Daniel Girardi appointed as SMFC Technical Director
South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce the appointment of Daniel Girardi as the club Technical Director.
Girardi joined the club in October 2018 as Sporting Director to lead the youth program under the guidance of Head of Football Development, Michael Valkanis. Daniel will continue in this capacity and he now takes on the Technical Director role for our boys.
Daniel started playing at a young age in the juniors at Adelaide Blue Eagles where he rose through the ranks to feature in the the clubs senior team. He maintained his links to the club after his playing days serving as the Youth Technical Director for a number of years.
The AFC B Licence holder was recognised for his football knowledge, accumen and technical capability joining former South Melbourne player and Socceroo Michael Valkanis at Adelaide United FC. At the time Valkanis was the Head Coach of the youth program at United and Girardi worked for three years as Scout and Assistant Coach. The youth program under Valkanis at United has be acknowledged as one of the most productive in Australia in recent years with some twenty-seven players having gone through the program and progressed to senior A-League football.
Football Director Andrew Mesourouni spoke to smfc.com.au saying “I am pleased to be able to announce Daniel as our Technical Director. Daniel is implementing a new approach to our youth development program with Michael Valkanis and together they are leading the club in a new direction to facilitate the latest evolution of us producing the country’s next crop of talented players.”
Girardi replaces outgoing Technical Director Strati Xynas who, after serving the club for three years, resigned in December 2018 to pursue his football career overseas. We wish Strati the best with his future endeavours and welcome Daniel to the role.