By ROY WARD
YEARS of disappointment and the love of his new wife are spurring on Oakleigh Cannons star Ricky Diaco this season.
Now Diaco hopes those emotions will push him to lead the Cannons to a long-awaited Victorian Premier League title this Sunday. The Cannons will face Dandenong Thunder in the final at AAMI Stadium.
After he played in the VPL for many seasons, last year’s finals campaign was Diaco’s first at senior level. That fact would surprise many people, as he has been among the best players in the competition for the better part of a decade.
“There were six years in a row there where the teams I played in finished seventh,” he said. “With South Melbourne, Frankston, Bulleen and the first season with Oakleigh, we finished seventh all the time. I thought ‘is it me?; am I a curse?”‘
But those thoughts were put to rest last season as the Cannons stormed into the finals and faced Green Gully in the final.
Despite Diaco scoring a goal and setting up another, the match ended up going to extra time and Gully won 3-2.
The elation of making his first grand final was soon overtaken by the sadness of losing. Diaco still struggles to put his emotions into words, but that disappointment has driven him this season as the Cannons kicked into gear in the second half of the season. They made the finals despite the distraction of the club’s decision to sack coach Huss Skenderovic mid-season, replacing him with Peter Zois and Bill Theodoropoulos.
Diaco still recalls the horror of last year’s grand final day. “The feeling after the game; I don’t know how to describe it. It’s like losing the love of your life, getting dumped by her.
Rather quietly, Diaco also became a married man this season, tying the knot with his wife, Lumniye, in early June, right on his 30th birthday. The pair haven’t had their honeymoon yet due to the VPL season.
In his earlier days, Diaco was known for enjoying the night life but that has all changed now. “As I say to the boys, she has tamed the wild beast,” Diaco joked.
The Cannons can’t wait for Sunday to come around and Diaco believes the extra week’s rest has been perfect for his side. He said taking their chances at goal will decide whether they can lift the VPL title. “I can see it in the boys, they are so hungry to win this game, we can’t wait for game day.”
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