Arrarte Returns to His Roots
The familiar surroundings of Marconi Stadium will be Nahuel Arrarte?s new home for the next NSW Premier League season after the tough tackling defensive midfielder penned a deal with the Stallions for 2008.
Arrarte kick-started his junior career as an eight-year old at the club and spent a further eight seasons playing in the Stallions? respective youth sides before moving off to the NSW Institute of Sport as a sixteen year old.
?It?s great to be back at the club where I started off playing as a junior and spent the next years going through the system developing as a player.
?I was fortunate enough to have captained every side I was there from an eight-year old until reaching the under-sixteen squad before I ventured off to the NSWIS.?
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Arrarte called Australia home at a young age and it was the Stallions that gave him his first taste of what Australian football was like during his developing years.
With 2008 vast approaching, Arrarte has not only returned to the club where he started off his playing career as a footballer but has also rekindled his connection with current Stallions first team coach David Barrett.
The 26-year-old had Barrett as a Maths school teacher during his Westfields Sports High days and also played alongside him as a teammate when the pair played in the old National League with Sydney United.
?It?s huge to know that I?ve had that connection with DB for a while now in a number of areas as a student, teammate and now as a coach.
?He has a wealth of experience and is always open to new ideas, which is pleasing to know as a player.
?I?m pretty confident that DB can do a great job as he showed during the last part of the Stallions season when he took over as head coach.?
It was a pretty busy off-season for Arrarte who fielded several offers from rival NSW Premier League sides before confirming his move to the Stallions.
?I did have the opportunity to stay at Sydney Olympic and a few other clubs but I had to think of my young family and what was closer to home for me, and the fact that I was a junior at the Stallions was a huge point for me going there.
?I have to say that Olympic was a great club with terrific supporters and a professional board but at the end of the day, I put my personal things first and believed that the best option was to sign with the Stallions.?
Speaking on the Stallions squad for 2008, the former Bankstown City and Sydney Olympic star stated that the club has a terrific mix of youth and experienced players that can take them towards a finals series finish in the up and coming NSW Premier League season.
?The big thing I?ve noticed in pre-season training so far is the fact that we?ve had a number of young under-20 boys that have stepped up to the plate brilliantly.
?Then we?ve got rising youngsters such as the Trifiro brothers and Nathan Elasi who have shown many that they can do more than a job in this league.
?Looking at some of our experienced stars, you can?t go by the likes of Luke Casserly, Vuko Tomasevic, Kain Rastall and Damien Foxe who will certainly be leaders for us in the new season.?
Away from football, Nahuel has been busy organising things with Italian Sporting giants Errea as the company?s Business Development Manager and has been impressed with how things have gone in terms of new kit sponsorships with respective NSW Premier League clubs.
?It?s a busy part of the year for us at Errea but we?re delighted to have gotten some new teams on board for 2008.
?We?ve got the Macarthur Rams, West Sydney Berries and both Sydney Olympic and Marconi on board which has been very positive for us.
?Football NSW?s involvement has helped us immensely also and that?s certainly been a huge reason in our increase in exposure as a football brand in this state especially.?