flyer Michael Zullo as the next big thing this time last year.
“The kid has as much potential as any of the young players that we’ve seen burst onto the scene in the A-League. He’s the same vintage as Robbie Kruse and grew up playing with both him and Zullo. He’s slightly different though to those two – more central and unique in that sense,” says McLaren.
“He’s got a wonderful first touch, very nimble feet on the ball and great awareness of the game and other players about him – it’s why he suits an attacking midfield role.”
The mild-mannered teenager has just returned from Germany where he refined his skills with FC Köln youth academy Taxofit during a two-year scholarship deal that saw him take off at only 15.
“When I got the scholarship, that was when I thought, ‘I could actually make this a career.’ It was the turning point for me,” says Sarota. “It was difficult at first being away from my family, but after learning the language it got easier. I’ve always dreamed of playing football for a living and hopefully I’ll get the chance to try and match it with the A-League players.”
Michelle Fowler
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