Final Team
Team Structure
The 18 players that made up the final team were chosen from a group of elite members consisting of 50 players. These 50 players were initially selected from about 148 footballers who could trace their ancestry to Italy. All of the members on the initial list of 148 members have made a significant impact on the league in its over a century of existence.
However, the members who made the final AFL/VFL Italian Team in this century are recognised for their special contribution to the development and advancement of the game over time. Here we list these remarkable players and add some notes on each.
Team Structure
The 18 players that made up the final team were chosen from a group of elite members consisting of 50 players. These 50 players were initially selected from about 148 footballers who could trace their ancestry to Italy. All of the members on the initial list of 148 members have made a significant impact on the league in its over a century of existence.
However, the members who made the final AFL/VFL Italian Team in this century are recognised for their special contribution to the development and advancement of the game over time. Here we list these remarkable players and add some notes on each.
The Squad Formation
Just as you will expect in every football team, this elite squad is divided into segments based on the positions in which they played during their active years. Thus, some occupied various roles in the defence, some on the midfield, while some were attackers. We should note that the fact that a player is named in one division does not mean that he was featured throughout his career. Some players do change or switch positions overtime. Thus, in this case, the position assigned to a player was what he played in most of his active years in football.
Full-backs
The players in this division played most of their active years as Full-Backs. Alternatively, people refer to this as a centre-back position. They were the central part of the defence.
The names include:- John Kennedy jun
- Stephen Silvagni
- Frank Curcio
- Len Incigneri
Half-backs
Players here were known more for their exploits in the half-back position. Here, although they were defenders, they still spent a lot of time moving forward. Although not all the time, half-backs are usually found on the wings.
Half-backs on the AFL/VFL Team include:
- Anthony Koutoufides
- Alec Epis
Centres
Centres, in this case, are essentially midfielders. They include:
- Ian Stewart (AKA Cervi)
- Peter Matera
- Robert DiPierdomenico
Half Forwards
Players who play half forwards are not entirely strikers. They do play between the centres and forwards.
They are:
- Alan Martello
- Peter Riccardi
- Mark Mercuri
Forwards
Usually, the most popular in any team, The forwards’ main role is to charge for goal. In the ATL/VTL Team, the forwards that made the cut are:
- Brendan Fevola
- Saverio Rocc
- Phillip Matera
Other members of the team include Mark Ricciuto and Steve Alessio, who were followers. Tony Liberatore, Joe Misiti, Scott Camporeale, and Sergio Silvagni were on the Interchange, while Peter Pianto was the rover. Mark Ricciuto served as team captain while Ron Barassi was the coach. Frank Costa was the President.
While all of these team members are remarkable, some of them stand out and are worth mentioning. One of them is Brendan Fevola, who is known to have scored the highest number of goals in a season (the 2006 season) of any player since the beginning of the league in 1897. Stephen Silvagni and Mark Ricciuto have played over 300 games, an extremely remarkable feat by every standard.