Cristian Volpato's Journey to the Socceroos: A New Chapter

Cristian Volpato didn’t just book a flight. He closed a chapter.

The Sassuolo attacker, once held up as the next jewel in Italy’s crown, will pull on the green and gold for the first time when the Socceroos face Switzerland at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego on Saturday (5am Sunday AEST). A World Cup debut for his country of birth now looms, and with it the end of one of Australian football’s longest-running tug-of-war stories.

For years, Volpato sat on the fence. Born in Sydney, sharpened in Rome, capped by Italy at youth level, he had previously turned down Graham Arnold’s invitation to join Australia’s 2022 World Cup squad while still an 18-year-old at Roma. As recently as March, he was still talking about waiting for a senior call from the Azzurri.

Now, the wait is over — and not in the way many in Italy expected.

“Obviously, playing in a World Cup for your nation is something unreal,” Volpato said in a video interview released by Football Australia on Friday. Italy’s failure to qualify for this year’s tournament loomed large. The World Cup stage he craved wasn’t on offer in blue.

“Playing for Italy also was good and amazing,” he said. “But maybe when I was 18, maybe I was a bit too young, and maybe I was a bit too scared to make the change straight away, so maybe I was in my comfort zone a bit, playing for Italy.

“Something — I don’t know — in my heart just said, ‘I think it’s time to come home.’”

A decision that never left his mind

This wasn’t a snap call made on a whim in the European off-season. Volpato describes a choice that followed him everywhere.

“I’m Italian and I’m Australian, so it’s actually been a big decision that’s always been in my head 24/7 for quite a while,” he said.

“It’s really hard because it’s like people want you to choose something, one or the other.

“But it’s been hard and, obviously, I do feel Australian, so it felt really good coming in, being brought in by the boys, and speaking English — Aussie.”

The emotional pull needed a footballing nudge. It came from two key figures: Socceroos coach Tony Popovic and close friend Alessandro Circati.

Popovic made it clear from the outset he would not beg. The door was open, not propped wide with promises. Conversations were long, direct, and honest. Circati, already in the Australian camp and a teammate at Parma, kept the pressure on from the inside.

Sassuolo and Parma met on the final day of the Serie A season. The chat between the two young Australians stretched well beyond the 90 minutes.

“He [Circati] was trying to convince me, and I was like, alright, I’m gonna come, I’m gonna come,” Volpato said.

The persuasion worked. Australia suddenly had a creative attacker entering his prime, and Italy had lost a player they once thought was theirs.

Popovic ready to unleash new weapon

On Friday, Popovic confirmed what many wanted to hear. Volpato is “fit and available” to face Switzerland and is expected to see minutes after arriving too late to feature against Mexico.

The attacker has needed time to catch up physically, with his conditioning behind that of his new teammates when he first joined camp. Now, Popovic says, he is looking the sharpest he has since landing.

Inside the squad, any suggestion of tension over his late switch has been batted away. Midfielder Connor Metcalfe dismissed talk of unrest when asked if Volpato’s decision had caused issues in the group.

The 22-year-old, for his part, knows the scrutiny will not stop just because he has chosen Australia. He also knows what kind of reaction the Socceroos still attract on the world stage.

“Obviously people are writing us off a lot because we’re Australia, but I believe in the group, I believe in the coach, I think we’ve got a really good team, so hopefully we can shock a lot of people,” he said.

That’s the challenge now: not just to belong, but to change minds.

Dress rehearsal for the “big dance”

Volpato may not be the only fresh face to step over the white line in San Diego. Striker Tete Yengi is also in line for a debut in what will be Australia’s final friendly before the World Cup.

The conditions have been chosen deliberately. A midday kick-off. A quick exit from the city afterwards. The schedule mirrors the Socceroos’ second group game against the United States on June 19 (June 20 AEST), right down to the rhythm of the day.

“A good dress rehearsal, good last hit-out for players to get minutes in before the big dance in front of us,” Popovic told AAP.

Switzerland offer exactly the kind of test Australia wanted: a hardened European opponent, technically polished and physically robust, to tune up for their June 13 opener against Turkey in Vancouver.

For most of the squad, it’s another key step in preparation. For Cristian Volpato, it’s something else entirely.

It’s the first time he walks out as a Socceroo — and the first time the rest of the world sees which side of his footballing identity he has finally chosen.