Chris Antoniazzi |

LAST SUMMER, ABERDEEN WERE ABLE TO WELCOME YOUNG CHRIS ANTONIAZZI BACK TO THE FOLD. THE DONS YOUNGEST PROFESSIONAL PLAYER RECENTLY SPOKE TO REDMATCHDAY MAGAZINE:

The Scotland youth international was originally part of the AFC Youth Academy before moving to Celtic. However, the attacking midfielder decided that his future lay at Pittodrie after all and the 16-year-old signed a professional contract with Aberdeen in July. Part of Scott Anderson’s successful U17 side, as well as Paul Sheerin's U20 squad this season, Chris has also trained with the first team and recently travelled with them to Dubai as part of his development and came on as a substitute in the friendly game there against Bunyodkor.

We spoke to Chris, one of the most mature and personable 16 year olds you will ever meet, and he started by telling us about his childhood, which, let’s face it, wasn’t that long ago!

“I’m from Aberdeen and went to Broomhill Primary school and then Hazlehead Academy. In football, I started off as a left winger then around U13 level, I moved to leftback before getting moved back to left midfield. Now I just play wherever I am told, normally on the left or right wing.

“I first got involved with the AFC Youth Academy when I was around nine. I went to Jim Crawford's Advanced Youth Skills Centre. Then I came into the system and started playing for the U10s. I don’t remember too much about my football back then, but I do remember there were three teams – an Aberdeen side and then one in Dundee and one in Glasgow. I remember it as being really enjoyable. To start with, at U10 level we would just play against local Boys clubs and then from U11 level we would play against other SPFL teams.

“Even at that age, there is a lot of travelling up and down the road to the central belt and sometimes further. It is hard on parents as well because they would travel to most of the games. The only good thing is that we are all used to it now. I am up and down the road maybe twice a week because I am involved with the U17s and U20s. You just have to get used to it and find the best way to make sure you are prepared and ready for a game after a long bus journey. Mentally, you have to make sure you are right for the game. I am able to switch off now, but it is harder when you are young because you have a lot more energy! Most of the boys in the U20s get on the bus and fall asleep!”

Chris comes from a sporting background, with his dad in particular keeping a very close eye on his progress.

“My dad, Filippo, is Director of Sport at The Robert Gordon University. In the past, RGU Sport have worked very closely with the club and help with Sport Science. Living at home, he makes sure I look after my diet – he takes his work home with him! He makes sure I am eating all the right things I can’t get away with anything, so I can forget about ever having a bowl of chips. I know just how important that side of the game is at my age so it will benefit me in the long run”.

His early promise brought attention from other clubs and Chris left for Celtic a couple of years back.

“It is a big decision to make when you are very young. You have nothing to base the decision on and really just your family to speak to. It is down to pure instinct. At the time, I thought it was the right move. I feel stronger for the experience and living away from home made me grow up quickly, but I am very happy to be back at Aberdeen.

“I am the youngest at the club. I am only 16. So I have to do all the jobs for the first team and also the U20s but I love it and it is really good experience. Being in and around the first team is incredible, players who have played at the highest level and know everything about the game. Every day you learn so much. You are working with coaches who know everything. They have so much knowledge.

“Physically, it is hard some days. When we have a double session, you go home absolutely shattered. But there are a lot of us who went to the SFA Performance School at Hazlehead so we have been doing double sessions every day since we were 11 and 12”.

As part of the Scottish FA's Performance Strategy, seven schools throughout the country have been operating a programme to develop the cream of Scotland’s talented young footballers over a number of years. There, they marry their football education with their normal curriculum as part of the Scottish FA’s commitment to talented player development. Each school has a fulltime coach to work in conjunction with the clubs and the school to enhance their technical skills at a key stage of their development and support the academic potential of the players. Every year, each school will take a number of the most talented under-12 players in their region – both boys and girls – and provide extra coaching sessions during the curriculum focusing on skills development. Over a four-year period, this provides the most talented young footballers throughout the country with an extra 800 hours of coaching.

Chris benefited from that as Hazlehead Academy is the school in the north region and former AFC Community Coach Stuart Glennie looks after the youngsters there.

“We were the very first year to take part in the Performance Schools scheme. David Dangana, Seb Ross and myself, we all went. We were part of the pilot scheme. We were just told we were going to go to school and play football. It was very tiring back then, but it did prepare us for being professional footballers. The increased hours of coaching meant I was able to work on my touch and technique as well, and there is no doubt it improved me as a player”.

Now back at Pittodrie, Chris started to force his way into the U20 side during November and December. It was a difficult period that culminated in a 9-1 defeat at the hands of Motherwell.

“I came on at half-time in that game. It was a horrible experience. It was one of those games, every time they went forward they seemed to score. It was our last game before the Christmas break so it was even harder as we had no game for three or four weeks. We were getting hammered from all angles. I saw things on social media and in the paper. It was tough, but It is part of our development. I certainly hope it is an experience we never have to go through again, but I think we are stronger from it.

“I know this might sound strangle but there were good things to come out of it. It gave us all a massive kick up the backside. As a young player when you sign for a club like Aberdeen it is easy to think you have made it. That is a million miles from reality. They give you a platform, but it is up to you to take the opportunity you get. They will help you along, and there are very few clubs in the county that help you as much as Aberdeen, but it us up to you to work hard, not just in the games but every day in training.

“Since the Motherwell game and the Christmas break, we have returned refreshed and have refocussed. We have worked very hard to put things right since we have come back and we have had some decent results. We beat St Mirren away in the last minute, we lost narrowly to Ross County, but they are strong this season and had an older team. We then beat Celtic 1-0 last week and having played at Celtic I know beating them at any youth age group is a feat. Hopefully it is a turning point and we took that confidence into the Rangers game. We showed good spirit to get a draw from the game. We just want to win and play good football. We are starting to do that.

“Hopefully we can continue to do well during the remainder of the campaign and take it into next season. Almost all the boys are able to play again for the 20s next year. That can only be a good thing. We all know each other. We have been together for a while now and we also know the boys coming through such as Dean Campbell and Terry Taylor”.

There have certainly been contrasting fortunes between the two sides he plays for. The U17s headed into the winter break top of their Youth League and if they can stay there until the end of the season, there is a huge prize at stake:

“It has been completely different. We have won pretty much every game bar one or two. We lost to Rangers, but beat Celtic 2-0. It was more comfortable than the scoreline suggests. There are only five or six of us who are actually U17s. All the rest are U16 or below, so it is still a relatively young U17 team. That is very encouraging and highlights that there are good young players coming through the Youth Academy.

“It would be an amazing achievement if we could win the U17 league but we have given ourselves a chance. If we did win the league, we would then take part in the UEFA Youth League. I don’t think anyone in Scotland outside Celtic has taken part in it up to now”.

Whilst playing for the U20s this season – an achievement in itself considering his age – Chris has also caught the eye of the Derek McInnes and was rewarded with a trip to Dubai.

“Paul Sheerin took me into his office on the Saturday to talk to me about it me and then we left on the Tuesday. He told me I might have a chance of going but I did not know until the day before. It was a massive shock, but absolutely brilliant to be involved.

“I will be honest and say it was quite daunting, though I had been with the first team squad a few times over Christmas so that helped. The boys went out of their way to make me feel comfortable when I was away. The more senior ones would chat to me and told me to relax and be myself. I hope I did ok”.

Finally, Chris has also been allocated a squad number for the remainder of the season, so we might yet see his name in a first team squad before the end of May.

“Number 45, it is not the lowest number but it is a start! No, seriously, seeing my name on the back of the strip, it was an incredible feeling. As a young boy from Aberdeen, seeing that, it was a dream. But I need to keep my head down and need to keep working hard”.