When the Socceroos begin their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign on Saturday, their defence will be anchored by Italian-born 22-year-old Alessandro Circati — one of Serie A‘s most highly rated young central defenders, who has chosen the green-and-gold of Australia over the blue of Italy.
Despite his young age, Circati is already vice-captain of Parma and popular with the club’s supporters, who have christened him Il Muro — “The Wall” — for his rock-solid defensive abilities.
Circati started 31 Serie A matches this season and helped Parma keep 11 clean sheets as they secured 13th place. The Crociati recorded an extra nine points in 2025-26 compared with the season before, when Circati was only fit enough to play six times.
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Understandably, his form has reportedly attracted interest from the likes of Juventus and Napoli. A strong World Cup would only further cement the Socceroos defender’s reputation. But the transfer noise doesn’t faze him.
“I just get on with what I do. Things are written all the time. You have to turn a blind eye to it and deal with what’s actually in front of you,” Circati told ESPN.
For now, that is the World Cup. But the road to the tournament, and the Italian top-flight, has been anything but straightforward for the self-described “battler.”
After progressing through Perth Glory‘s academy, Circati, then 17, looked set for a move to Leicester City, who were in the Premier League, but Brexit-related passport issues and Covid squashed the move.
With Australia’s borders shut, Circati found himself stuck in Italy after visiting family. Parma — one of the many clubs Circati’s father Gianfranco played for during his own career before deciding to settle the family in Perth — was the first club to offer him somewhere to train.
“I came to Parma, trained, did some sessions, and from there they basically said they’d like to keep me,” Circati said.
He started with Parma’s youth side before impressing in a friendly against the first team. The next day he was told he would be training permanently with the senior squad. Three months later, he made his professional debut in Serie B.
“In training you can see that you belong there. But there’s a big difference between competing in training and going into a game. Just because you can compete in training doesn’t mean you’re automatically good enough on Saturday or Sunday,” Circati explained.
As his reputation rose in Italy, Circati faced a big choice. Born in Fidenza in northern Italy, but raised in Perth, he was eligible to represent both the Socceroos and the Azzurri and was twice selected for Italy at under-20 level. While some dual-national players agonise over the choice, Circati knew where his heart lay.
“I was always the more Australian one in my family. My parents spoke to me in Italian, and I’d answer in English. All my mates and coaches were from Perth,” Circati said.
His mind was made up following a discussion with one of Italian football’s greatest players, World Cup-winning goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who was playing for Parma in the final act of his glittering 28-year career. During a team meal, Buffon — who also knew Circati’s father during his own career — stopped him as he walked past.
“He said: ‘What do you actually want to do? What do you feel?'” Circati recalled.
“I told him exactly how I felt. And he said: ‘Go with your feeling. Do what you feel is the right thing.’
“He was like a teacher, like a father figure.”
So, in 2023, Circati chose Australia. Less than two years later, he became the youngest Socceroos captain in 44 years.
After establishing himself as a starter at Parma and helping them reach promotion to Serie A, six games into the club’s return to the top-flight in September 2024, Circati’s knee gave way in training, and he suffered an ACL injury. The injury tested him. There were days the knee was swollen, sore, uncertain … but Circati kept plugging away.
“When you overcome an obstacle like that, you come out knowing you’ve overcome something bigger and harder than most people ever face,” he said.
Many young Australians have headed to Europe and come home early, but Circati never seriously considered it, even after the injury.
As he worked his way back to full fitness, Circati marked down Australia’s crucial World Cup qualifier against Japan in Perth on June 5, 2025, as a target. But ahead of the game, Socceroos manager Tony Popovic phoned the centre back to explain why he would not be selected.
“He told me I wasn’t going to be in camp because they didn’t want to be responsible for my first game back after such a serious injury. They also felt it wouldn’t be respectful to Parma if the club hadn’t played me yet,” Circati told ESPN.
Circati accepted the decision. Four days later, he played 90 minutes for Parma. The following week, another full game.
“After that I got another call [from Popovic] saying: ‘Actually, we’d like to bring you into camp,'” Circati said. “It was my dream to play in Perth against Japan with World Cup qualification on the line, so I said yes straight away.”
Circati played 90 minutes as Australia pulled off a shock win to all but secure qualification for the 2026 World Cup. At full-time, he broke down in tears.
“It was a build-up of many things and many situations I’d gone through that year,” he said. “It felt like all that work had finally paid off.”
Now, as he prepares for Australia’s World Cup opener against Türkiye — a tournament in which Italy has failed to qualify — he tells ESPN: “I’m happy with the decision I made.”
