Wellington Phoenix Match Day Programme vs. Western United

message OF WELCOME from General Manager David Dome Welcome back to Sky Stadium for our highly anticipated match against Western United, as we begin counting down to Finals football.

Our win at Eden Park last Saturday was huge in many ways: a convincing win against the second placed club in the Hyundai A-League, our maintaining a home unbeaten streak of seven games – including six wins and a 2-2 draw against Sydney FC – and a massive crowd of over 15,000 screaming fans.

But even after our successful Auckland jaunt last weekend, it’s great to be back at our ‘true’ home stadium, in the city where the Phoenix club first rose up 13 years ago.

We are hopeful of another large crowd tonight for our second ‘Friday Night Football’ match to help cheer us onto victory, as we know it means a lot to our players; giving them even more incentive to win and play well in front of their fans.

We’re also looking forward to taking on Western United for the third time this season. We’re already forming a solid rivalry with this team even though it’s their first season in the Hyundai A-League.

PHOTOGRAPHY: DESIGN / LAYOUT: Printing: TBD Design

We first faced Western United at home in our first game of the season – losing 0-1 – before heading over to their home ground in Round 12 where we earned a convincing 3-1 win. For this third and final match against this team, we want to welcome back Western United in the best way we know how – with a massive Wellington win in front of a rambunctious Yellow Fever crowd.

We’ve got our eyes on a top six finish, and we believe we have the players and management to have a really successful season.

So thank you for coming to our match tonight to cheer the team on as we march towards finals and play for the Hyundai A-League trophy for the city of Wellington.

COYN!

David Dome General Manager, Wellington Phoenix

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Sky Sport Now not only lets you follow the Phoenix but also gives you access to other great football with the A-League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1.

You will also be able to watch all the other great sport across 10 SKY Sport and 2 ESPN channels.

Go to skysportnow.co.nz for details

NIx quiz How well do you know your phoenix squad?

(1) Which player has a cameo in the 2005 film ‘Goal!’?

(2) Who is the youngest player to ever score for the Phoenix?

(3) Which player has both French and New Zealand citizenship?

(4) Which player has a twin brother?

(5) Who played for the ‘Delhi Dynamos’ prior to joining the Phoenix?

(6) Who is the only player on the team with their pilot’s license?

(7) Which player was a Puskas Award nominee in 2015?

(8) Which player leads the team in Passes Attempted with 991?

(9) Who has scored two goals off headers this season?

(10) Who is the tallest player on the team at 194cms?

(11) Who is the only player that has a sibling who also plays in the A-League this season?

(12) Who was named the Hyundai A-League Player of the Month for December 2019?

Answers: (1) Steven Taylor, (2) Ben Waine, (3) Jaushua Sotirio, (4) Alex Rufer, (5) Ulises Davila, (6) Stefan Marinovic, (7) David Ball, (8) Luke DeVere, (9) Gary Hooper, (10) Oliver Sail, (11) Liam McGing, (12) Cameron Devlin

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WELLINGTON PHOENIX FC

Hyundai A-League 2019/20 Squad

#1 stefan marinovic

#2

goal k eeper

#5 matti steinmann

david ball

#6

liberato cacace D E FE N DE R

6

tim payne

#10

ulises dĂ vila

#7

ALEX rufer MIDF IEL DER

Atawhai #4 Te Hudson-Wihongi

reno piscopo

D EFEND ER

#8

cameron devlin

MIDF IE LD ER

MID FIELD ER

#11 jaushua sotirio

#12 Brandon Wilson

F O RWAR D

midfielder

F O RWA RD

#14

luke devere DEF END ER

MIDF IEL DER

FO R WA R D

#13

#3

DEF EN DER

M ID F I EL DE R

#9

liam mcging

#16

louis fenton DEF END ER

#17

callan elliot D EFEND ER

WELLINGTON PHOENIX FC

Hyundai A-League 2019/20 Squad

#20

oliver sail

#21 callum mccowatt

goal k eeper

F O RWA RD

#30

zac Jones

G OAL K EEP ER

#31

ben waine

#23

#32

F O RWA RD

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1

Filip KURTO

Goalkeeper

2

Aaron CALVER

Defender

4

Andrew DURANTE

Defender

5

Dylan PIERIAS

Defender

7

Valentino YUEL

Forward

8

Panagiotis KONE

Midfielder

9

Apostolos STAMATELOPOULOS

Forward

11

Connor PAIN

Forward

walter scott

#27

DEF END ER

SAM SUTTON

steven taylor D EFEND ER

#88

Gary Hooper

MIDF IE LD ER

FOR WAR D

Dario JERTEC

Midfielder

13

Ivan VUJICA

Defender

14

Max BURGESS

Midfielder

15

Jonathan ASPROPOTAMITIS

Defender

17

Joshua CAVALLO

Midfielder

18

Besart BERISHA

Forward

19

Josh RISDON

Defender

21

Sebastian PASQUALI

Midfielder

22

Tomislav USKOK

Defender

23

Alessandro DIAMANTI (c)

Midfielder

24

Thiel IRADUKUNDA

Midfielder

25

Luke DUZEL

Midfielder

27

Jerry SKOTADIS

Midfielder

28

Oskar DILLON

Defender

30

Ryan SCOTT

Goalkeeper

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Liberato Cacace:

Young and Hungry When you look at Wellington Phoenix fullback Liberato Cacace and how important he is to the team’s success this season, it’s very easy to forget that he’s only 19 years old.

Recently voted by his peers as the joint-PFA Footballer of the month for January 2020, Cacace has become indispensable for the Phoenix in his third season, electrifying the crowd on a regular basis with his game-changing runs and sublime footwork.

Growing up in Wellington to Italian parents - his father owns La Bella Italia restaurant in Petone – Cacace always dreamed of becoming a professional football player. As a child, he would sleep in a full Italian kit with a football tucked under his arms.

Cacace recalls being awed as a 10-year-old when then Phoenix captain Andrew Durante and other players came to his house for a barbecue at his father Antonio’s request. Antonio says there is no doubt the captain’s gesture back then helped inspire his son to become the player he is today.

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“It was beautiful to see the young boys watching through the window with their eyes wide open and calling each other saying ‘look here comes Andrew Durante and Chris Greenacre and Paul Ifill’ and then to see in the backyard that these players were kicking the ball with them.”

Cacace’s path to the Phoenix began with him coming through the youth ranks at Island Bay and Capital Football, before making the move to Ricky Herbert’s Junior Elite Academy. He would go on to play for St Patricks College, helping his school team win the Wellington Premier Youth football league.

In the 2016/17 season, Cacace began playing for the Wellington Phoenix reserves squad, and he would make his Hyundai A-League debut for the senior side on 2 February 2018 - with the 17-yearold coming on as a sub in an away loss to Sydney, all the while still at school.

Antonio says it was a proud moment to watch his boy turn out for the Phoenix at such a young age, with the playing shirt his son wore for that game proudly on display in his restaurant.

“It’s his debut shirt. It’s a very important shirt,” he said.

Both being at school and playing in the A-League proved a challenge for Cacace, as he found balancing study and training to be difficult at times.

“It’s quite challenging to balance the two because I want to train every day with them but you’ve also got school that same day.”

After making seven appearances that season, Cacace signed a two-year professional contract with the Wellington Phoenix. His 2018/19 season was his coming out party, as he racked up more minutes than any of his teammates – despite missing two matches due to his NCEA exams – and solidified himself as Wellington first-choice left-back.

Cacace also scored his maiden Hyundai A-League goal, in an 8-2 win over Central Coast Mariners, as well as a now-famous second half run against Melbourne Victory that left Japanese star Keisuke Honda trailing in his wake. Cacace was also consistently one of New Zealand’s best players at

the World Cup that year as he debuted for the All Whites.

But he finished the season knowing that while he had improved, he still needed to add a new dimension to his game for next season.

“I just want to be the perfect all-rounder, a complete player – I want to be the best left-back in the league and I think I can do that, so that’s what I’m working towards.”

So far this season, Cacace has shown he can be the complete package as he’s widely regarded as the best left-back in New Zealand and the Hyundai A-League. Cacace says he is really enjoying his football under coach Ufuk Talay and is determined to help the Phoenix reach the finals.

“We’re dominating teams and it’s a joy to watch but also to play. We’ve got such a great structure that Uffie has formed with this club, with Coach wanting us controlling teams with the ball.”

Phoenix goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic is among those singing his praises.

“As long as you have that drive to improve yourself and a little bit of talent like Libby does, he’ll go far,” Marinovic said. “But it’s important he just keeps on the route he’s going and looking to improve every day.”

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