Adelaide United teenager Louis D’Arrigo makes good use of lessons learnt under the guidance of departed Reds legend Isaias
Teenager Louis D’Arrigo has attributed his stunning emergence to time spent training with an Adelaide United legend and the Reds’ midfielder hopes to emulate the success of the departed great he has replaced.
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Endless training ground hours spent modelling his game on Adelaide United’s most celebrated midfield linchpin are helping Louis D’Arrigo emerge as his natural successor.
The teenager produced a mature display in the Reds engine room, as he outfought and out-thought his more experienced opponents in Saturday’s stunning Melbourne Victory success.
D’Arrigo’s ball-winning ability and intelligent distribution are fast becoming his trademarks, in a senior career spanning just six A-League matches.
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His growing influence on high-flying United’s fortunes also has the potential to emulate that of departed captain and club legend Isaias.
“I learned a lot from him,” said D’Arrigo, who trained alongside the Spanish-born maestro last campaign before his exit for Qatari side Al-Wakrah.
“He was a big help to me in my first season at the club and he took me under his wing a lot.
“It was good just getting to watch him in training every day and then seeing him win a lot of big matches.
“This was my first game against Victory and it felt almost like a cup final.
“You want to go out there and win every game, but this is one you have to win.
“You can’t beat the feeling.”
D’Arrigo controlled the Hindmarsh Stadium midfield battle against Victory with a performance reminiscent of the similarly slender 158-game stalwart Isaias.
He again combined seamlessly with central partner James Troisi, another to shine against his former club in the swashbuckling 3-1 triumph.
A sublime first-time switch for Ryan Strain, a move straight off the Playford training pitch, started the lighting transition that led to two-goal hero Riley McGree’s first-half opener.
D’Arrigo also worked overtime to limit the threat of Swedish World Cup star Ola Toivonen.
The towering forward grabbed the visitor’s short-lived equaliser after the break.
But he was given a torrid time by D’Arrigo, despite having an 11cm and 14kg advantage over the Young Socceroo.
“He’s a big bloke,” D’Arrigo, 18, said.
“But it was good to mark him.
“You watch these players on the TV and then when you play against them, it’s something different.
“It was a big challenge for me.
“He had the height, but I just had to play smartly against him.”
SA-born D’Arrigo had an early introduction to the heated atmosphere the Reds-Victory rivalry provokes, when he took a series of corners in front of the boisterous travelling support.
“They were giving me some very nice messages,” the West Torrens Birkalla product joked.
But he thrived in the cutthroat environment, just as he had in last month’s FFA Cup decider, prompting no-nonsense coach Gertjan Verbeek to label his rapid progress “incredible”.
“I feel like I play better with a crowd like that,” said D’Arrigo, after Adelaide racked up its fourth-straight win to jump to third on the back of a pair of defeats.
“It love it and it gives the team a lot of joy and a lot of confidence.
“We had two hard games to start (the campaign), but since then we’ve been dominating and playing some great football.
“Last night was our best performance all year.
“If we put our mind to it and stay focused all the way through the season, we can do it all.”