Image: Live Pixel
Coach: Vitale Ferrante
2016 finish: 7th in NPL, FFA Cup Round 5 (defeated by Richmond SC)
Summary: Following the dizzying heights of their finals campaign in 2015, 2016 was not as fruitful for Pascoe Vale, whose start to the season saw the club languish near the relegation zone. However, a strong latter half led to a revival that ended with the club finishing in seventh place, one outside finals.
Ins: Jacob Colosimo (Melbourne Knights), Darcy Hall (South Hobart), Matteo Ballan (Bulleen Lions), Anthony Duzel (Melbourne Victory), Milos Tosic (Moreland Zebras)
Outs: Matthew Conversano (Whittlesea Ranges), Aaron Turner (Northcote City), Peter Deng (Moreland Zebras) Adam Nakic
Re-signed: Adrian Talarico, Alexander Pavlidis, Carl Recchia, Davey Van’t Schip, Dennys Martin, Gonzalo Munoz, Joseph Youssef, Luca Santilli, Luka Prelevic, Marino Gasparis, Mark Pistininzi, Matthew Lazarides, Michael Ferrante, Quaynor Mustapha, Tomislav Milardovic
Player Q&A: Alex Pavlidis
How’s pre-season going? Where have you been with the team?
Pre-season has been travelling well for us. We’ve put in a lot of work into our style of play both sides of the new year and hopefully that will bear fruit for us during the season. We started in early November to piece together what we want to do for the season and I think we are getting to a stage where we understand what the coaching team wants and what is expected from us.
What have the club’s pre-season results been?
Our pre-season results have been positive. We’ve experimented with a lot of options across the park, especially with the depth and competition in our side, and this has seen a fluctuation of results against a range of sides, mainly resulting in wins or draws. As we’ve seen with seasons past, positive or negative results in pre-season doesn’t necessarily convert into results in the league so we’ve been happy with the style of play, the goals we have been scoring and the way we will go about games this season.
How are the new signings settling in?
Our new signings are settling well into the club’s style and ethos. I think each player brings their own individual qualities to the group to help it improve and this will go a long way to completing the side and ensuring we are competitive this season. Jacob Colosimo, Matteo Ballan, Anthony Duzel, Darcy Hall and Milos Tosic have been added to the squad this season but a full pre-season with the team for Gonzalo Munoz, Marino Gasparis and Quaynor Mustapha will also go a long way for us, with those boys helping us come within a position of finals last year after a slow start.
Who are the Pascoe Vale players to watch in 2017 (new or existing) and why?
The obvious players come to mind for Pascoe Vale but players that might surprise a few this year is the continual rise of Gonzalo Munoz. He was arguably one of our best players to the end of last season, adding to our backline. It will also be interesting to see how Davey van’t Schip works with the plethora of attacking options alongside him with Jacob Colosimo, Matt Lazaridies and Darcy Hall all bringing weapons that sides will fear.
Who are the some of the bigger characters off the pitch and why?
It’s hard to go past Davey van’t Schip. Our fine-master – who is more often than not the one to be fined himself – adds a lot the change room and off the park. But overall, the group is an amazing group to work with and I think is something that really sets us apart in the league. Clubs can make personnel changes to the football side of things but one thing you can’t buy or sign is club culture and I believe that is the most important thing that sets our club apart from the rest of the league.
How’s Vitale Ferrante been preparing the squad?
We’ve put a lot of work over the pre-season into understanding and adapting our style to the situation. The signings that have been made has upped the ante in terms of competition in the side and I think that has really upped the level on the training pitch. We’re going into every game fearing no one and that’s the mentality we will take throughout the season.
Which team/player are you most looking forward to facing this year?
I don’t think there is one side we will mark down on the calendar and say, ‘this is the game we have to win this season’. I think if you get stuck at looking at the season like that, the cliché week by week mentality will go out the window and the results will feel the full effect. Despite 2015 seeing us make finals, 2016 was also a big year for us because it was the first year the club defeated some of the historically bigger clubs in the competition. This year, we obviously want to replicate those results and this mentality of fearing nobody will help us even more.
Which opposition club(s) have impressed you most in pre-season?
We can only make judgement on the sides we have faced so far this season and there is no doubt South will be up there again this season. In terms of the rest of the league, Bentleigh will show once again why they are the best technical team in the league but the NPL will be an open race and it will be really exciting to see how it pans out.
What are the expectations/objectives in 2017?
For a club like ours, there is no doubt making finals is the key overall objective for us. Our style of play and ability to grind out matches are by-products of this but overall, it is to make the top six and rattle a few cages in the process.
What’s one headline we may see about Pascoe Vale this season?
‘Paco seem to punch above their weight once again this season’
We don’t have big names, we don’t have a big budget but our football and culture will see us buck the trend of the other clubs and the way they go about things and hopefully we can surprise the league once again this season.