Michael Gerrard Pezzano is an 11-year-old soccer fan from Australia, who defied a severe hip dysplasia at birth to now play soccer for the Western Sydney Condors U12 Division 1 team.

Soccer and religion have always been a huge part of his life from a very young age – even his middle name is inspired by Saint Gerard of the Catholic Church as well as the former Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard.

Alongside playing soccer, Michael also plays his part in the Horsley Park parish and is working on achieving his Pope Francis Award which is offered by Catholic schools in Sydney.

In preparation for his Confirmation to the Catholic Church, he wanted to find a saint who loved soccer as he did, and he came across Luigi Scrosoppi who is the patron saint of soccer players.

After Michael’s mother, Angela, reached out to Scrosoppi FC, the club sent a merch package to Michael to celebrate his Confirmation and welcome him to the SFC family. 

Please click here to read the full article from on Catholic Weekly.