Our curious tale of Socceroos star Marco Tilio

The curious tale of Marco Tilio continues…

Marco Tilio? Who? I hear you say. Is that the young Australian winger we signed in the summer? The highly rated one who cost £2 million? Yes that’s him. You’d be forgiven if you had no idea who he was, considering his place in the pecking order under Brendan Rodgers.

Marco arrived with such promise and indeed the £2 million fee paid for his services was a record purchase from the A-League in Australia. Marco was and still is to a certain extent, highly rated, not so much on these shores, but back home in Australia, which has just been showcased by the fact he’s been included in the Socceroos squad for next month’s Asian Cup.

The very fact he is deemed good enough for Graham Arnold’s squad but not Brendan Rodgers’s squad is quite surprising. Much like his frozen out club team mate Gustaf Lagerbielke, Marco is seen as fit enough and good enough to compete at international level. It’s quite staggering really.

It’s even more peculiar when you take into account that Mikey Johnston and the inconsistent Yang are seen as better options ahead of Marco in the eyes of Brendan. Let’s hope he gets a few games to prove his worth before he heads off with his country to the Asian Cup. Surely he deserves that opportunity?

Tilio made the 26 man squad as one of the two extra players that Graham Arnold was allowed to call-up as part of his Asian Cup plans. Arnold said: “I think I can be honest and say that if it stayed at 23 there is probably a good chance he wouldn’t have come. But extended to 26 enables us to have someone completely different who can play left wing, right win, No 10 and has the experience of major tournaments.”