Joseph Schirripa

Joseph Schirripa (born 9 October 1982) is a former professional Australian association footballer defender who has played for Northern Spirit FC, Newcastle Jets FC and Sydney FC.
Career
Schirripa was born in the Riverina region of New South Wales and was first discovered by the former Football NSW Technical Director David Lee who brought him into the 'big brother' program that sends talented youth to trial for overseas clubs. It was through this that Schirripa got a contract with former Premier League club Ipswich Town F.C.. This move however wasn't to be overly successful, with Scirripa arriving home shortly after citing homesickness. Soon after arriving home, he was offered a scholarship at the prestigious Sydney private school The King's School, Parramatta and during this time was called up to the Australia U-17s national team, despite only being 14. In 2001, Schirripa signed for National Soccer League club Northern Spirit FC, however was moved onto Newcastle United under Ian Crook who had brought him to Spirit. In his first season at the Jets Schirripa won U-21s Player of the year award. The final season of the NSL saw Schirripa move to Sydney Olympic where he would go on to make 20 appearances.
2005 dawned a new era for Australian football with the birth of the nations first true professional football competition, the Hyundai A-League. Schirripa's chance to show his talent at the top level came quickly, when foundation club Sydney FC signed him on a short-term contract as injury cover for Mark Milligan. His debut for the club would come as a late substitute in the in a 0-0 draw against Brisbane Roar which saw Sydney through to the finals. This would be the last game time he'd see with Sydney, as he was not utilized again, allowing him to move to Manly United in the NSW Premier League. Schirripa would be given another chance at Sydney, when he went on an extended trial under new coach John Kosmina in 2007, in which he was unsuccessful, losing out to Shannon Cole.
International & Representative Career
Schirripa was called up to the Australia U-17s at the age of 14. He was also selected in numerous New South Wales state representative teams, including in 2005 when a NSW State Representative team took on the touring Libya national football team at Edensor Park.
Honours
With Newcastle Jets
* National Soccer League: 2001-2002 Under-21 Player of the year.

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