Image: Smile for Peter
The St Albans Saints have signed former Dandenong Thunder defender Antonio Barbaro ahead of their first campaign back in the top-flight since 2011.
The 20-year-old originally hails from Canberra and can play anywhere across the back four, with his preferred position being centre-back.
An ACT youth representative in both 2009 and 2010, Barbaro was part of the capital territory’s Schoolboys side in 2013 before earning his senior breakthrough with Canberra FC.
An impressive start to the 2014 campaign under Coach Ray Junna saw Barbaro attract the attention of many of Victoria’s top flight clubs before eventually joining the Goulburn Valley Suns.
The young defender made six league appearances for the Shepparton-based outfit before returning home to the nation’s capital.
He promptly returned to Victoria at the end of 2015 along with former Canberra FC teammate Daniel Bennett, the duo joining Huss Skenderovic’s new-look Dandenong Thunder side.
Barbaro made a total of 20 league appearances for the 2012 treble winners, making 13 starts in a season which saw him play a number of roles across defence and in the centre of the midfield.
He has spent much of the pre-season training with Dinamo and has been rewarded with a first-team contract after impressive manager Kruni Razov and his assistant Josip Loncaric.
He joins Daniel Chaabani and Hernan Espindola (both Hume City), 2015 NPL Goalkeeper of the Year Chris May (Avondale), Matthew Cundari (Whittlesea Ranges), John Lazaridis (Heidelberg United), Aaron Romein (Ballarat Red Devils) and former Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory forward Jean Carlos Solórzano as new arrivals in the Saints dressing rooms this off-season.
In other news from Churchill Reserve, fellow new signing and former Melbourne Knights and Werribee defender Ryan Filipovic has left the club only a month after agreeing terms with the promoted outfit.
St Albans began their season with an away trip to Knights Stadium to face Avondale on Saturday February 11 with their first home match of the season seeing them face Hume City the following week.