Sixteen-year-old Greek-Australian Max Prassopoulos has taken a big step in his football development, joining the U17 side of Serie C team SS Turris Calcio.
This represents a huge leap forward for the young talent, who left Melbourne in July 2022 for Europe in pursuit of advancing his footballing career, joining an academy in England.
During his time there, he took part in a tour in Italy where he demonstrated his skills against the youth academies of Serie A teams Atalanta, Sampdoria and AC Monza, supervised by professional scouts from Italy and the Netherlands, where he scored two goals and got several assists.
“We are excited to welcome Max Prassopoulos to the U17 youth team of SS Turris Calcio,” said club CEO Rosario Primicile.
“Max’s impressive progress and talent did not go unnoticed, and we are excited to give him a platform to continue his growth and development as an international footballer.”
Max’s father and business manager, Nikos Prassopoulos, expressed pride in his son’s achievements, noting the great amount of application he has put towards his football career.
“Ever since he kicked a ball for the first time, behind the scenes, he faced challenges with determination, spending hours training on his own,” Mr Prassopoulos said.
“I have seen the dedication, the mental effort and passion that he has invested in his dream.”
Remarking on Max’s successes in front of every hurdle and opportunity, Mr Prassopoulos stated:
“We have seen him develop into an outstanding young talent. Words cannot express how proud we are of his achievements.”
Max’s Italian agent and former general manager of Adelaide United, Angelo Picca, also praised the 16-year-old for his accomplishments thus far, noting that he felt it was always “just a matter of time” before he signed a contract with a club.
“We have no doubt that he will become an important figure in Australian and international football in the coming years,” Mr Picca said.
