Melbourne City FC has bolstered its off field resources with the recruitment of two new positions within the Club’s Football Department.
Former Adelaide United CEO Michael Petrillo joins Melbourne City FC as the Head of Talent Management, whilst highly regarded sports physiotherapist Andrew McKenzie joins as the Club’s Head of Human Performance.
Both roles are new to Melbourne City FC’s Football Department and Petrillo and McKenzie commence effective immediately.
Petrillo has over a decade of experience in the Hyundai A-League, commencing as Adelaide United’s founding CEO in 2005.
He then moved into the club’s football operations and then after a spell working with North Queensland Fury, he returned to Adelaide United where he remained until the end of September 2015.
Petrillo will manage the recruiting, talent identification and talent management processes for Melbourne City’s five teams across the Hyundai A-League, Westfield W-League, Foxtel National Youth League and National Premier Leagues teams.
Speaking of his move to Melbourne City FC, Petrillo said;
“After I made the decision to move on from Adelaide, I was honoured to be offered a number of opportunities in sport.
“Having weighed up all of the options, Melbourne City FC was the obvious choice, enabling me to specialise in my passion for list development and player management and contribute to an organisation in the process of significant transformation.
“I’m extremely excited about the challenges which lie ahead.”
McKenzie joins Melbourne City after 10 years in elite-level high performance, including three years with English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur and with AFL outfit Western Bulldogs.
McKenzie’s role will see him responsible for medical, sports science and player support services.
Reacting to his appointment McKenzie said; “After working in the AFL and in football overseas, it is an exciting time to be involved in football in Australia, in a growing sport and at a growing club.
“I’m excited to commence work with Melbourne City and I am especially looking forward to the new challenge ahead.”
City Football Services Managing Director Brian Marwood, delighted with both appointments, said:
“Over the past 18 months, Melbourne City FC has seen unprecedented expansion.
“We now have five teams, including our youth and women’s sides, streamlined across 12 months of the year, each of which share the same ambitions.
“This kind of evolution requires the right quality of resource employed in the right structure to give us the best opportunity to reach our goals.
“Michael and Andrew’s experience provides us with a major boost to an already talented off field team.”
