Wellington Phoenix have lured midfielder Paulo Retre back to the Isuzu UTE A-League on a two-year deal.
A two-time Championship winner, experienced midfielder Retre returns to the A-Leagues following a season with FC Goa in the Indian Super League.
The 31-year-old returns Down Under, having amassed 193 appearances for Melbourne City and Sydney FC in the competition.
During his six years with Sydney between 2017 and 2023, Retre won two Premierships and as many Championships.
“I’ve been in the A-League for a long time, and was looking for a new challenge,” Retre said.
“I’ve had some interest in the past from Wellington, and it’s always been a place that I’ve enjoyed playing at. It’s a beautiful city.
“I saw some of the games from last year from afar, and getting to the semis, the atmosphere was fantastic, there’s a great crowd.
“All those things enticed me to want to be a part of it.”
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“I had a phone call with the coach, and he had some fantastic things to say about his vision
for Wellington,” Retre continued, having made 18 ISL appearances for FC Goa last season.
“It persuaded me to get things moving. After that, one thing led to another.”
Retre links up with a Wellington side who enjoyed an historic run to the 2023-24 Semi-Finals, having agonisingly missed out on a maiden Premier’s Plate.
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“I still have that hunger to succeed. I could have stayed at my old club, had another season there, but I chose to try a new adventure,” he added.
“I want to try and bring that attitude to the Phoenix and I hope that we can have a successful time.
“I’m excited about the prospect of coming to Wellington. I’ve heard from Shaun Gill (director of football) and Jake Piper (head of football operations) that the facilities are fantastic, everything’s going really well.
“Last year was such a great year. Obviously some players have gone, but that happens
when you’re successful.
“Now it’s about trying to build on that and do something better.”
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Retre is Wellington’s second signing of the off-season, joining Marco Rojas, while experienced star Kosta Barbarouses has re-signed.
As for Alex Paulsen (AFC Bournemouth), Nicholas Pennington (Perth Glory), Oskar Zawada, Jack Duncan (Melbourne Victory), Ben Old (Saint-Etienne), Bozhidar Kraev (Western Sydney Wanderers) and Finn Surman (Portland Timbers) – they have all departed.
“I had a lot of time with Paolo when he was at Sydney,” said Italiano. “He’s a great person. He fits the environment that we like here.
“He’s been abroad, he’s had some good experience in India. He won the league a couple of times with Sydney as well, he’s been part of that winning group.
“A lot of last year’s success was about the young boys, but it was also contingent on the fact
that all of the older boys stepped up.
“Kosta Barbarouses, Alex Rufer, all of them really made it easier for those young boys to shine. The priority for me is making sure we have a balanced squad.”
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“In terms of the midfield role, he’s going to give us an extra layer, not only with the ball, but
defensively he’s very good,” Italiano added.
“Bringing in Paulo is going to give us that one extra player that in those moments, can get us
over the line.”
