Marco Tilio’s career has come full circle as he and Melbourne City prepare to take down his former team Sydney FC in the Isuzu UTE A-League Semi Finals. KEEPUP’s Sacha Pisani charts his emergence by speaking to one of his former coaches.
He is a bonafide Melbourne City star and a Socceroo, but there was always something special about Marco Tilio, long before scoring 75 seconds into his Isuzu UTE A-League debut.
Even at 15, age was no barrier. He was playing five years up against senior players at Sydney FC.
BUY TICKETS TO THE SEMI FINAL FIRST LEG BETWEEN SYDNEY FC & MELBOURNE CITY
BUY TICKETS TO THE SEMI FINAL FIRST LEG BETWEEN SYDNEY FC & MELBOURNE CITY
“He was having more cameos off the bench but every time he played, he’d change the game,” his former youth coach Giancarlo Italiano told KEEPUP.
Italiano is the new head coach of Wellington Phoenix after succeeding Ufuk Talay, but before relocating to New Zealand four years ago, he was Tilio’s youth coach at Sydney FC.
During Tilio’s formative years at Sydney FC, between 2017 and 2019, Italiano worked as an assistant and head coach of the youth team.
In that January 2020 decider, the now Melbourne City star scored twice in a 5-1 demolition of Melbourne Victory. It was a sign of things to come from the 18-year-old as the teenage sensation made a memorable A-League Men bow the following month.
KEEPUP’S SEMI FINAL COVERAGE
ULTIMATE GUIDE: Everything you need to know
JACK RODWELL: ‘It’s daunting and you’re thrust into it..’ advice to young A-League stars in a hype storm
ADELAIDE’S YOUTH GURU: The coach who discovered Irankunda & plotted ‘mission impossible’ against the Socceroos
LE FONDRE: ‘I’ve read that I’m finished… this would be a nice f*** you from all of us’
A-LEAGUES ALL ACCESS: ‘Haven’t seen that ever before’: What sparked surreal derby dressing room eviction
CENTRAL COAST: How two Mariners changed everything for a 6-year-old fan
Tilio came off the bench in the 88th minute and not only scored just over a minute into his debut, but provided an assist in an incredible cameo against Central Coast Mariners. In fact, he made his senior debut in an AFC Champions League game at home to Kawasaki Frontale in May the year prior.
“He was (an) immense talent,” Italiano recalled. “Great dribbler. Maybe a bit inconsistent at that age but in his own age group, he would just tear it up.
“You could see he had a bit of x-factor that no one else in the league had. We really thought there was potential there. It was just about creating the right environment.
“I kind of worked around his talent, he didn’t work around my system. That’s an important part of youth development, making sure you can highlight and allow players to express themselves.”
Italiano added: “Like any young adult, kids are sponges. If you’re positive with them, they reflect that positivity. If you’re critical sometimes they can reflect that and go into a shell.
“With him, I felt I had a really honest and open rapport and trust. We were able to develop ideas.
“I kind of liked him as a counter-attacking player. I used to sell these ideas to him that I liked stretching the game for him. I would intentionally counter, maybe cheat with some players, let my defenders and midfielders win the ball back to open the space for him so he could come in and find the ball. He liked that too.
“For him in terms of development, he was rewarded because he got quite a bit of ball doing that and it gave him the confidence to take on players and score. Mind you, he was doing that beforehand but it was just encouraging it. He really bought into it.
“I remember we played Sutherland in a semi-final and we had spent the majority of the week working on countering and certain movements because I felt the two full-backs for Sutherland were very high, so there were opportunities in the wider areas. We scored two goals from the counter-attack, exactly how we practiced.
“He came up to me and smiled after the game, saying it worked. For me it was rewarding. He is open to instruction. He takes those ideas on board. I always find with younger players that they do some things you don’t even think of.
“Those are proud moments because you go, I didn’t even think of that but he came up with that on his own. You give them that platform and starting point.”
The 2019-20 campaign was a breakout season for Tilio. He featured in the Sky Blues team that won the Premiership. He also came up against Ange Postecoglou’s Yokohama F.Marinos in the AFC Champions League.
But after five appearances across all competitions, the talented forward opted for a change of scenery in 2020.
For the Sydney local, a switch to Melbourne City beckoned. It is where Tilio has taken his game to a whole new level. The three-time reigning premiers have embraced the player for what he is.
He has established himself as one of the competition’s most exciting players in a star-studded City attack. The sight of him running down the field and straight at defenders has fans off their seat. He’s catapulted his way into the Socceroos squad and a spot on the plane to the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup in Qatar.
Tilio is also the first A-League Men player to win four consecutive Premierships. He won the first with Sydney in 2019-20; his subsequent move to City has resulted in a further three lifts of the Premier’s Plate, all in succession.
Now, he is plotting the demise of his former team as his career comes full circle heading into Friday’s Semi Final first leg at Allianz Stadium.
“I was really happy that he got pushed into the first team. Unfortunately it didn’t work at Sydney but Melbourne were able to see him for what he was and stuck with him,” Italiano said.
“What he has done well and it’s credit to (former City head coach and current Troyes boss) Patrick Kisnorbo, he has actually built defensively a lot of discipline.
“His work rate off the ball and getting into those positions quite high. Whereas when he was coming through the younger age groups, he didn’t have that consistency.”
BUY TICKETS TO THE SEMI FINAL FIRST LEG BETWEEN SYDNEY FC & MELBOURNE CITY
BUY TICKETS TO THE SEMI FINAL FIRST LEG BETWEEN SYDNEY FC & MELBOURNE CITY
“I hope for his development now he is able to get an opportunity to go to a European club to show what he is about,” he added.
“The question then becomes the consistency over time and whether he can make his performances a 6-7 out of 10 every game. That’s what all internationals do really well. He is getting that.
“Part of that evolution is going overseas and playing with players that play like that all the time. That’s only going to raise his level. I think he can then establish a starting spot with the Socceroos.”
