Perth Voice Interactive

GERRY MAIO is Bayswater’s Mr Soccer and on Monday was made the city’s citizen of the year.

When his kids starting playing the roundball game 40 years ago he didn’t have a clue. For the past 10 years he’s been president of the Bayswater city soccer club: “My kids started playing and they asked me to coach the team, but I was an Aussie Rules man and didn’t know anything about it,” laughs the now-68-year-old. “I remember going to a Liverpool game in the UK, and cheering on the opposition Italian goalkeeper who played for Chelsea—I nearly got lynched.

Since taking over the once-ailing club’s reins, Mr Maio has transformed it into a trophy-winning team: last season, under the management of Chris Coyne, the team clinched four pieces of silverware.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK