World Footy News

When team Italy run out for the Harmony Cup at the Western Bulldogs' home base of Whitten Oval, former Bulldogs champions Danny Del-Re and Tony Liberatore will be among them.

Legendary tagger Liberatore won the Brownlow Medal in 1990 and went on to play 283 games for the Bulldogs before retiring in 2002. Del-Re is best known as Footscray's leading goal kicker in the 1992-93 seasons, kicking 8 goals against Geelong in the 1992 qualifying final. Joining them onfield will be Adam Iacobucci, who played a handful a games for Collingwood in 2005 and 2006.

Acting as mentor and coach for the team will be former Essendon ruckman Steven Alessio, who performed the same role for the team at the 2005 Multicultural Cup.

Team Coordinator Phil Spinella spoke to WFN about their preparations.

Spinella says he played for Italy at the 2005 Multicultural Cup at Optus Oval and was approached by Brian Clarke from Aussie Rules International to coordinate the team for this year's event.

"We've got 24 on the list so far, and hoping for a few more. This includes players from clubs across Melbourne, as well as some guys from Sydney and Queensland, guys who play top-grade football up there."

"Libba's coming out of retirement, we've got Danny Del-Re involved, and we've got Steven Alessio, although he'll be taking a mentoring role rather than playing."

"We haven't really started to promote it yet, once we get closer to the event we'll start putting up banners in Lygon St and look at getting some personalities from the Italian community down to the cup."

The Italian community has produced countless stars of Australian rules football, a fact recognised with the selection of a VFL/AFL Italian Team of the Century in 2007. In this team, Liberatore was listed on the bench and Alessio in the ruck. Other greats of the game honoured in the side were Cartlon champions Sergio and Stephen Silvagni, colourful present-day Brisbane Lion Brendan Fevola and 80s Hawthorn icon Robert DiPierdomenico.

Anthony Koutoufides, whose father is Greek and mother is Italian, was named in both the Italian and Greek Teams of the Century, although at the Harmony Cup he will be running out for Greece.

Supercoach Ron Barassi, an Australian of Swiss-Italian descent, was named as the honorary coach.

Support from this group will see Team Italy wearing the Team of the Century jumpers on March 21st.

The Italians are also in contact with the newly-formed AFL Italia headquartered in Milan, although Spinella says the relationship is very new and fairly symbolic at this stage.

Spinella says the team will put in a strong performance. "I'm not sure of the opposition yet, but we've built the team around a good mix of players, and we'll go very close."

Team Italy can be contacted via their Facebook group.