Soccer young gun plays abroad

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE: Young gun Austin Rossi took his soccer to the next level when he competed in the Adelaide Stars Football Academy tour of Italy recently. Picture: JAMES MURPHY

MOUNT Gambier rising soccer star Austin Rossi has returned from an experience of a lifetime, after he was selected as part of the Adelaide Stars Football Academy tour of Italy.

The 15-year-old, who plays for International in the Limestone Coast Football Association, was given the opportunity when his father Mauro found the program after Rossi was unable to attend a trip to Fiji as part of the South Australian regional Under 15 squad in December due to prior commitments.

Rossi said it was an “amazing” experience and the young player learned a lot over the two-week trip.

“I was over the moon to be selected,” he said.

“It was just amazing everything we did, it was a lifetime experience.”

He said the culture of the sport was vastly different to Australia and he had to adapt to a more professional approach to the game.

“It was a lot more professional in things like the way they warmed up and the way they presented themselves,” Rossi said.

Rossi and his Under 16 team, which comprised of him and 17 Adelaide-based players, completed five games against Italian clubs during their stay, which also involved training and coaching sessions, along with sight seeing.

Of Italian heritage, the trip also provided a chance for Rossi and his father to catch up with family.

One of the teams the Stars Academy played was the Under 17 Italian champions, which in itself was a massive learning curve.

It was only by chance Rossi was given the opportunity, after his father reached out to find an alternative to the Fiji trip.

“He was not able to go to Fiji and I could see he was very disappointed,” Mauro said.

“I said we would look for something, maybe a holiday camp in Melbourne, Adelaide or I was even prepared to go to Sydney.

“I started looking through the web and it came up with this Adelaide Stars Academy tour of Italy 2018.”

After a phone call Mauro was informed the Academy was invitation only and the team had already been training together for three months.

However, upon further discussion the coach Roberto Dello began to ask for more details about Rossi and became more interested.

Eventually Mauro received a phone call two weeks before the Italy trip to come up and train, to see first hand if Rossi was at a standard to fit into the squad.

A quick trip to Adelaide was completed that day and Rossi trained with the team, before an email confirmed his selection.

“It all happened pretty quick,” Mauro said.

Rossi said the Academy was a challenging, but rewarding experience.

It took some time to slot in with the team, which he had only trained with twice prior to the overseas trip.

Up against tough competition, the Adelaide Stars won one of their five games – against Real Vicenza’s Under 16’s, 3-1 – and showed steady improvement throughout the program.

“They were very good players we played against, which meant we had to step up another level,” Rossi said.

“As the games progressed, we got better as a team and I got to know the boys a bit better.

“They were all from Adelaide except for me.

“So the three months they had been training for they got to know each other, whereas I only had the two trainings.

“It was tough at first, but as the trip went on I mixed in with them and it was really good.

“By the end of it we were all good mates.”

The games themselves were an eye-opener and he thanked both his specialist soccer teacher Nathan Fleetwood and the Inter A Grade coaching from Gareth Vonduve for providing him with a taste of higher level soccer.

“It was a lot different to down here, the feel of the game was closer to senior level,” Rossi said.

“I came on most games at half time.

“In A Grade here I come on off the bench, so it was kind of like that feel.”

Rossi said his A Grade experience this season was invaluable in preparing him for the games.

“The trainings with Gaz really helped me,” he said.

Looking forward, Rossi hopes to move to Adelaide and further develop his soccer and the Italy trip was a glimpse into the standard he would like to reach.

“I guess that’s the next level, if I am looking to go further, that’s probably where I am aiming – to be at the quality of where those boys were,” he said.

“I’m hoping in the next couple of years to maybe move up to Adelaide and go from there.

“But a lot of hard work will have to be put in.

“That is why I am thankful to have Mr Fleetwood here, who has been at that level and knows a bit about Adelaide.

“Having his coaching is obviously really good and Gaz this year was also really good for me.”