Tony Dorigo

Anthony Robert "Tony" Dorigo (born 31 December 1965) is an Australian-born English former professional footballer who played as a defender from 1983 to 2001.

He played for Aston Villa, Chelsea, Leeds United and the England national side., as well as Torino, Derby County and Stoke City.

Club career

As a teenager, Dorigo wrote to 14 top flight clubs in England and asked for a trial. Aston Villa were the first club to respond and offered Dorigo a four-day trial. He was successful.

He made his league debut for Aston Villa against Ipswich in 1984 as an 18-year-old and would go on to win the clubs player of the year award during his time at Villa Park.

He signed for Chelsea from Aston Villa for £475,000 and he won the club's player of the year award in his first season, though they were also relegated. He helped the club win promotion back to the First Division at the first attempt. He left Chelsea in somewhat acrimonious circumstances in the summer of 1991, having made and then withdrawn a transfer request, and then seemingly fallen out with manager Bobby Campbell after being dropped from the side due to declining a new contract. He was sold to Leeds for £1.3m. He made 180 appearances for Chelsea, scoring 11 goals.