Vince Grella

Football player infobox2
playername = Vince Grella


fullname = Vincenzo Grella
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1979|10|5
cityofbirth = Dandenong
countryofbirth = Australia
height = height|m=1.83
currentclub = Blackburn Rovers
clubnumber = 11
position = Defensive midfielder
youthyears =
1996–1997
youthclubs = Springvale City
AIS
years = 1996–1997
1997–1999
1998–2004
1999–2001
2004–2007
2007–2008
2008–
clubs = Canberra Cosmos
Carlton
Empoli
→ Ternana Calcio (loan)
Parma
Torino
Blackburn Rovers
caps(goals) = 14 (1) 23 (1) 93 (1) 27 (0) 92 (2) 25 (1)
01 (0)
nationalyears = 1997–1999
1996–2000
2003–
nationalteam = Australia U20
Australia U23
Australia
nationalcaps(goals) = 10 (0)
17 (0)
36 (0)
pcupdate = 19:16, 3 October 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 19:16, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

Vincenzo "Vince" Grella (born on 5 October, 1979 in Dandenong, Victoria) is an Australian football (soccer) midfielder who currently plays for Blackburn Rovers in England's Premier League and for the Australian national team.

Early Days

At age 14 he was the youngest football player admitted to the Victorian Institute of Sport, in Melbourne, [ [http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/worldcup/family-grella.shtml World Cup Dream - Grella's Family] Migration Heritage NSW World Cup Exhibition 2006] and he went on to train at the Australian Institute of Sport on a football (soccer) scholarship from 1996-1997. His previous clubs include Canberra Cosmos and Carlton in Australia

Italy

Grella then moved to the country of his parents' birth, playing for Ternana, Empoli F.C., Parma F.C. and Torino FC in Italy.

Grella and his Australian teammate Mark Bresciano were excused from the 2005 Confederations Cup by the then Australian manager Frank Farina to allow them to take part in a relegation playoff between Parma and Bologna. Grella has described Bresciano as "even more than a brother" [ [http://www.theage.com.au/news/soccerfeatures/the-brotherhood/2005/11/18/1132016996463.html The Brotherhood ] , "The Age", November 18, 2005] ; they played together at the AIS, Carlton and Empoli, and were reunited in 2004 when he joined Parma, before Bresciano moved on to Palermo in 2006. He was named as captain of Parma for the 2006–07 season.

On June 20 2007 Grella signed a three-year contract with the FC Torino. [ it icon [http://www.torinofc.it/content/view/1452/61/ Grella signs for Torino F.C. - Official Torino F.C. website] ]

England

On 26 August 2008, Grella joined English Premier League outfit Blackburn Rovers on a four year deal, [cite web |url=http://www.rovers.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10303~1375618,00.html |title=Grella signs for Rovers |publisher=Blackburn Rovers Official Website |date=2008-08-27] for an undisclosed fee, rumored to be around £4m [http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/3623923.Blackburn_Rovers_sign_Vince_Grella/] (later revealed as 4.2m Euros [cite web |url=http://www.football.co.uk/blackburn_rovers/ince_seeking_bargain_recruits_271770.shtml |title=Ince seeking bargain recruits |publisher=football.co.uk |date=2008-10-02] ), having previously been linked to fellow Premiership club Fulham [ [http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_3865021,00.html Fulham target Grella] Sky Sports News] . He joined fellow countryman, Brett Emerton at the club. He made his first appearance for the club in a 4-1 loss to West Ham. Grella played the first 45 minutes, picking up a yellow card and providing and assist with a header for the only Blackburn goal, before being subsitituted at half-time.

International career

Grella is a regular member of the Socceroos; he represented the Australian Under-23's, the 'Olyroos', at the 2000 Summer Olympics and received his first senior cap in an international friendly against England in 2003, which Australia won 3-1.

In November 2005, Grella played in both legs of the World Cup play-off against Uruguay, where Australia qualified for the 2006 World Cup for the first time in 32 years.

In Germany, Grella's displays in the heart of Australia's midfield earned him praise from many quartersFact|date=May 2007, and he was named in a preliminary squad for FIFA's team of the tournament, the only Australian to make this list. His performance against Italy was singled out as one of the best performances by an Australian at the tournament.Fact|date=May 2007

On November 13 2006 Grella was selected as captain for an international friendly in London against Ghana, making him the 51st player to captain the Australia football team.

On July 21 2007 in Hanoi, Vietnam, Grella was sent off in the 76th minute of Australia's 2007 Asian Cup quarter-final against Japan. Leaping for a header, Grella's forearm connected with Naohiro Takahara's head, who had come from behind Grella, sending the latter to the ground. The game was 1-1 at the time and remained that way until full time, and extra time, with Japan eliminating Australia from the tournament in a penalty shoot-out ["Penalty heartbreak for Roos", SBS The World Game website he is Blackburn's new signing [http://www.theworldgame.com.au/home/index.php?pid=st&cid=92151] ] .

Personal life

Grella and his wife, Barbara, have twin daughters; Victoria and Sophia. Grella first met Barbara while she was working in a shoe store in Italy, which Grella frequently visited to buy shoes following their first meeting,

Trivia

* Grella is also one of the few players that wears the captain's armband on his right arm, instead of the traditional left.
*As a child, he attended Resurrection Primary school, located in Keysborough, Melbourne, Victoria.

References

External links

* [http://www.torinofc.it/index.php?option=com_joomleague&func=showPlayer&p=8&pid=597&Itemid=56 Torino profile]
* [http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/Players/G/GR.html Oz Football profile]
* [http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/Socceroos/default.aspx?s=soc_player_profile&pid=132&tid=23 FFA - Socceroo profile]
* [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/28/1185339320502.html Article] on SMH
* [http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/down-and-pout/2007/08/03/1185648149118.html Article] on The Age