PISCOPO Reno

General
ITALIAN LINKS
Born in Melbourne, VIC, Australia, to an Italian father and a Maltese mother, he relocated to Italy at age 13 to join the youth system at Inter Milan. He also played for Torino and Renate during his time in Italy before returning to Australia ahead of the 2019/20 season when he signed a contract to join Wellington Phoenix. He initially represented Italy at youth level but says he always imagined himself switching allegiances to play for the country of his birth. "When I found out I was about to sign for Inter, because I was so young, I was actually scared. I did not want to go. Inter were very open with me and said I could come for six months to a year and see how I liked it. And as soon as I went there I fell in love with the academy, coaching and the way everything was handled. Italy and Milan has a place in my heart. It was a great place, great memories. I'm sure I'll go back soon. [But] Deep down I always knew that I wanted to play for Australia and represent my real country. I always knew I was going to switch over one day." (ftbl.com.au, 18 Jan 2020; theaustralian.com.au, 16 Jan 2020; transfermarkt.co.uk, 11 Sep 2019; wellingtonphoenix.com, 22 Aug 2019; socceroos.com.au, 31 Mar 2020)