Dorigo sets sights on England return
ASTON Villa will always be a special club for Tony Dorigo, Leeds United's made-in-Australia left-back.
When Dorigo was a teenager in Adelaide dreaming of a career as a professional footballer in England, he wrote to over a dozen clubs asking for a trial.
'Aston Villa were the only ones who replied,' Dorigo told Premier Soccer this week from his home in Leeds.
'It cost them a 34p stamp and they sold me to Chelsea for GBP500,000, so I don't think I was a bad investment.' Dorigo, now 30, makes a nostalgic return journey to Villa Park tomorrow with Leeds trying to re-build his career after a prolonged hamstring injury.
In last weekend's 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest at Elland Road, Dorigo came on as a substitute for the final 10 minutes - his first taste of first-team football since last season's League Cup semi-final victory over Birmingham City in February.
Although he expects to start tomorrow's match on the bench, he feels he is ready to re-launch his career.
'I've been in full training for the past two or three weeks but I need a bit more match fitness,' he said.
'Unfortunately, there hasn't been a reserve team game this week, so I'll probably be on the bench on Saturday.
'There are quite a few injuries at the club at the moment but not in my position, where the competition is strong with Lee Sharpe and Ian Harte.' Dorigo, who was born in Melbourne, headed for his week's trial at Villa just before his 16th birthday.
He turned professional with Villa aged 17 and made 111 league appearances before moving on to Chelsea (146 league appearances) and then Leeds, winning the championship under Howard Wilkinson in 1992.
The stylish left-back is now the proud holder of 15 England caps, the last one coming in the 2-0 defeat by Holland in Rotterdam which effectively cost England a place in the 1994 World Cup.
'I've not given up on my England chances, especially with the system the new coach is playing (wing-backs), which suits my style,' he added.
'My priority, though, is to re-establish myself in the Leeds team under George Graham and take it from there. I must admit it's been very frustrating lately being injured and seeing what's happening in the England squad. If things go well, who knows what can happen?' Dorigo feels Leeds have recovered from the 'shock' of Wilkinson's dismissal and are now ready to climb the table.
'The new manager has had three weeks to get across his ideas and we've been working very hard on defence, closing down the opposition as a unit, as a whole team.
'Villa are always hard to beat on their own ground but they're not having a particularly good time at the moment and, with our confidence up, it should be a close game.
'Whatever happens, I will always be indebted to Villa because they gave me my chance in English football.'
