Izzo’s new deal; Cassio’s first senior coaching gig; Ben Halloran house hunting; Opseth’s girlfriend going West
Paul Izzo has inked a fresh deal with United; White City on the verge of snaring a Sergio Melta medal winner; Ben Halloran’s house hunt; plus more in this week’s 90 Minutes.
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Adelaide United has locked one of its prized assets into a new contract, as European scouts circled to secure his services.
Goalkeeper Paul Izzo this week inked a two-year extension to his Reds deal, which was due to expire at the end of this campaign.
The SA-born talent rejoined his hometown club in 2017 and had been a virtual ever-present since, cementing his reputation as one of the A-League’s most consistent custodians.
Izzo, 24, shone last season, playing every minute of United’s march to FFA Cup success and the domestic semi-final, where he saved three penalties in his side’s losing shootout.
The Campbelltown City product, who spent two years at Central Coast after progressing through the Reds’ youth ranks, secured a second-straight knockout title last week.
Izzo’s impressive displays had reportedly caught the eye of a string of overseas scouts, as his contract neared its conclusion.
Adelaide was expected to confirm the former Australian youth international’s re-signing in the coming days.
FLAMENGO of Brazil and Adelaide United favourite Cassio was confirmed as the new coach of White City and he’s potentially taking the reigning Sergio Melta medallist with him.
90 MINUTES broke the news he would be leading the proud club last month.
Ricardo da Silva – winner of this year’s Sergio Melta medal during his time at Adelaide Olympic looks set to be Cassio’s first major signing of the season as the club aims to be rightfully enter the NPL after a four year absence.
Da Silva is on his way back from his homeland Portugal.
“It’s one of transition from juniors to seniors working with my Academia de futbol by Cassio,’’ said Cassio who is a full-time coach.
“The club has been looking after me with the juniors and it’s time to repay what they have been doing with me with same success.”
Cassio’s pre-season starts with White City in late November.
Cassio was a guest of Football Federation Australia for Adelaide United’s third FFA Cup title at Hindmarsh Stadium last week.
He was Adelaide United’s club champion in 2007–08 and 2010–11 and won Reds player's player of the year in 2007–08.
The Brazilian never received a winner’s medal in 2014 despite being part of former boss Josep Gombau’s squad which beat Perth Glory 1-0.
He quit the club in December 2014.
CASSIO has wasted no time in setting up his backroom team at White City, adding a little more South American flavour to the club.
The Woodville-based outfit this week announced the appointment of Joel Flores as junior technical director for the coming season.
Flores has spent the past four years with Hakoah FC in Sydney, coaching the former National Soccer League champion’s under-9 to under-11 sides.
He was also head mentor at Sydney FC’s holiday clinics and at the NSW-based Elle Football Academy.
Flores’ previous playing career included overseas stints at ASC Leobersdorf in Austria and Brusque FC in Brazil.
AUSTRALIA’S under 17s losing 2-1 to Ecuador in the opening match of the FIFA U-17 World Cup had a passionate twist before the match in Brazil.
Ecuador’s Silvano Estácio attracted global headlines for good reason.
Silvano was acclaimed as a true hero.
The nation’s recent unrest had seen a series of protest protests and riots against austerity measures and the cancellation of fuel subsidies almost cost the teenager a spot at the World Cup.
Silvano played no more than seven minutes off the bench.
"These seven minutes were the most important of all my life", he said in tears.
Because Silvano should have been watching his colleagues play only on TV from home if it wasn't for his father also named Silvano.
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Silvano’s father took 28 hours from Ambato to reach the capital Quito, in order to sign all the necessary documents to allow his son permission to fly and to be part of Ecuador for this World Cup.
But due to the public unrest Ecuador’s public transport was at a standstill and his 156km journey by motorbike became chaotic to say the least.
A flight would have taken no more than 20 minutes.
“During the whole time when our son came onto the pitch against Australia, I had to dry his tears,’’ said Silvano’s mother.
“He was sobbing like a kid, the joy of seeing him there, with the ball on his feet, made all the sacrifice and pain, totally worth it. "
Football is sometimes in South America, more important than life.
— By Ricardo Setyon (former Brazilian football federation media director).
ADELAIDE United’s Ben Halloran is close to buying a house in Adelaide which could mean he is about to extend his two-year contract beyond this season.
With the off contract A-League silly season just around the corner, talk that George Blackwood will be moving clubs isn’t going away either.
After the Reds tried to offload the Reds striker before the A-League’s FIFA transfer window closed earlier this month it appears Sydney FC is on the radar in January after Central Coast showed lots of interest earlier.
THE FFA Cup final between Adelaide United and Melbourne City may have confused many of those who study FIFA’s laws of the game with intent before the Reds hoisted the trophy in a 4-0 belting last week.
A Football Federation Australia official been confirmed the final had used the revamped new laws of the game after the FFA Cup kicked off in February using the old system.
The outdated laws were used until round one of the A-League when the new wave or rules kicked in.
Even if an NPL club got into the FFA Cup final – their member federation competitions used the old laws in 2019 – they would have played under the new laws.
The International Football Association Board made the new changes in March, during their state member federation seasons.
The 2020 NPL and other state member federation competitions will all start with the new laws of the game.
Congratulations to Savannah Francis on signing with @ikgrand âš½ï¸ pic.twitter.com/t7D7VnUOQ6
— UCSB Women's Soccer (@UCSBWomenSoccer) March 3, 2017
ADELAIDE United striker Kristian Opseth’s girlfriend Savannah Francis who recently played in Norway and studied and played in the US won’t be one of the club’s W-League visa signings for the new season.
Francis recently featured for Norway’s Ik Grand Bodo – after transferring from US club UC Santa Barbara Gauchos in the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship in 2017.
Now West Adelaide one of the strongest women’s NPL teams look set to snare the 25-year-old US-born defender under former Matildas boss Adrian Santrac.
Grand Bodo is sitting eighth in the Norwegian first division in a 12 team 22 match league which has UEFA Champions League qualification as one of its major fiscal prizes.
Melbourne Victory’s Luis Lawrie-Lattanzio was named 2019 Blackfriars Frassati sportsman of the year at the annual academic assembly last Friday but the teenage sensation wasn’t there to receive his award.
Lawrie-Lattanzio was in Brazil and on Sunday started for Australia in their opening match of the FIFA U-17 World Cup against Ecuador in Brazil.
He played for 78 minutes in the 2-1 loss and was replaced by another South Australian, Melbourne City’s Yaya Dukuly.
SA PLAYERS ABROAD
Brandon Borrello – Freiburg (Bundesliga): Unused substitute in the 2-1 home win over Leipzig
Alex Chidiac – Atletico Madrid (women’s Spanish Primera Division): Injured and not in the match day squad in a 4-1 away home win over Real Sociedad.
Ben Garuccio – Hearts (Scottish Premier League): Recovering from an ACL injury
Meni Haralampopoulos – Acharnaikos (Greek Gamma Ethniki): Unused substitute in a 3-1 win over Pallini Athens
Awer Mabil – Midtjylland (Danish Super League): Played 90 minutes in a 2-1 away win over Esbjerg on the weekend.
Craig Goodwin – Al-Wehda (Saudi Arabia Pro League): Played 93 minutes in a 2-0 home win over Al Fateh
Andrew Marveggio – Macva Sabac (Serbian Super League): Not in the match day squad in a 1-0 home loss FK Mladost Lucani