Day: April 29, 2010

Thursday, 29 April 2010 10:34 AM

By John Kyrou (Photo by Cindy Nitsos)

South Melbourne FC forward Gianni De Nittis is set to play his 100th League game for the club on Friday night against Richmond. In doing so, De Nittis will join an elite group of players, including his captain Rama Tavsancioglu and teammate Fernando De Moraes, to play 100 matches for South.

‘De, De Nittis’ as he is affectionately known by the fans, was brought to the club by former coach John Anastasiadis in 2005, South’s first year back in the Victorian Premier League. He was only 18 years of age when he made his debut away against Green Gully and was used mainly as a substitute by Anastasiadis that season. Gianni was given more game time in 2006 and he rewarded Anastasiadis with a return of eight goals from 21 games. De Nittis showed his true worth in the finals series, when he scored two goals to defeat Altona in the Major Semi Final before scoring the winning goal in the Grand Final against the same team a fortnight later. Clarendon Corner recognised his excellent season by naming him their Under-21s Player of the Year.

De Nittis celebrated the opening of the 2007 season by being part of the Hellenic Cup triumph against Oakleigh and he reached his 50 game milestone against Hume City in early 2008. South did not qualify for the finals in both the 2007 and 2008 seasons and Gianni endured a frustrating couple of seasons being played in midfield as opposed to up front where he could score more goals.

Coach Michael Michalakopoulos decided to put Gianni back into his natural position up front in 2009. South won the pre-season Hellenic Cup competition with De Nittis getting on the score sheet numerous times, including in the final against Heidelberg. In the League season, De Nittis chipped in with crucial goals to help South reach the finals for the first time in three seasons.

Gianni has had a tough start to 2010 but has repaid the faith shown in him by coach Vaughan Coveny by scoring four goals last weekend against Hume City. In the process Gianni joined an elite group of only nine South players to score four times in the one League match. Gianni De Nittis becomes the 39th player to reach the 100 game milestone for South since the club entered the National Soccer League in 1977.

South Melbourne FC congratulates Gianni on reaching his milestone and wishes him all the best on Friday night and for the rest of the season.

Gianni De Nittis– SMFC Statistics:

• DOB 18th June 1986
• Debut v Green Gully (round 9, 2005 @ Green Gully Reserve, 1-0 loss)
• 2006 Clarendon Corner Most Valuable Player of the Year (Under-21s)
• Member of the 2006 VPL championship team (scorer of the winning goal)
• Member of the 2007 Hellenic Cup championship team
• 50th match v Hume City (round 2, 2008 @ Bob Jane Stadium, 2-1 loss)
• Member of the 2009 Hellenic Cup championship team
• One of only nine players to score 4 goals in a League match for SMFC (round 8, 2010 v Hume City)

Season Breakdown:

2005 – 8 games (1 start, 7 subs), 0 goals
2006 – 21 games (8 starts, 13 subs), 8 goals
2007 – 19 games (15 starts, 4 subs), 2 goals
2008 – 23 games (21 starts, 2 subs), 8 goals
2009 – 20 games (13 starts, 7 subs), 6 goals
2010 – 8 games (8 starts, 0 subs), 5 goals
Total – 99 games (66 starts, 33 subs), 29 goals

Thursday, 29 April 2010 10:20 AM

By John Kyrou (Photo by Cindy NItsos)

South Melbourne FC travels to Kevin Bartlett Reserve on Friday night to face fellow top four side Richmond Eagles. The match is South’s second match in a row against a top four side, following the trip to Broadmeadows Valley Park to play Hume City on ANZAC Day.

South go into the match in excellent form, having recorded consecutive away wins over the Melbourne Knights and Hume City. Whilst the Knights game could have gone either way, there was no doubting who the superior team was in the Hume City match as South Melbourne recorded a comprehensive 6-0 victory. Gianni De Nittis found his way into goal scoring form with four goals, joining an elite list of only nine players to have scored four times for South in the one League match. Fernando De Moraes and Daniel Vasilevski also got on the score sheet, with Vasilevski’s goal a contender for Goal of the Year as he hit an outstanding free kick from outside the area.

Richmond’s loss to Oakleigh was their third loss of 2010, however the Eagles have only lost once at home this season. Daniel Visevic and former South forward Jesse Krncevic have had excellent starts to 2010, sharing many of the goals that the Eagles have scored this season. The fact that Richmond is the League’s second highest scoring team with 15 goals (South are the leaders with 16) underlines how influential Krncevic and Visevic are for their team. South’s defence will need to contain these two players in order to earn a third straight clean sheet and more importantly another away victory.

South goalkeeper Peter Zois will be the most determined to keep a clean sheet against Richmond as he returns to play against his former club. In the corresponding fixture last season, Zois was in goals for Richmond as Sebastian Petrovic (33′), Shane Nunes (38′) and De Moraes (94′) cancelled Tom Milardovic’s early penalty (12′) to record a 3-1 victory.

Friday’s match kicks off at 8:30pm at Kevin Bartlett Reserve.

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