Vince Grella

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Vince Grella bigraphy, stories - Australian soccer player

Vince Grella : biography

5 October 1979 –

Vincenzo "Vince" Grella (born 5 October 1979) is an Australian former professional football (soccer) player, who played as a midfielder. Grella began his senior career in Australia before moving to Italy, where he spent over ten years, playing for Empoli, Ternana, Parma and Torino. He moved to Blackburn Rovers of the English Premier League in 2008 where he spent four seasons, before returning to Australia in 2012 to play for Melbourne Heart.

He retired from professional football in January 2013, after a long-standing struggle with injuries. Grella represented the Australian national team on 46 occasions, and played at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.

International career

Grella is a regular member of the Socceroos; he represented the Australian Under-23s at the 2000 Summer Olympics and received his first senior cap when he came on as a second-half substitute in the international friendly against England in 2003, which Australia won 3–1 at West Ham’s Upton Park stadium. In November 2005, Grella played in both legs of the World Cup play-off against Uruguay, where Australia qualified for the 2006 World Cup for the first time in 32 years. At the World Cup, Grella’s displays in the heart of Australia’s midfield saw him named in a preliminary squad for FIFA’s team of the tournament, the only Australian to make this list.AAP , TheAge.com.au, 30 June 2006.

On 13 November 2006, Grella was selected as captain for an international friendly in London against Ghana, making him the 51st player to captain the Australia football team. On 21 July 2007 in Hanoi, Vietnam, Grella was sent off in the 76th minute of Australia’s 2007 Asian Cup quarter-final against Japan. Leaping for a header, Grella’s forearm connected with Naohiro Takahara’s head, who had come from behind Grella, sending the latter to the ground. The game was 1–1 at the time and remained that way until the end of extra time, with Japan eliminating Australia from the tournament in a penalty shoot-out. He has currently amassed 46 caps for Australia since making his debut back in February 2003.

Club career

Italy

He had a ten-year stint in Italy’s professional leagues after beginning his career in the NSL. He has been a regular for Australia since 2003, playing in his customary defensive midfield position, and was involved in both the 2006 World Cup and the 2007 Asian Cup. Grella’s friendship with Australian teammate Mark Bresciano is well known. Grella has described Bresciano as "even more than a brother"; they played together at the AIS, Carlton and Empoli, and were reunited in 2004 when Grella joined Parma, before Bresciano moved on to Palermo in 2006., The Age, 18 November 2005 Aged 19, Grella made his debut in Serie A with Empoli, in a match against Juventus at the Stadio delle Alpi, where his first job was to mark Zinedine Zidane.Brown, C. , The Independent, 12 Jun 2006 (Empoli held Juventus to a 0–0 draw).The Four Diegos… World Football , The Four Diegos, Retrieved 29 October 2008 Grella built up his reputation in Italy during his time with Empoli, to overcome initial doubts about his suitability to Serie A and earn the respect of the Italian media, coaches and fellow players. Grella was widely linked with a move to AC Milan in 2003, although the proposed transfer never eventuated, and he moved to Parma a year later. While at Parma, both Grella and Bresciano were excused from the 2005 Confederations Cup by the then-Australian manager Frank Farina to allow the pair to take part in a relegation playoff between Parma and Bologna–which Parma won, to avoid relegation.

Grella was named as captain of Parma for the 2006–07 season, and played a key role helping the team avoid relegation from Serie A for a second consecutive season.FIFA , FIFA.com, 22 June 2007 On 20 June 2007, Grella signed a three-year contract with Torino, one of several new signings made by The Bull. The move to Torino was a free transfer due to the expiry of his contract with Parma.The Age, , The Age, 21 June 2007 During his one season in Turin, he was a regular member of the side, although his season was interrupted by injury on several occasions. He scored one league goal for Torino, a powerful volley from the edge of the penalty area, which cannoned in off the far post to draw level with Fiorentina. The goal was a candidate for goal of the month for January in Serie A., FootballItaliano.tv, 4 February 2008 It was only the sixth league-goal of his career.