Nick Rizzo
Encyclopedia
Nick Rizzo is an Australia
n Football (soccer)
player who plays for the APIA Leichhardt Tigers in the NSW Premier League.
in 1996 joining English giants Liverpool. Although not capped in the first team, the then 18 year old was an unused substitute on six occasions in the Premier League season 1997/98. He was then lured to Crystal Palace
by Terry Venables
for two seasons and featured in 58 games before moving to Italian
Serie B
side Ternana in 2000.
Following three injury plagued seasons with a knee injury in Italy
he then joined English League 1 side Milton Keynes Dons (formerly Wimbledon FC) on a free transfer in November 2004, where he became a firm favourite with the fans. He is a lively and tricky player, known for his crossing and readiness to shoot on sight as well as his hard work and discipline. The summer of 2006 was not the best of times for Nicky, who featured in the Dons' first pre-season game against Derby County
but suffered with injury later in the season before going on loan to league 2 side Grimsby Town
and then league 1 side Chesterfield
in 2007. It was announced on 8 May 2007 that Rizzo's contract with the Dons had been terminated by mutual consent.
He then signed a two-year contract with Perth Glory FC
on 19 May 2007, and made his Perth Glory debut on 26 August 2007, coming on in the 69th minute for Naum Sekulovski
in the game against the Newcastle Jets.
Rizzo was not offered a new contract at Perth Glory, and went on to sign a short-term deal for the Central Coast Mariners to play in their AFC Champions League
campaign. It was announced on 20 May 2009, that Nick Rizzo's contract with Central Coast Mariners would not be re-signed.
Rizzo now plays with NSW Premier League side APIA Leichhardt Tigers..
n international when he played for the Socceroos against Croatia in 1998. He also played in the 2000 Olympics for the Australian U23
team which failed to go past the group stages.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n Football (soccer)
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player who plays for the APIA Leichhardt Tigers in the NSW Premier League.
Club career
After being educated at playing school football at Waverley College in Sydney, Rizzo arrived in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1996 joining English giants Liverpool. Although not capped in the first team, the then 18 year old was an unused substitute on six occasions in the Premier League season 1997/98. He was then lured to Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
by Terry Venables
Terry Venables
Terence Frederick "Terry" Venables , often referred to as "El Tel", is a former football player and manager, as well as being a media pundit. During the 1960s and 70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers, and gained two caps for England...
for two seasons and featured in 58 games before moving to Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
side Ternana in 2000.
Following three injury plagued seasons with a knee injury in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
he then joined English League 1 side Milton Keynes Dons (formerly Wimbledon FC) on a free transfer in November 2004, where he became a firm favourite with the fans. He is a lively and tricky player, known for his crossing and readiness to shoot on sight as well as his hard work and discipline. The summer of 2006 was not the best of times for Nicky, who featured in the Dons' first pre-season game against Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
but suffered with injury later in the season before going on loan to league 2 side Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town F.C.
Grimsby Town Football Club is an English football club based in the seaside town of Cleethorpes, in North East Lincolnshire, England, who compete in the Conference National. They were formed in 1878 as Grimsby Pelham and later became Grimsby Town...
and then league 1 side Chesterfield
Chesterfield
Chesterfield is a market town and a borough of Derbyshire, England. It lies north of Derby, on a confluence of the rivers Rother and Hipper. Its population is 70,260 , making it Derbyshire's largest town...
in 2007. It was announced on 8 May 2007 that Rizzo's contract with the Dons had been terminated by mutual consent.
He then signed a two-year contract with Perth Glory FC
Perth Glory FC
Perth Glory Football Club is a professional football club in Perth, Western Australia, Australia, competing in Australia's top football competition the A-League. Perth Glory is one of only three clubs to survive from the now defunct National Soccer League...
on 19 May 2007, and made his Perth Glory debut on 26 August 2007, coming on in the 69th minute for Naum Sekulovski
Naum Sekulovski
Naum Sekulovski is an Australian football player. He last played as a left winger for the A-League club Perth Glory.- A-League career statistics :...
in the game against the Newcastle Jets.
Rizzo was not offered a new contract at Perth Glory, and went on to sign a short-term deal for the Central Coast Mariners to play in their AFC Champions League
AFC Champions League
The AFC Champions League is the premier Asian club football competition hosted annually by Asian Football Confederation . The tournament is contested among the top thirty-two clubs from the top 10 Asian leagues, two of which must qualify through the playoffs...
campaign. It was announced on 20 May 2009, that Nick Rizzo's contract with Central Coast Mariners would not be re-signed.
Rizzo now plays with NSW Premier League side APIA Leichhardt Tigers..
International career
Nicky has represented Australia at the U17, U20, U23 level and is a full AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n international when he played for the Socceroos against Croatia in 1998. He also played in the 2000 Olympics for the Australian U23
Australia national football (soccer) team
The Australia national association football team represents Australia in international association football competitions. Its official nickname is the "Socceroos"...
team which failed to go past the group stages.
A-League career statistics
(Correct as of 2 February 2009)| Club | Season | League | Finals | Asia | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | ||
| Perth Glory | 2007–08 A-League 2007-08 The A-League 2007-08 season was the third season of the Australian A-League football competition, won by the Newcastle Jets. Football Federation Australia hoped to build on the success of the previous two seasons and on the interest generated by and playing in the 2007 AFC Champions League, and... |
12 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| 12 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| 2008–09 A-League 2008-09 The 2008–09 A-League season was the fourth season of the Australasian A-League association football competition. Two new clubs, North Queensland Thunder and Gold Coast Galaxy had received tentative licences from the FFA but these were revoked for the 2008–09 season on 12 March 2008. Expansion... |
14 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 14 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Central Coast Mariners | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Total | 26 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 1 | 1 | |