Soccer
SOMERVILLE Eagles attacking midfielder Alessio Izzo flies to Thailand in a fortnight for a professional trial. The 32-year-old contacted a player agency through social media and now has a chance of becoming a professional footballer.
“This is a little investment in myself and I go there with no big expectation,” Izzo said. “If I stay there or if I come back it will still be a great experience to taste professional football in fact it will be a highlight of my career.”
Izzo comes from Taranto in the Puglia region of southern Italy. “Football is a religion to us. “We didn’t have much money growing up but we had football so it has been a massive thing for me – it pretty much saved my life.”
Izzo played locally in Italy and the highest level he reached was with Grottaglie Calcio in Serie D. He arrived in Melbourne in 2019 and was brought to Mornington by Marty Ashton who had been introduced to Izzo at a local café.
“Unfortunately I came here a few months before COVID so there was not a lot of football for a couple of seasons.”
At Mornington he trained under Adam Jamieson and Nathan Peel and although he never made the impact he wanted he left with no regrets. “Mornington was great and they helped me so much.”
His switch to Skye United under head coach Phil McGuinness was driven by a desire to establish himself as a senior player. Things didn’t go as planned.
“Honestly football-wise it did not work out. “I trained with the first team but most of my game time was in the reserves. “I don’t know why that was because you can ask people at the club and they will tell you I did very well with the reserves. “I thought at first that it was personal but I think it was just that the senior coach didn’t have a high opinion of me.”
When Izzo first came to Melbourne he met Marcus Anastasiou through futsal and when the chance came to link up again with the Somerville talisman he grabbed it. “I went there to get more senior game time and Marcus was more than happy to introduce me to the club.” It was the best football decision he’s made here.
Izzo has been an ever present throughout the past two seasons and is one of Somerville’s top players. He has finished runner-up to Anastasiou in the club’s top scorer award in both seasons.
Football Victoria’s league restructure didn’t do Somerville any favours last season. The club finished seventh and was relegated to the new State 5 South-East. Had it finished in the top six it would have retained its State 4 status.
“The restructure was weird really and very difficult for Somerville. “We are a small club, a community club that is based on friendships and we were always going to find it difficult against teams that pay lots of money to their players.”
So now Izzo’s eyes turn towards his upcoming Thai adventure. And should he return he may not stay with Somerville. “Right now my focus is on Thailand but if I come back to Melbourne I think I would prefer to step up. “I still feel I have at least a couple of good years left. “That’s nothing against Somerville but if the chance came to play higher then I would look at it.”
In State 7 South-East news the off-field unrest that impacted on Mount Martha’s search for a head coach to replace Charlie Platt has been resolved.
The resignation of three directors prompted a Special General Meeting that was held last week.
The new executive consists of president Ian Cerfontyne, vice-president Britta Natsis, treasurer Will Smith, secretary Ted Kazan and operations manager Simon Jay.
The club will call for expressions of interest for a senior coach and a technical director. Applicants should contact Ted Kazan at secretary@mountmarthasoccerclub.com.au.
Platt told the club after round 12 last season that he planned to step down. “Things were happening behind the scenes but nothing that contributed to my decision,” Platt said. “Hopefully people remember it’s a community club and everyone should be in it for the right reasons.”
There has been rumours about a player exodus and talk that the club may struggle to maintain a senior program having dropped down from State 5 South to the new State 7 South-East but operations manager Jay rebuked those views.
“We’re not worried about player numbers,” he said. “There might be some player movement but that’s part of the cycle of things at every club especially during the off-season.”
Still in State 7 South-East and Aspendale has appointed former Mentone and Frankston Pines coach Jason Grieve as head coach. This comes after a new committee declared the position open by calling for expressions of interest.
Gregor Macnab had been head coach for the past few seasons and was one of a number of candidates who applied for the role.
In VPL1 Langwarrin’s senior squad is taking shape although head coach Jamie Skelly may still add to the players tasked with taking the local club next season to the dizzy heights of the NPL.
The players signed on for next season are:
GOALKEEPERS: James Burgess, Branten Kindler. DEFENDERS: Luke Adams, Lucas Portelli, Luke Goulding, Jeremy Min Fa, Charlie Fry, Tosan Popo. MIDFIELDERS: Rogan McGeorge, Callum Goulding, Ryo Takahashi, Kosta Apostolopoulos, Joe Tweats. FORWARDS: Tom Youngs, Brad Blumenthal, Mark Deacon, Alun Webb, Zac Bates.
There are a number of players from the club’s under-23s trying to win senior contracts over the pre-season.
In other news the 2026 Wallace Cup will be staged on Saturday 31 January at Lawton Park.
The annual tournament will retain its usual format with clubs split into groups with six clubs contesting the Wallace Cup and six clubs contesting the Wallace Plate.
