Socceroos legend John Aloisi has thrown his support behind Cristian Volpato following his divisive inclusion in Australia’s World Cup squad, sympathising with the winger’s last-minute allegiance switch.
Less than 72 hours before Tony Popovic’s squad announcement, Volpato shocked Australian football by committing to the Socceroos rather than Italy, who he represented at underage level. The 22-year-old, born and raised in Sydney, was named in Australia’s 26-player squad on Monday ahead of fan favourite Martin Boyle, who controversially missed selection.
The announcement prompted some backlash from within the Australian football community, but Aloisi welcomed Volpato’s eleventh-hour addition.
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“His quality is definitely there. He’s playing Serie A. I think it’s great,” declared Aloisi, speaking at a Sportsbet promotional event on Thursday morning.
“He’s an Australian. I know there’s been a lot of talk about whether he should have been selected or not. I think it’s brilliant that he’s there.
“I’m glad that he’s now representing the Socceroos.”
Currently playing for Italian club Sassuolo, Volpato rejected advances from former Socceroos boss Graham Arnold’s ahead of the previous World Cup in Qatar in 2022, opting to chase a place with the Azzurri rather than representing his country of birth.
Grandparents on both sides of his family hailed from Italy, making him eligible for selection.
“I understand where he was coming from at the start, because when you’re first trying to make your way in Europe, you don’t want too many distractions about flying overseas, coming back for the under-20 national team and all that, so he had to make it in Europe first,” Aloisi continued.
“I know what it’s like to be in Italy as an Italian-Australian. You’re Australian, so he would feel that.”
Aloisi also celebrated the inclusion of uncapped striker Tete Yengi, who was picked for the World Cup despite taking no part in Australia’s qualifying campaign or the subsequent friendly games.
The 50-year-old got a first-hand glimpse at Yengi during February’s AFC Champions League match between Machida Zelvia Chengdu Rongcheng, when he scored two goals in a 3-2 victory.
“We played against him in the Champions League this year and he scored a couple of goals against my team,” Aloisi smiled.
“I spoke to him after that game and I said, ‘You keep going the way you’re going, you’re a chance (for the World Cup).’
“He’s a different player to what we’ve got … He’s someone who’s very tall. He’s hard to pinpoint how you can mark him and what you can do against him.”
Aloisi also suggested that Yengi’s inexperience could work in Australia’s favour.
“He’s a bit of an unknown. They can analyse us, but how are they going to analyse players that they haven’t really seen as much?” Aloisi asked.
“It’s something different to what we’ve got. It’s a risk, but you have to take risks as a coach and I’m sure that Pop knows what he’s doing.”
Australia will face the United States, Turkey and Paraguay during the World Cup group stage, with American pundits predicting the co-hosts will thump the Socceroos in Seattle later this month. Broadcaster Mike Grella labelled the Australian contest a “lay-up”, while former US representative Alexi Lalas predicted the Socceroos would “struggle to score goals and maintain possession”.
“After listening to the way they’re talking, they’re putting fuel on the fire and that’s dangerous with us because we love that,” Aloisi laughed.
“We love to be the underdogs.
“We love people underestimating us. So I know that our team and the whole nation will be behind us, especially against the US.”
Australia will face Switzerland for their final World Cup warm-up on Sunday AEST.