Fausto De Amicis

NSL Career: Brunswick, Sunshine, Melbourne Croatia/Knights, South Melbourne 290 (5) / 1987 - 2002/03

Socceroos Career: 13 (2) A Internationals

One of the NSL's most accomplished players - Fausto De Amicis didn't burst on to the scene or possess the overlapping abilities of many of his contemporaries - but made up for it as a reliable left-back who was an excellent marker and intelligent on the ball for two great NSL sides.

A Brunswick junior, De Amicis made his NSL debut for the first team at the age of 19 but was unable to establish himself among experienced Scottish defenders Peter Lewis and Brian Brown, former Socceroo John Yzendoorn and talented defender Mehmet Duraković. 

De Amicis moved down to the reserves before becoming a regular in the first team when the club was relegated to the Victorian State League. Following the conclusion of 1990 Victorian State League season, where Brunswick finished runners-up, De Amicis grabbed another chance at playing in the NSL by joining Sunshine in the second half of the 1990/91 season.

The young defender was a regular in the side as they were relegated to the Victorian State League at the end of the season. De Amicis returned to Brunswick, winning the Victorian Premier League in 1991 and played in the Brunswick's 1992 VPL Grand Final loss to North Geelong.

Following the VPL Grand Final, De Amicis joined NSL side Melbourne Croatia for the remainder of the 1992/93 season as the club missed out on the finals series for the first time since 1989. De Amicis continued to establish himself in the side during the 1993/94 season as the club finished minor premiers with the second-best defensive record in the league.

De Amicis scored the Knight's (formerly Croatia) winning goal in the two-legged major semi-final against South Melbourne to progress to grand final where they lost one-nil to Adelaide City. Over the following two seasons, De Amicis became a two-time NSL champion, including the 1994/95 NSL Double where he missed the NSL Cup Final through injury. 

De Amicis moved to South Melbourne for the 1996/97 season when young coach Ange Postecoglou took the position outright and formed part of another solid defence which included Con Blatsis, Steve Iosifidis and Nick Orlic. After reaching the preliminary final, South became the dominant team in the NSL as De Amicis took his game to another level - exceptional in a sweeper role when required and improved his attacking capabilities down the left flank. 

De Amicis's outstanding form for South earned him his first Socceroos call up for Australia's 1998 Optus Series - playing in friendlies against World Cup teams Chile, South Korea, Japan and Croatia. De Amicis's work rate around the ground and assist for John Anastasiadis's opening goal in the 1997/98 NSL Grand Final earned him the Joe Marston Medal in South's two-one win over Carlton. 

South continued to improve in the 1998/99 season and reached consecutive grand finals, defeating Sydney United as De Amicis became a four-time NSL champion. As 1998/99 NSL champions, South qualified for the inaugural FIFA Club World Championship in 2000 where De Amicis played in all three group stage matches against Manchester United, Necaxa and Vasco da Gama. 

Following a poor 1999/00 season, South bounced back in the 2000/01 season under new coach Mike Petersen where they lost just three games during the regular season on their way to De Amicis's then record sixth grand final appearance, losing two-one to Wollongong.

The veteran defender spent two more seasons at the club before retiring from the NSL at the age of 34 and continued his playing career in the Victorian Premier League. De Amicis had a short stint with Fawkner in 2004 before one final season with Heidelberg in 2005 - helping the side reach the grand final (lost two-nil to Green Gully) before hanging up his boots at the age of 37.