Spaniard Sergio Cirio’s goal won Adelaide United the inaugural FFA Cup and his performance made him the Mark Viduka Medallist.
As the final’s sole scorer, Cirio was an obvious choice for the newly-minted medal named after the Socceroo great.
Playing on the right wing, Cirio impressed with his quick movement and troubled Perth Glory defenders all night.
In the 67th minute, he received the ball from Marcelo Carrusca, rounded Glory keeper Danny Vukovic and slotted home from a tight angle.
Cirio said it was the most important goal of his career.
“It’s important because I score… but this award is for the whole team, everybody had a good game,” he said.
“I’m very happy because we got it in front of our supporters.”
The 29-year-old fan favourite was a popular choice for the inaugural award.
Cirio was one of coach Josep Gombau’s first signings when he took over in 2013, and is synonymous with Adelaide’s intricate passing play that makes them easy on the eye.
Viduka was on hand to award the medal to the Spaniard.
Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou and FFA technical director Eric Abrams joined with Viduka to vote Cirio as the winner.
In a neat piece of serendipity, Viduka’s last club game before forging his impressive international career came at the FFA Cup Final venue, Hindmarsh Stadium, in 1995.
The striker forged a tremendous career in Croatia, Scotland and England and captained Australia at the 2006 World Cup.
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