Now in his fourth season with Atalanta and armed with the security of a professional deal running to 2004, former Perth S.C. junior Adrian Madaschi is tipped to become the latest youngster off the Atalanta production line to make it big. The folks from www.tribalfootball.com caught up with the Under-20 international last week ...

How has your Primavera team performed this season?
My team has performed very well this season, leading the league table from the very start of the season. We are currently first on the ladder, two points clear of Inter, and probably have the hardest group out of the three groups of Primavera around Italy. We are in the Italian Youth Cup final for the second year running (we won it last year 3-1 against Napoli) and have already won the first leg of the final 1-0 against Bari this year at home. Wednesday, 4th April is the return leg in Bari and this will decide the winner. Even despite playing away, we all hope and believe that we can bring the goods back to Bergamo for the second year in a row. Personally, I have played roughly every game of the league minus the ones I missed whilst playing for Australia, that is about 23 in total, played all Coppa Italia games (12) and have scored 2 goals this season.

What is the standard like in Primavera?
The standard is impressive. It is an under 19 competition and brings together all the best emerging youngsters in Italy, of which, will either enter their respective first teams or be loaned out to Serie C clubs to gain experience of men's football. The next step up from Primavera is either Serie A or Serie B, depending whether your club is in A or B, (Primavera is made up of clubs who are currently in Serie A and Serie B) so the Primavera gives players two vital years to mature physically, mentally, technically and tactically for Serie A football.

What is your preferred playing position?
I would have to say my preferred playing position is sweeper as I like to play out from the back and it gives you the opportunity of a free role, where you can change defensive situations into attacking moves. I am very happy to play as a central defender in a flat back four (ie. playing a 4-4-2 formation) as this is very challenging and allows you to have an alternating role of both marking and as covering the other central defender. We adopt this style at Atalanta and every team, from the 10 year-olds to the senior team plays the same formation. It is probably one of the easiest and most comfortable to play and allows for great understanding between the central defensive pair.

How did you manage to get a contract with Atalanta?
It doesn't come that easy and initially it wasn't a contract. In fact, I played two season before I was offered a contract with Atalanta, that was in 1999. I arrived at Atalanta after trialling with Fiorentina with six other guys of Italian origin from WA. It was only after my Fiorentina experience, when travelling to Bergamo to visit relatives that my luck came. Here, my cousin, who was friends with an Atalanta scout, requested that I perhaps be able to take part in a training session to compare the standards between myself and the Italian kids. Well, to my luck, I actually had two training sessions, played one game and fortunately this was enough to convince the junior director to ask if I had the courage to take on a new Italian journey. I jumped at the opportunity with no doubt and no looking back in mind. After all, Atalanta was my "squadra del cuore", the team I used to watch on SBS every Sunday morning at 10.30 and to think, yes, just 7 months down the track in August of 97, it was finally a dream come true. I was wearing the blue and black striped jersey that I had always dreamed of. Sometimes I reflect back and think how lucky I really was and this makes me strive for higher goals and greater achievements as I go along this dream pathway.

Have you ever had any indication by the club about getting a run in the senior team?
That would be the ultimate! Yes, I have been given indications that next year I will be in the senior squad, however, I think it is better to focus on the immediate job at hand, keeping my feet firm on the ground as always, putting my head down and working harder both physically and mentally than ever before. I am playing very well, am in good form and have had a very good season to date and hopefully this can remain to see out the rest of the season and prepare me for an exciting under 20 World Cup. I am a firm believer that actions speak louder than words so the ball is in my court. If I can come up with the goods, then hopefully, I can be rewarded. However, there's one thing I can guarantee. Like anything in life, everything comes at a cost and in this situation the cost is sacrifice, dedication and most importantly desire. It is all up to me to prove that I have substantial desire to fulfil the requirements of playing Serie A football, and only I can decide this fate. I am a very positive person and I believe that by using humility as a strong guide, followed by the dedication and desire, I can arrive at my dream.

Describe what your usual week involves?
My usual week involves training on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday once a day starting at 3pm in the afternoon. Training sessions last for between 2-3 hours but more often than not get closer to 3 and on Thursday and Sunday I have rest days. Thursdays and Sundays are used as days to relax, stay with my relatives up in the mountains, chat with friends and family via internet and of course, never forgetting further refinement of ball skills. I do between 1-1.5 hours of ball juggling, stretching and similar exercises on these days all in my uncle's underground cellar which is about the size of a 5-a-side soccer pitch. It is the ultimate! What more could you want in life? A soccer ball at your feet, no one to disturb, time to focus, reflect and reset your goals, all in amongst the cool, fresh air and fine scenery of the mountainous areas located about 12 km out of Bergamo city. Saturday is game day, a day full of intensity involving a strict match preparation which I like to stick to, to gain full focus for the game ahead of me. I don't have a great deal of free time and I'm not the kind of person who likes to hit the night life. In fact, it is an extreme rarity, I like to remain focused on the job at hand here in Italy, fun is for when I come back home to Australia. Instead, I enjoy going shopping and for a walk in Cite Alta, the old part of Bergamo located on the nearby mountains in the city. An amazing site on a clear day! It is very historic and is filled with rich Italian culture to absorb and admire never forgetting of course, the fantastic Italian gelati that is the best in the world and adds to the picturesque scenery.

Do you ever train with the senior team or have any interaction with them?
Occasionally, I play training games, either mixed or against them and I get along well with the younger guys of the team. Players like Donate, who I used to live with at the hostel, Rossini, Beeline, Poniard and Rustic. Because I am not part of the first team, I don't really know the older players a great deal. Also because they are very busy and have little time to mix in with the junior players.

Are you signed as a foreigner or do you have an Italian passport?
Fortunately, thanks to my grandparents from both my Mum and Dad's side of the family, I have an Italian passport. This is my playing card and is worth more than gold to me, even if it does mean having to do Italian military service.

Do you have any family living in Italy?
Yes, fortunately I do have relatives right here in Bergamo with whom I stayed with for the first two seasons here, before moving to the player's hostel for foreign and extra-regional players who come from other regions of Italy. Having relatives in Bergamo was one of the main reasons why I came to Atalanta. At the age of 14, they were fundamental in acting as my mother and father-figures and I am ever grateful for their love, care and never ending hospitality that is so warm and welcoming. They have taken me on like another son and I don't think I will ever be able to repay them for their great support, but I know that my uncle and my cousins would be the proudest people in the world to see me wear the blue and black stripes of their home town club that they worship so much. Fortunately, having them as a point of constant support, the nostalgia of my family back in Perth was absorbed a bit, but yes, home is always home and no matter what anyone says, Perth is the best place in the world. The family, the friends, the peacefulness, the beach and long hot summers. The best! However when I left at 14 years of age, I thought to myself that it would be a small price to pay to be offered the chance to gain the success I have always dreamed of. Since then, it has become more of a normal thing, just something, like many things, that I must sacrifice in order to strive for my future goals.

You are playing in the World Youth Championships. What are your ambitions with Australian national teams?
Yes, I am playing with the Young Socceroos at the moment and that is all I want to think about at this stage. There is no room for anything else. We must focus on one thing at a time to get the best result possible. We have a strong team and strong ambitions and, after the Joeys in New Zealand in 1999, we want to prove to the world that it was not a one-off thing. There are many talented players in this very tight-knit team and we must work together to reach our highest goal, firstly as a team and then as individuals for future careers moves overseas.

Photograph: Adrian Madaschi in action for the Australia against Brazil at the 1999 Under-17's World Championship in New Zealand.

Copyright www.tribalfootball.com, 2001. Interview reproduced with the permission of www.tribalfootball.com.