Blackfriars Priory School has become a production line for SA’s soccer stars of the future, with Luis Lawrie-Lattanzio the next in line ahead of U-17 World Cup
Adelaide United NPL youth team squad member and Blackfriars student Luis Lawrie-Lattanzio is eager to make his mark at the biggest U-17 tournament in soccer — the FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
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Blackfriars Priory School is about to produce another FIFA Under-17 World Cup star, indigenous luminary Luis Lawrie-Lattanzio eight years after old scholar Teeboy Kamara was on Australia’s front line in Mexico.
The 17-year-old Adelaide United NPL/youth team squad member is part of the school’s football academy led by former Adelaide City National Soccer League and ex-Croydon Kings captain Ernie Luongo.
Lawrie-Lattanzio will on Saturday join the Joeys for a pre-World Cup England tour in which the young guns will face reigning world under-17 champion England, triple winner Brazil and the Korea Republic in friendly matches.
The Joeys then head to Brazil for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup where they face Ecuador, Hungary and Nigeria in Group B in October.
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“You’d hope it’s the final squad to tour England because I’d love to go to Brazil but we’re not 100 per cent sure,” Lawrie-Lattanzio said.
“It’s a big dream, it’s a big opportunity, the world is watching, I have never been on previous Joeys tours and it’s such good timing with the World Cup coming up.”
Lawrie-Lattanzio is tipped to be just one of two SA boys in the Joeys World Cup squad alongside 16-year-old Yaya Dukuly who plays for Melbourne City.
A winger, Lawrie-Lattanzio idolises and models his game around French 2018 FIFA World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe from PSG.
Blackfriars schoolmate Jai King-Byrne is hoping he gets another chance with the Young Socceroos later this year.
King-Byrne, 18, has just returned from a trophy-winning stint at the ASEAN Football Federation under-18 championship beating Malaysia 1-0 in the final in Vietnam.
He will start training full-time with Adelaide United’s A-League side from September 9 after he was also in the club’s NPL/youth squad.
King-Byrne is an ex-Gawler Eagles junior — just like his Reds club mate Riley McGree.
“I’ve got another Young Socceroos camp from September 22 to 29 and I hope I get called up for the Asian qualifiers in October/November,” King-Byrne said.
Blackfriars’ first 11 is also coached by former Joey Robert Matosevic. Old scholar and Adelaide United winger Carlo Armiento is an assistant.
The school is also producing players that have attracted the eye of Melbourne City again after Matosevic’s son, student Sebastian Matosevic of the Croydon Kings, was called up for a Joeys camp in July.
Christian D’Argenio (Adelaide City), Matthew Jones (Adelaide United), Luka Jovanovic (Raiders), Ethan Lekkas (Comets), Jordan Mugford (Raiders), Hieu Nguyen (Raiders) and Fynn Wilson (Modbury Jets) are also cutting their teeth under Luongo’s program which has been in the school’s curriculum for eight years.
“The boys are actually getting early stages of development, knowing that what the football federation’s national curriculum is all about too,” Luongo said.
“They’re actually stepping stones to make them develop their theory and practical content.
“They get up about four to five extra hours of training at the academy plus what they’re doing at club and school level.”