Alvin Ceccoli

Alvin Warren Ceccoli (/ˈælvɪn ˈtʃɛkoʊli/; born 5 August 1974) is an Australian footballer who played for three A-League clubs (Sydney FC, Central Coast Mariners and Adelaide United) and was capped internationally for Australia.

Alvin Ceccoli

Personal information
Full name	Alvin Warren Ceccoli
Date of birth	5 August 1974
Place of birth	Sydney, Australia
Position(s)	Left Back/Wing Back
Club information
Current team	Corrimal Rangers FC
Youth career
	APIA Leichhardt
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1995–1999	Wollongong Wolves	82	(26)
1999	AEK Athens	4	(1)
1999–2002	Wollongong Wolves	74	(5)
2002–2004	Parramatta Power	54	(2)
2004	Dapto FC	21	(15)
2004–2005	Wollongong City	15	(6)
2005–2007	Sydney FC	43	(2)
2007	Avispa Fukuoka	34	(1)
2008	Central Coast Mariners	6	(0)
2008	Adelaide United	0	(0)
2008–2017	Kemblawarra Fury	225	(62)
2018	Wollongong United	5	(0)
2019–	Corrimal Rangers
National team
1998–2006	Australia	6	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 November 2018

Club career

Alvin Ceccoli is of Sammarinese heritage.[1] Alvin started his National Soccer League (NSL) career at Wollongong Wolves in 1995 as a 21-year-old. He played 156 matches in the National Soccer League, punctuated by a short stint in Greece with AEK Athens FC. He won successive NSL Championships with Wollongong in 1998/99 and 1999/2000 before joining Parramatta Power, becoming part of the losing grand final side in 2003/04.

He was one of seven players signed by Sydney FC from the defunct NSL. Ceccoli's first season at the glamour club was a rebirth for his career. Alvin not only became one of the strongest defenders in the league, but also earned his second national team cap against Bahrain in a qualifying match for the Asian Cup in 2007, as a reward for an excellent season with Sydney FC. During the second season with Sydney however, he had some disagreements with new coach Terry Butcher which soured his relationship with the club, and he sought a move elsewhere.

A transfer to Japanese second division team Avispa Fukuoka allowed him to reunite with former Sydney coach Pierre Littbarski, and was formally released by Sydney on 16 January 2007.[2] He spent close to a year at Avispa and was released at the end of the season.

On 3 January 2008 Ceccoli signed a contract for the remainder of the A-League season with Central Coast Mariners FC as cover for Dean Heffernan, his contract running until after the 2008 Grand Final on 25 February.[3] Ceccoli agreed on 20 January 2008 to sign with rival A-League club Adelaide United for their 2008 AFC Champions League campaign beginning in March. It would be his third A-League club in as many years, but was notably absent from Adelaide's first two ACL matches. On 20 March 2008 it was revealed he had left the club to return home to Wollongong to be close to his young family.[4] Staying locally, he has joined Illawarra Premier League club Dandaloo FC for 2008. In 2015, he was selected in Sydney FC's team of the decade.

After leading Corrimal Rangers FC to Grand Final glory in the 2019 season of the Illawarra Premier League Ceccoli decided to retire due to ongoing injury problems. He is held in high regard in the Illawarra region as a pioneer of local football. Ceccoli now takes on an Assistant Coach role alongside Roger Jonovski at Corrimal Rangers focusing on youth development pathways. [5]

Career statistics

Club

[6][7]

Club	Season	League[lower-alpha 1]			Cup[lower-alpha 2]		Continental[lower-alpha 3]		Other[lower-alpha 4]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Wollongong Wolves	1995–96	National Soccer League	16	2	—		—		—		16	2
	1996–97		24	2	—		—		—		24	2
	1997–98		27	7	—		—		—		27	7
	1998–99		15	1	—		—		—		15	1
AEK Athens	1998–99	Alpha Ethniki	4	1	?	?	—		—		4	1
Wollongong Wolves	1999–2000	National Soccer League	27	2	—		—		—		27	2
	2000–01		24	2	—		—		—		24	2
	2001–02		23	1	—		—		—		23	1
	Wollongong Wolves total		156	17	—		—		—		156	17
Parramatta Power	2002–03	National Soccer League	33	0	—		—		—		33	0
	2003–04		21	2	—		—		—		21	2
	Parramatta Power total		54	2	—		—		—		54	2
Wollongong Wolves	2004–05	NSWPL	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
Sydney FC	2005–06	A-League	24	1	—		5	1	8	0	37	2
	2006–07		19	1	—		0	0	5	0	24	1
	Sydney FC total		43	2	—		5	1	13	0	61	3
Avispa Fukuoka	2007	J2 League	34	1	?	?	—		—		34	1
Central Coast Mariners	2007–08	A-League	3	0	—		—		—		3	0
Total			294	23	—		5	1	13	0	312	24

1. A-League statistics include final series matches
2. Includes the Greek Football Cup, Emperor's Cup, and FFA Cup
3. All appearance(s) in O-League or AFC Champions League
4. Includes the OFC Club Championship Qualifying Tournament, A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup

International

Australia national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1998	4	1
1999	0	0
2000	0	0
2001	0	0
2002	0	0
2003	0	0
2004	0	0
2005	0	0
2006	2	0
Total	6	1

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	28 September 1998	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia	Cook Islands	8–0	16–0	1998 OFC Nations Cup

Honours

With Central Coast Mariners:

• A-League Premiership: 2007–2008

With Sydney FC:

• A-League Championship: 2005–2006
• Oceania Club Championship: 2004–2005

With Wollongong Wolves:

• NSL Championship: 1999–2000, 2000–2001
• Oceania Club Championship: 2000–2001

References

2. "Ceccoli trades Sydney for Japan". 16 January 2007. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012.
3. Ceccoli back as 'ancient mariner'
4. Zalunardo, P (20 March 2008). "Ceccoli chooses family over contract". Illawarra Mercury. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2008.
5. Zalunardo, P (21 March 2008). "Battle for A-League star lasts just a day". Illawarra Mercury. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2008.
6. Alvin Ceccoli at National-Football-Teams.com
7. "Alvin Ceccoli Appearance Details". ALeagueStats.com. Retrieved 19 December 2018.

External links

• Oz Football profile
• Alvin Ceccoli at J.League (in Japanese)