Adelaide United’s Head of Youth Football, Airton Andrioli, has extended with the Club for a further three seasons.
Andrioli has held the role since November 2020, when he also became an assistant to Carl Veart’s coaching team and included input into the Isuzu UTE A-League side.
The Brazilian, who played for West Adelaide in the National Soccer League between 1994-96, was appointed Football South Australia’s (FSA) Technical Director in 2009 and was an assistant coach with the Young Socceroos between 2015 and 2016.
The 58-year-old has overseen the development of A-League regulars, Nestory Irankunda, Luka Jovanović and Ethan Alagich among others.
He has most recently guided both United’s Seniors and Reserves squads to their respective RAA NPL SA Grand Finals with the Seniors beating Modbury Jets 7-2 to claim a maiden NPL championship.
Speaking on his extension, Andrioli said he was excited to continue to work with head coach Carl Veart and the rest of the coaching staff.
“I’m humbled to continue to be part of Adelaide United and keep doing what I love,” Andrioli said.
“I feel I’ve been blessed with some good results as well, in terms of both player development and results on the field, and I’m really pleased with how things are going.
“To be able to work with someone who I’ve known for a long time like Carl, along with Mark Milligan and Eugene Galekovic – we are all on the same page and it’s a great environment to coach in.
“I’m very pleased to be able to extend here and it only motivates me further to keep going, and I wanted to thank Bruce Djite for reaching out to me initially at the start of this youth development focus.”
This ethos has extended to the recently announced Adelaide United Junior Development Program, for young footballers to hone their skills within and outside of the game.
A-League Men’s Head Coach, Carl Veart, highlighted the importance of Andrioli’s extension.
“Airton has been a great figure around the changerooms and for me on the sideline since he started in this role in 2020,” Veart explained.
“We share the same philosophy and passion for youth development, and the Club is setting up for success.
“Our fans have seen with their own eyes the quality of the players he has helped bring through, and we can all be excited for the seasons ahead.”
