Daniela Di Bartolo’s cheer squad for the WNPL preliminary final is an Adelaide City family affair
The Di Bartolo family has been a constant presence at Adelaide City since 1953 and has played a vital part in the creation and development of the club’s women’s team.
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For the past 66 years Adelaide City has never been without a Di Bartolo working at the club — either as a player, coach, team manager, volunteer or fan.
The Di Bartolo clan also claim to have helped create history for the women’s soccer arm of the club.
The Di Bartolo’s love for SA’s most successful soccer club started after Charlie Di Bartolo, now 86, made his debut for Adelaide Juventus (now Adelaide City) in SA’s old first division in 1953.
Charlie said his wife Phyllis suggested to the club’s committee of the day the club needed a women’s football team in 1984, which changed the course of the club’s history.
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Charlie’s son Anthony Di Bartolo coached the first women’s side.
His wife Franca Di Bartolo played for Adelaide City and SA and was — like her father-in-law Charlie — inducted in Football Federation SA’s Hall of Fame.
Now Friday night becomes another Di Bartolo family affair.
Proud parents Anthony and Franca will cheer on daughter Daniela Di Bartolo, 25.
She will be out to help propel Adelaide City into the women’s National Premier League grand final in a do-or-die preliminary final clash against Salisbury Inter at The Parks.
Anthony is now the club’s WNPL team manager.
“I was born into it Black and White, it is in my veins and it’s really incredible that my grandfather Charlie can still watch me play, it makes me really proud,’’ Daniela said.
“There’s no vision of my grandfather, I just heard he was a great player.”
And Daniela surely won’t be the last Di Bartolo to play for Adelaide City.
Charlie’s illustrious career where he also played for Australia and captained SA started after he migrated from Calatabiano, Sicily in 1950.
His family was forced to flee Turin for Sicily where they were living during World War II as the FIAT factory had become a major target before settling into a club he truly loves.
Charlie’s loyalty for Juventus was put in question when USC Lion — an SA club with Ukraine heritage tried to poach him for he said was four times the cost of a block of land at Morphett Vale in the 1950s.
“Lion offered me about 400 pounds and I refused, I always wanted to stay with Juventus,’’ Charlie said.
After Charlie’s Juventus career ended wearing the No. 2 jersey he watched his eldest son take his number.
Ian Di Bartolo made his SA first division debut in 1975 for Juventus.
He was a part of Adelaide City’s first NSL squad in 1977 before his career with SA police made it difficult to take part in near full-time soccer commitments.
“I graduated with the police force and played a handful of games in the 1977 but coach Edmund Kreft said this is going to be difficult,’’ Ian said.
“I had to think about my police career, Azzurri (Blue Eagles) came knocking but in the end Adelaide City did a swap with Henry Kolecki from Polonia (Croydon), I stayed there for 10 years and played 250 games.”