Upping sticks to make a cross-country move may appear a little daunting to some, but Glory’s Jacob Poscoliero has taken it all very much in his stride.
Not that his ability to complete such a smooth transition should come as any real surprise given that the new recruit’s previous football relocation saw him head to Italy while still a teenager.
And it wasn’t the cosmopolitan Serie A version of Italy that the defender moved to, either.
Instead, he was plunged into the unforgiving, often cynical, dog-eat-dog world of the country’s lower divisions as he signed for SandonaJesolo, a small club situated close to Venice in Italy’s north-east.
“I went over when I was very young and initially it was difficult due to the language barrier,” he recalled.
“It’s the kind of thing that makes you grow up pretty quickly, but it was good for me at a football and at a personal level and I felt that I grew in both of those areas.
“Italians pride themselves on their defence and tactics in every league regardless of the level. They focus a lot on that, so it was a great learning experience from that point of view.
“And because football is the number one sport there, it’s very competitive and everyone wants to make it to the top, so there are no handouts.
“There was plenty of gamesmanship going on, especially during the away trips.”
But what prompted the young defender to make such a decidedly unorthodox career move in the first place?
“Basically, there was no youth league underneath the A-League back then,” he explained, “so the only options were playing in the State League or going overseas.
“I was playing for Blacktown City at the time and they actually organised the move for me.”
The man from Wollongong went on to spend a season with another club in the Veneto region, Bassano Virtus, before returning to Australia and making his Hyundai A-League breakthrough with Central Coast Mariners.
But although he enjoyed his subsequent three-season spell in Gosford, he felt that the opportunity to join Glory this year was one he had to take.
“I made some close friends there at the Mariners,” he said, “and it wasn’t easy leaving, but I just felt that I needed a change and a new challenge.
“Perth’s a big, well renowned club and the thought of coming here was a really appealing one.
“I’ve had no problems settling in since I arrived and things are going well.
“Obviously the weather hasn’t been great, but everyone has been telling me how amazing Perth is when the summer comes, so I can’t wait for that!”
Despite being 27, the same age as Joseph Mills, Poscoliero has achieved what the similarly fresh-faced Englishman hasn’t quite managed and bagged himself a place in the younger group for Glory training games.
Not that it’s benefitted him massively so far.
“I do look quite young, so I think that’s how I got in,” he said.
“But Millsy’s right when he says the older lads have been beating us a lot. And they love to rub that in!”
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