South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce its first signing of the 2020 NPL Victoria season, with young Central Defender Lirim Elmazi joining from Altona Magic.
Elmazi joins the club following an outstanding three year stint with the Magic, playing an integral part in the promotion of the club to the NPL, as well as winning back-to-back best and fairest awards while leading the back four.
The 21-year-old will provide coach Esteban Quintas with a versatile defensive option that is comfortable both in the air and on the ground. As well as this, it is his composure with the ball at his feet that also makes him an exciting prospect for our club.
Elmazi played in 24 league games for Altona in 2019, where he was also able to advance up the park to score on two occasions.
Speaking to smfc.com.au, Senior Football Director Andrew Mesourouni welcomed Lirim to the club. “We are thrilled to have Lirim join us for 2020, as we believe he will add a significant amount of size, defensive strength and quality to our back four. He has come off some fantastic individual seasons with Altona Magic and we are looking forward to seeing him bring this form to our club in 2020.”
Elmazi was also thrilled to be joining the club. “South is a big club and I am excited to be joining them for the upcoming season. After speaking with Esteban, I am excited with direction that the club is taking. So the prospect of being able to help the club climb up the table and playing at Lakeside Stadium was appealing to me, so I can’t wait to get started.”
We wish Lirim all the best in his time at Lakeside and look forward to seeing him join pre-season in December.