May 18, 2007 North York Astros new player signings (from CSL media release)
ASTROS OPEN AGAINST CSL CHAMPS ITALIA
Friday - May 18, 2007
A Maradona in town
Diego Maradona is playing at Esther Shiner Stadium on Sunday against CSL champions Italia Shooters.
No, not the legendary Maradona, but his nephew playing for North York Astros of the CSL’s National Division after spending some time with Argentinos Juniors reserve squad in his native Argentina. It’s the same club where his famous uncle started his illustrious career.
Young Diego is the son of Lalo Maradona, who came to Canada in 1995 to play for Toronto Italia of the National Soccer League. The legendary Diego is the eldest of three sons, followed by Lalo and the third son is Hugo. They have five sisters, Anna, Kiti, Lily, Mari and Claudia, all soccer fans.
Other internationally recognized players who began their careers with the Argintinos Juniors are Juan Román Riquelme and Juan Pablo Sorín, both currently with the Argentina national team.
Astros’ manager Bruno Ierullo is determined to ensure his team will be successful this season. He has also signed Toronto-native Selvin Lammie, who currently plays midfield on the Canadian Under-20 National Team. Lammie has 17 caps during his stay with the Canadian National Under-17 and Under-20s, earning four caps with the latter.
Lammie, who is known for his above-average speed, has the ability to quickly provide scoring opportunities on offense and get back into defensive formation without missing a step.
While playing with the Under-17 National Team, Lammie tallied six goals in 13 games, two of which came in a 5-0 win over Haiti in a friendly match in May 2005.
But as excited as people around the Astros are with the signings, head coach Rafael Carbajal isn’t one to buy into the hype. Speaking about the young Maradona: ”My worry is that people will associate greatness with the name and put too much pressure on him. People have to remember that he is an 18-year old kid. He will compliment our team and our style of soccer very well, but we must remember that we must excel as a team this year and not as a bunch of individuals,” he said.
Maradona and Lammie will be featured in the Astros opener on Sunday. The Esther Shiner Stadium kick-off is slated for 4p.m.
.
.