John Culatto
GIBRALTAR and Lincoln Red Imps striker Lee Casciaro, who still plays against top international opposition at the age of 41-years-old, has given the new national stadium his vote of approval.
Famous for his sensational 2016 winner against Glasgow Celtic FC in the Champions League, he has continued to lead the Gibraltar national forward line against the cream of Europe despite overwhelming odds.
“Obviously the old Victoria stadium has given us a lot of very good memories, but we now have to look forward to a new state of the art football stadium,” Casciaro told The Olive Press.
Victor Ribas’ side bowed out of the old Victoria Stadium in style by beating both Luxembourg and Andorra.
“The last two games at the old Victoria Stadium were very special,” the veteran striker said.
“Having played for so many years there and looking forward to the new stadium made them memories I will cherish for the rest of my life.”
And Casciaro believes the Uruguayan manager’s attention to detail has been one of the main reasons Gibraltar has started to compete and even win international games.
“The national manager has pushed us and treated us like professional’s because it’s what is demanded to play at international level,” said the part-time footballer.
New generation
Despite his fair share of injuries, Casciaro’s love of football and ability to steer clear from serious injury has helped him stay in-form.
“As long as I can perform at the highest level, it’s what is important,” he said.
“Nobody knows the future, but for certain i want to carry on playing a few more years and after that start doing my coaching badges to see where that takes me.”
No-one can blame him for looking over his shoulder at the all-conquering charge of a new generation whose careers have benefited from the UEFA era.
“Obviously the team at the moment is a very young team apart from four or four players,” Casciaro said.
“The youth now have more training facilities and better coaching staff for them to progress and gradually make it to the first team.
“A lot of hard works that goes into it, but it is the only way we can progress and compete at the highest level.”
Looking to the World Cup, Casciaro said he had backed Morocco to go the whole way.
“They know exactly what’s expected from every single player and are a hard team to break down,” he observed.
“They also seem to always cause problems going forward too – Morocco have the perfect balance this year.”
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