Coach James O’Connor called him “underrated.” Fellow midfielder Niall McCabe said he flies “under the radar.” But captain Paolo DelPiccolo simply smiled at the notion he’s quietly put together as solid a season as any Louisville City FC player.
“I don’t know about that,” said DelPiccolo, a University of Louisville graduate. “I’m happy. I’m just trying to do better every game.”
The numbers evidence his effort.
DelPiccolo spent 2016 battling for playing time with former captain Aodhan Quinn and Guy Abend, tallying 1,564 minutes all season. Now — in his second year with LouCity — DelPiccolo’s 1,437 minutes are good for third-most on the team, and that’s even with him having missed a recent game due to yellow card accumulation.
DelPiccolo’s likely to start beside Abend at 7 p.m. Saturday, when LouCity plays the second-place Charlotte Independence in Matthews, N.C.
“He’s someone we’ve used as a bit of an example, really, because last year he maybe didn’t play as much as he wanted to play and this year been able to get more football,” O’Connor said. “He’s led his life correctly, and he’s managed himself correctly in the group.”
Given the captain’s armband for every one of his appearances, DelPiccolo has competed the full 90 minutes in 15 games this year. His 812 passes pace LouCity, and with four assists he’s tied for the team lead.
He’s often seen jump-starting LouCity’s attack with a tackle or initial pass forward.
“He may go under the radar little bit at times to fans watching the game,” McCabe said. “For us — his work in there — it’s tremendous. It helps everybody out so much.”
DelPiccolo’s last standout play was hard to miss. From the right corner in the 70th minute of last Saturday’s game, he looped in a corner kick to Luke Spencer that led to the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls II.
The Wheat Ridge, Colo., native also registered a memorable assist April 15 on a long ball over the top to Cameron Lancaster, whose cheeky chip help LouCity beat the Tampa Bay Rowdies. DelPiccolo delivered a similar long ball June 11 to Brian Ownby, also against the Red Bulls II.
“There’s been some aspects I’ve done well and sometimes there’s things I need to do better,” DelPiccolo said. “And that’s stuff that James helps me with every day and tries to make me more effective in that sense and also on the field.”
DelPiccolo returned to Louisville with high expectations. At U of L, he was part of the Cardinals’ first College Cup participant, and he continues to hold the program record for career assists at 23.
Among his stops along the way back was with Charlotte, Saturday’s opponent.
“I remember playing Charlotte last year, he didn’t actually get to play against them,” O’Connor said. But, “He’s battled away and showed the right attitude — the right commitment — and then this year he was named to the captain role.
“…He’s always had a good attitude. He’s done great things. We place a lot of value on that.”
