As Bruno Fornaroli prepared to depart Melbourne for Auckland ahead of Saturday’s Semi-Final, his children delivered a simple yet effective message of motivation:
“Don’t come back if you don’t win this game!”
That message stuck with the Melbourne Victory veteran, who went on to play a pivotal role in an all-time A-Leagues upset, scoring the deciding goal in a 2-0 win over Premiers Auckland FC.
It was a result that, after the Black Knights’ 1-0 first-leg win, saw Victory triumph 2-1 on aggregate and reach the 2025 Grand Final.
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Post-game, Fornaroli admitted it was the playful message from his children, and not the magnitude of taking on hot favourites Auckland in front of a sell-out crowd at Go Media Stadium, that made him feel the pressure in just his ninth start for Victory in 26 games this season.
“Let me say hello to my wife, to my kids,” he told Sky Sports NZ post-game.
“That was the real pressure for me: my daughter and my son said to me yesterday, ‘Don’t come back if you don’t win this game!’ That was the real pressure, not the 30,000 fans tonight.
“So let me say thank you for the support this year, it was not easy for me and they were always there.”
Used as a substitute for the majority of the 2024-25 season, Fornaroli picked his moment to make an impact in head coach Arthur Diles’ Victory starting lineup on Saturday night.
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Against an Auckland side that had kept Victory goalless in three prior meetings this season, Fornaroli knew that his goalscoring opportunities would be few and far between in the second leg Semi-Final, and that when his moment came, it was pivotal for him to seize it with both hands.
That’s exactly what happened on the hour mark of the second-leg tie.
Zinedine Machach had put Victory in front on the night just 10 minutes into the second half, and five minutes later, Fornaroli made it two; picked out by Jordi Valadon, time stood still as Fornaroli received possession in the box, and in a one-on-one with Auckland keeper Alex Paulsen, the Uruguayan-born Socceroo made no mistake with a clinical finish into the bottom corner.
At times frustrated by his limited minutes throughout the 2024-25 season, Fornaroli stood tall when his team needed him most to score the goal that sent Victory through to the Grand FInal, where they’ll meet Melbourne City in the first Melbourne Derby Grand Final in Isuzu UTE A-League history at AAMI Park on Saturday, May 31.
“I knew I would have only one (chance) tonight,” he said.
“This is the kind of game where you have maybe only one chance. But I was ready, I was waiting, I was hunting. Sometimes you need only one shot, and it was that one.
“I did what the team deserved, what the team needed. I worked hard to try and defend as well, and help each other because we have a lot of injuries… I think we did the job and deserved to win today.
“We knew it would be like this here, 30,000 (fans) and the atmosphere was amazing. But inside the field it’s 11v11, that’s what I always say, and I enjoy to play this kind of game. I hope next year we see more atmosphere like this in the A-League.
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“But we fought, we did everything we could to win the game and at the end, we really deserved it, this group deserved it, and now we are ready for the final.
“We are so happy,” he added. “It was a difficult game, a great opponent. Let me congratulate Auckland for their season, I think they did really well, a tough team to beat. But tonight. we gave everything. Every single one (of us) put in 110% effort tonight to win this game.”
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