Simon Catanzaro and Jason Trimboli enter soccer’s hallowed Hall of Fame
FOOTBALL Federation SA’s latest Hall of Fame recipient, Simon Catanzaro, was called a jetsetting mercenary when he first played in SA in 2002.
FOOTBALL Federation SA’s latest Hall of Fame recipient, Simon Catanzaro, was called a jetsetting mercenary when he first played in SA in 2002.
Catanzaro, now 35, flew into Adelaide on Saturday mornings to play for Adelaide Galaxy (the club has since returned to its original Birkalla name) with two other NSW colleagues before jetting back to Sydney and making his way to his Penrith home.
A little more than 14 years later, Catanzaro is now arguably the youngest FFSA Hall of Fame recipient in the Hall of Champions.
And local legend Jason Trimboli, 43, has joined Catanzaro on the Fame’s elite list.
Catanzaro’s jetset experience eventually led him to SA, where he met the love of his life, Nadine, before settling at Lightsview with children Sara, 15, and Lewis, 6.
“I had every intention of heading back to Sydney after playing football in SA,’’ Catanzaro said. “But I met a girl, fell in love and, all these years later, here I am still.”
After current Sydney FC boss Graham Arnold signed Catanzaro at 18 to a first contract with now defunct NSL club Northern Spirit for a $7650 annual salary in 1999, the playmaker then looked towards SA for opportunities.
“I was flying to Adelaide with Luke Roodenberg and Patrick Gatt, who played for Parramatta Power (in the old NSL),’’ Catanzaro said.
“All three of us played for Blacktown City that year. We won the league there and played in Adelaide at the end of our (NSW) season.”
Catanzaro shook SA soccer in 2003 after winning Young Socceroos’ caps and representing Northern Spirit after winning the NSL’s national youth league player of the year.
He won three Sergio Melta Medals as SA’s best player and represented the state five times before hanging up the boots.
Catanzaro, who currently owns a B-coaching licence and is making rapid progress towards earning his A, hopes to make a career out of coaching. SA-born Trimboli won his induction into the Hall of Fame after playing more than 400 games at a local level and scoring 290 goals.
He claimed the state’s Golden Boot award six times, played 13 games for SA and also represented the SA amateur soccer league’s state side.
“It’s an absolutely amazing award to receive as a player playing at a local level. I might be the only person inducted that hasn’t played A-League or higher in SA,’’ Trimboli said.