Welcome everybody to episode 44 of the Football United vs Soccer City podcast. I would like to sincerely thank all the interviewees, listeners and the soccer public of the Illawarra, Australia and the World who download this podcast. Additionally I would like to say thank you to the people who contribute, comment and reminisce on the social media pages. Please note if you have a person you think I should interview please message me directly on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter.
Paul Giraldi started playing junior soccer in 1969 as a left full-back with Woonona Junior Soccer Club down at Ocean Park. Although humble about his own abilities, Paul was proficient enough to play representative junior soccer for a couple of years along with his club soccer with Woonona (and school soccer with Woonona High School).
His senior career started with Fairy Meadow under 18s in the Illawarra Premier League in 1977 while he was still dual registered with his junior club Woonona. The first couple of years at Fairy Meadow allowed him to play with his brother and good friend Dean Gardiner. Added to this his U18 team had success winning the Kass Cup a couple of times.
Paul was approximately 16 and a half years old when he joined the Bellambi Rosellas after being asked to come across by his former high school teacher John Frew. Here he played first grade under John Frew and other experienced senior players such as Rob Banks, Tony Gill and Geoff Farrar. He learnt a lot at Bellambi and after this he joined Wollongong United with his brother, Dean and the Sattin brothers in 1981.
Here in State League 2nd division he was coached by Mike Johnson, a coach that had an enormous influence on his football career as well as his life. Mike was an intense man and it was fascinating to hear Paul discuss his time with Mike. For several years he played with Wollongong United/Wollongong Macedonia along with many team mates. His time at this club was highlighted by the state league derbies between Fairy Meadow, another intense coach in John Bingham and Paul’s ability to play alongside very good friends.
In 1989 Paul went across to Fairy Meadow Italia under Glenn Fontana in the state league for a year. Unfortunately Fairy Meadow folded at the end of that year and this was a sad event for Paul and the Illawarra. Next he went to Bellambi Rosellas for a second stint as a player under Steve Quirk. After a couple of seasons he then moved on to Coniston Makedonija with former team mate, friend and now coach Harry Sattin in 1992. They had a successful year as Coniston won the league championship and were grand finalists.
In 1993 he joined Fernhill SC as their coach Larry Gaffney rang him and at the time it suited Paul’s personal life. Paul played at Fernhill for a few seasons and amongst playing with a great club, he discusses former team mate Scott Chipperfield and very good friend and team mate Claudio Cellini. It was very insightful to hear Paul’s thoughts on both men who have contributed a lot for our game in the Illawarra.
Paul thought he had retired from first grade football in 1998 after finishing with Fernhill and he started to play with an amateur team. But he was mistaken as Woonona Sharks coach Ian Cirson saw him play for the amateur team in the pre-season Corrimal Leagues Knock out in 1999. Ian liked what he saw and called Paul up and at the age of 37 Paul played 1 year in premier league at the club where he started his football career thirty years prior.
For me the interview with Paul was fantastic as I learnt a lot about him, especially the Macedonia days where he played at a high level with his brother and 5 to 6 very good friends. Paul has longevity and a passion for the game in the Illawarra. He played at a high level across two decades, with strong and successful teams (and coaches). Publicly I would like to pay my respects to him as he allowed me the time to speak with him for over two hours. I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I enjoyed recording it.
