Marco Tilio’s first-touch Olympic goal against Argentina was the stuff of fairtyale. Especially when one considers how far back in the Tokyo 2020 selection pack he was on the eve of the event.
Last May, a month out from finals and two months out from Tokyo, Tilio had started just one senior A-League game.
A barnstorming finish, including a stellar finals series, led to a shock Olyroos call up from Graham Arnold. And Tilio delivered, producing on the world stage.
Tilio, 20, has a long way to go in his fledgling career, but to have made it this far is testament to the tenacity of a kid that was told he was too short and not good enough to make it.
The pint-sized attacker’s story – along with Sydney FC and Matildas keeper Jada Whyman – has been celebrated in the music video and A-Leagues anthem, Real Nice (H.C.T.F.), by Australian artists and football fans, ARIA-award winning Tkay Maidza and Young Franco.
The track, which also features emerging Brisbane hip hop artist Nerve, who like Young Franco was a junior footballer and remains an avid fan, has received significant airtime on MTV and Australian radio stations.
Featuring young football-obsessed Marco who dreamed of becoming a professional – with an animation of young Marco eating ‘Tilios’ cereal – the video charts his rise to professional football, including the last season’s symbolical breakthrough, a headed winner against Wellington Phoenix.
“It’s been so cool being involved in something different. (To see) all the things involved from when I was a kid to now and seeing my name and face on a cereal box. Almost looking at how far you’ve come. It’s pretty cool,” Tilio said.
“A lot of family, friends, teammates (have messaged him about it), it’s pretty cool. Everyone’s getting around.
“I get up quite early, have some Weet-Bix or toast. I’ll have to changeover to Tilio’s now.
“Just seeing when the music clip came out, from such a young age, bringing everything about me and my life in a music video is quite cool. To be involved is quite incredible hopefully there’s more things like this to come.”
MAKING OF THE MUSIC VIDEO
ARIA-nominated director Gabe Gasparinatos said starry-eyed Tilio living out his childhood dream was a perfect fit for the project.
“When we first spoke, he just presented himself as a he’s a football nut. He lives and breathes and eats it, and football’s his everything. He’s got this dedication, this die-hard attitude and, you know, unadulterated passion for the game,” Gasparinatos said.
“It was really fun working with the creative team on finding ways to visualise that in a pretty tight three minutes. We came up with the cereal, and that became this really fun metaphor for his absolute obsession with the game – he eats football for breakfast and that kind of cheeky and youthful attitude that he has, you know, on and off the pitch made it so appropriate to have him depicted by this young kid smashing cereal.
“And then the scene of him sort of dribbling against these opposition players (Alex Wilkinson, Rhys Williams, Matt Jurman, Matthew Spiranovic, Ruon Tongyik, Tomoki Imai) that are just towering over him became quite a fun way to show his playfulness, but also his pure dedication to it.
“And with that hectic header he scores in the end (against Wellington Phoenix), it was a cool way to then bring it back to that cereal world. Bring it back to the animation. Play around with these different mediums, capture him in all these different ways.”
Tilio was due to to join Whyman in Sydney to film the music video, but border closures on the eve of the season caused havoc, forcing the producers to pivot on the eve of the A-League season.
“Part because we couldn’t get him up to Sydney, so we had to find creative ways to shoot him without shooting him. We had a body double for the back of his head, although we had to animate him in sequences because we didn’t have the real him, but it was a good (solution) and it played into this idea of this game happening in more ways than just on the pitch,” Gasparinatos said.
“It happens online, it’s digital, it’s on the internet, on TV. It’s so much more than just the game on the field, but it’s that whole world and culture around it for so many different mediums and methods of telling these stories.
“So, it was fun to get a bit experimental with that. Get a bit weird with it. Very good.”
Real Nice (H.C.T.F.) is the latest in a series of catchy collaborations for Brisbane-raised producer Young Franco, and the Brisbane Roar, Inter Milan and Socceroos fan was thrilled with the outcome.
“We had quite a short period to lock this in, but with stuff like that, pressure makes diamonds. Like you are in this crazy situation, just ‘go, go, go’, and you’re on the back foot the whole time, but I think that’s like football. You have such little time and you’ve got to make things happen. So I’m stoked with how it came out. And I’m stoked with how the whole process has been fantastic. And I love Tkay and I love Nerve, so it’s been awesome,” Young Franco said.
“Yeah, the director (Gasparinatos) I really, really love his work. He’s done a bunch of work in Sydney. So when I found out that he was involved with it and we got a brief for it, I really liked it from the start. He’s got a really great vision, and it feels like me. It feels like the kind of video I would put out, and then the sprinklings of football feels really fast paced, it touches on all parts we want.
“It touches on the women’s side of the A-League and the Men’s side and combines the two stories while I’m sort of controlling everything. I’m stoked with how it came out. Really happy.”
TILIO ON THE PITCH
Tilio’s rise has been rapid. Prior to last season, her had played just nine senior minutes in three appearances for Sydney FC and moved to City for more opportunity.
The move paid off, as did his patience. Regular substitute appearances, including some top impact roles, saw coach Patrick Kisnorbo finally reward him.
The absence of Socceroo striker Jamie Maclaren (international duty) and Andrew Nabbout’s comeback from injury provided an opportunity for Tilio and Stefan Colakovski and the pair grabbed it with both hands.
The signing of another Socceroo, Mat Leckie, has meant that both have again had to wait patiently this season. But opportunities will come, especially if he scores more bombs like last week’s at home to Western Sydney Wanderers in the 3-3 draw.
Tilio impressed in his sporadic starts, including a 1-0 win over Perth Glory and the epic 2-2 Melbourne Derby draw with Victory, giving Kisnorbo a selection headache.
However City’s already packed fixture schedule, which is banking up with postponed matches, will ensure Tilio receives chances.
“I just want to bring what I can to the team, hopefully kick on from last season and the Olympics, continue playing the way I do,” he said.
“And bring more to the team than I did last season, that’s my goal.”
