Young Reds player, Louis D’Arrigo, revealed he is determined to realise his ultimate dream of representing Adelaide United’s senior outfit after claiming the Foxtel Y-League 2017/18 Player of the Year.
D’Arrigo returned to the Club from the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in September last year, and featured in all eight of United’s matches as Paul Pezos’ side finished third in the Conference A standings.
D’Arrigo said he was pleased to have been presented the accolade at the annual Dolan Warren Awards in Sydney, but admitted he was equally surprised.
“I’m very happy to win this award,” D’Arrigo said.
“It means a lot to win this award at such a young age.
“I wasn’t really expecting it at first and then it just happened very quickly.”
The holding midfielder believed the award was a reflection of his tireless work ethic, but acknowledged it was just a small step in the process of wanting to become a professional footballer.
“It’s a good achievement for me,” he said.
“I think I’ve been working very hard, but I guess I just have to keep going and hopefully see what I can do with the first-team in the future.”
The 16-year-old’s strong outings and consistency has also translated into the local National Premier League with the Youth Team.
He has played all 10 matches to begin the season, anchoring the base of the midfield with aplomb as United currently lie in fifth place on the table.
“I’ve been very happy with my performances this year in the NPL,” he said.
“I’ve been even more happy to play every game so far, so that’s even given me the extra boost to play as well and given me the performances that I’ve had.”
Despite his age, D’Arrigo hopes his performances eventually earn him the opportunity to train with Marco Kurz and the senior team during the upcoming pre-season in order to continue his development.
“That’s always been the goal (to play for Adelaide United) but my goal is just to try and train with the first team regularly,” he said.
“Hopefully do pre-season with them and see what happens from there.”
And the way to accomplish his main objective is to take each match one game at a time.
“The key for me is to just keep playing every game because that’s what I think that’s going to get me the game time to train with them,” he continued.
“The most important thing is just playing right now.”
