Marcello Trotta - Academy Scholar Of The Year

[White Noise]

Trotta's Dream


Wednesday 5th October 2011


Marcello Trotta

Forward
Age:19
Time at club: 4 years
Height: 185cm
Weight: 80kg

"He's single-minded and fully focused on being as good a player as he can possibly be. He's dedicated his life to being a top player, and he's moving in the right direction to make that happen." Academy Manager Kit Symons



On Sunday afternoon at Craven Cottage, striker Marcello Trotta was presented with an award for Fulham Academy Scholar of the Year following another sensational campaign last year. On Tuesday night Trotta followed that up with four goals in the Reserves 6-2 victory over Norwich City at Motspur Park.

The 19-year-old has made a huge impact at Fulham ever since he made the bold step of leaving Italy for England five years ago, and his goals last term fired the under-18s to unprecedented success.

But, possessing an admirable work ethic and a passionate drive to succeed, he knows the work is only just beginning as he makes the step up to the Development Squad on a regular basis and strives to reach his ultimate goal of representing the Fulham First Team.

Introducing Marcello Trotta:

Being named Academy Scholar of the Year is a proud achievement for me

.It's the best and only award I can get at this age and it shows that the coaches like the way I play. It's a reward that makes me feel very happy with myself after what was a good season.

Last year really was a good one for the under-18s. But that was down to everyone, who worked so hard. This Club had never won the league before, so we achieved something very special. I enjoyed it every time I played, and every day you just wanted to play more and more and more.

There were a few highlights. But none of us will forget the last game of the league season. We needed to win to take the league title, but we were 3-0 down at half-time and thinking that everything we had worked for all year was going to be for nothing. But we came back to win 5-3 and as a result we won the title. That was amazing.

Now I make the next step up to the Development Squad. As a player you always think you're ready for the next level, but you have to go out and prove it on the pitch. So I was pleased to score five goals in one game, against Bolton recently. I hadn't scored a Premier Reserve League goal before that, so it gave me a lot of confidence. Now I'm looking forward to the next games.

Us younger players have been very encouraged by Martin Jol's arrival at the Club. He seems to be looking at us more than previous managers, and he's always trying to get us involved with the First Team. Every time we train with him he gives us advice. As a young player, he's exactly the kind of Manager you want, because it inspires you to always do your best, and he tells you what you need to improve to be better.

Already we have seen that he is happy to give players a chance, regardless of their age. If he thinks you're ready he will push you into the First Team, because he knows that is the only way to prepare us for the Premier League every week, and why not? We have some very good young players here. A few have already been given a chance, and we'd all like to be the next. That is the ultimate goal, but my target for now is just to be involved in the First Team environment, fight for my place and prove myself as much as possible.

As a striker, scoring goals is my life. I've scored more than 25 in each of the past two seasons and every one of them has made me feel so happy, knowing that I'm making a big contribution to the team.

So the dream is to do it at Craven Cottage. I've scored here for the under-18s, and even that made me feel so nice, so I can't imagine what it must be like to score here for the First Team in a Premier League game. That would be amazing, with everyone shouting your name because maybe you've won the game for your team. I can't describe how that would feel, but hopefully I will get to experience it before too long.


Read more: http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2011/October/ThroughTheRanks.aspx#ixzz1ZvfJQoKk