A touching tribute to celebrate a significant milestone awaits Western United.
On August 22 at City Vista Recreation Reserve, John Aloisi’s Western United will travel to face VPL1 side Caroline Springs George Cross.
It will mark the five-year anniversary of Western’s first ever fixture, against the same opposition, at the same venue on the same date.
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On that night in 2019, expansion side Western – led by head coach Marko Rudan at the time – defeated George Cross 4-0 thanks to goals from Valentino Yuel, Connor Pain, Dylan Pierias and Apostolos Stamatelopoulos in front of more than 3,000 fans at the Caroline Springs facility, where the A-Leagues club used to call home, with the Liberty A-League team playing matches out of there up until last season.
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Sebastian Pasquali was not in the playing squad that night but he was there on the night and is the last player remaining from that inaugural roster, which also boasted the likes of legendary striker Besart Berisha, Tomoki Imai, Max Burgess, Steven Lustica, Tomislav Uskok and Ryan Scott.
“Five years has gone by pretty quick. It’s a special honour for myself to have been here since the start,” Pasquali, who is the longest-serving Western player, told the club’s media.
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“Some memories from that night – it was packed out. Just the smell of the barbecues cooking, the murmurs of the crowd. It was just a big feeling of excitement and anticipation of what Western United would bring, not just to the A-Leagues but the western suburbs of Melbourne.
“It was the perfect showcase to start our journey and to bring it back here five years later it’s only right.”
Half a decade on and an Isuzu UTE A-League Championship later, we look back at that milestone night, the squad that made history and where they are now as Western United look ahead to their first full season at Ironbark Fields in Tarneit.
Starting XI
Filip Kurto
The star Polish goalkeeper joined Western United from Wellington Phoenix ahead of their inaugural season in 2019-20. He made 36 appearances for the club and now calls Macarthur FC home following his arrival in 2021-22.
Brendan Hamill
After emerging at Melbourne City (then known as Melbourne Heart) in 2012, the centre-back returned to the city via Western United in 2019 following stints at Seongnam in South Korea and Western Sydney Wanderers. He was limited to 20 appearances in the Green and Black.
After winning two titles with Mohun Bagan in India, he has recently re-joined Melbourne Victory.
Andrew Durante
Durante still calls Western United home, working as an assistant coach and development coach after a stellar career in the A-Leagues. One of the competition’s most admirable players, he spent two seasons with the club before retiring in 2021.
Connor Chapman
The versatile Australian played eight games for Western in their debut season, having arrived from South Korean giants Pohang Steelers. The Aussie youth international has gone on to play in South Korea once more while enjoying stints at Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory, where he was part of the team that reached last season’s Grand Final before departing.
Valentino Yuel
Yuel’s name is forever etched in Western history after scoring the first goal in the club’s history on that night against George Cross. The 29-year-old attacker spent a season with the team and recently joined Nasaf in Uzbekistan.
Panagiotis Kone
The Greek midfielder arrived as one of Western’s marquees. In fact he was the club’s first ever signing. The former Greece international scored two goals in 15 appearances, including Western’s first home goal in the A-Leagues. He is currently executive director of Greek giants AEK Athens.
Scott McDonald
After winning titles with Scottish powerhouse Celtic and scoring goals for Motherwell and Middlesbrough, the 26-time Socceroo returned to Australia for the first time since 2000 via Western. McDonald scored one goal in nine games. He has been coaching NPLM QLD champions Gold Coast Knights since 2021, winning back-to-back titles.
Connor Pain
A foundation player for Western’s inaugural campaign in 2019, Pain helped lead the club to their maiden Championship in 2021-22. He left as the first player to ever reach the 100-game milestone for Western. The 30-year-old recently joined Al-Bukiryah FC in Saudi Arabia’s second tier after scoring four goals for Al-Orobah last season.
Josh Risdon
After five special years, Western farewelled their captain at the end of last season. The Socceroos full-back was Western’s first ever Australian signing ahead of their inaugural campaign and went on to win the 2021-22 Championship while amassing 90 appearances – the fifth most in their history. He is back at Perth Glory.
Ersan Gulum (C)
Five years ago, the seven-time Turkey international captained Western against George Cross. The former Besiktas defender played nine games for the club in Melbourne’s west. He is currently president of NPLM VIC side Hume City, where he started his football career.
Alessandro Diamanti
The face of Western throughout his time with the club, the Italian icon endeared himself to fans across the competition following his arrival in 2019. The former Italy international retired at the end of 2022-23 with a Championship to his name. One of the A-Leagues’ finest imports, he is now head coach of Melbourne City’s senior academy team.
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Substitutes
Dylan Pierias
Born and bred in the west, Pierias was a foundation player and came off the bench to score against George Cross in 2019. When he departed Western ahead of the 2023-24 season, the 24-year-old exited with 94 Isuzu UTE A-League matches to his name and a Championship. After a season with Western Sydney Wanderers, he is now on the books of Adelaide United.
Apostolos Stamatelopoulos
After earning a taste of the A-Leagues with hometown team Adelaide United, Stamatelopoulos joined Western in 2019 and was among the goals against George Cross. He went on to play 12 times for the Green and Black. Capped by the Socceroos this year, he earned a move to Scottish Premiership side Motherwell following an historic season at Newcastle Jets.
Ivan Vujica
A former Dinamo Zagreb youth player, Vujica spent three years with Western and scored one goal in 12 appearances. He was part of the squad that clinched the Championship in 2022. He moved to Macarthur FC in 2022-23 and has gone on to win the Australia Cup.
Jonathan Aspropotamitis
Aspropotamitis played for Western Sydney Wanderers and Central Coast Mariners before landing at Western United in 2019. He had nine games to his name before going on to play for Perth Glory and Macarthur FC. The 28-year-old defender transferred to South Korean giants Pohang Steelers this year.
Josh Cavallo
Born in Melbourne, Cavallo got his first crack at the A-Leagues courtesy of Western United. After playing for the youth teams of Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City, he was signed by Western in 2019. After nine games, Cavallo moved to Adelaide United in 2021 and he still calls the Reds home.
James Delianov
Like Cavallo, Delianov is not only a former Melbourne City youth player but he also plays for Adelaide. The 24-year-old goalkeeper spent a year with Western after making one A-Leagues appearance with City. Since switching to Coopers Stadium in 2020, Delianov has played 40 Isuzu UTE A-League matches.
Thiel Iradukunda
A former Melbourne Victory youth player, Iradukunda played four matches for Western before he was released at the end of 2019-20. The Tanzanian midfielder currently plays for NPLM VIC side Green Gully.
Massimo Murdocca
At the heart of Brisbane Roar’s record-breaking side, led by Ange Postecoglou in the 2010s, Murdocca did not play for Western in 2019-20 but he did take his place on the bench on that night, having retired from A-Leagues football four years earlier. The two-time champion is Western’s conditioning coach.
*Antoniou and Pejovic were triallists
