Feature Article - Corey Artone

Corey Artone’s reputation is well established amongst soccer circles as one of the states best soccer players to date, yet the man himself has only ever considered the sport a "hobby”. Corey’s humility when talking about his career creates an understated impression of the great successes he enjoyed as a National League player and the natural talent he exuded on the field. Corey began his stellar soccer career as an Adelaide City Juniour and at 16 began training with the National League squad before moving on to Enfield and Blue Eagles, and finally having a 3-year stint as part of the National League team West Adelaide, from 1996-99. Post West Adelaide, and following another 3 years with Blue Eagles, Corey decided on a change of atmosphere and with strong faith in the coaching styles of Mike Barnett, he made the transition to Metro in 2003. Corey’s impressive career boasts 6 championship victories out of 8 played, and he recounts one of his most memorable moments as being Metro’s win in the 2004 Premiership. His good relationship with Metro still exists today and he hopes the club continues to bring in new players and feed Adelaide United with their talented exports. His hope is that they remain consistently competitive and he encourages young Metro players to train hard, listen to their coach and believe in themselves. Corey’s inspiration and challenge for each and every match while he was playing competitive soccer was simply to win. While he thrived on winning, Artone never placed pressure on himself as a player, preferring to play for pure enjoyment. He believes attitude is the precursor to a player reaching their potential, as they must have a certain drive for success to progress through the ranks. For Corey, the pleasure was always in being able to play the game rather than using soccer as a medium to test his personal strengths and potential. With no desire to return to competitive soccer, Corey Artone now enjoys life with wife Marianne and children Mikayla, 4, and baby Luca, happy with what he has achieved. His name still carries with it the reputation of the rare innate talent that many players dream of, and with accolades that include Player of the Year in 2001, Man of the Match in the 2001 Championship Grand Final and numerous best and fairest awards, Artone looks back on his career with satisfaction and fulfilment. Not bad for a "hobby”.