Andrew Orsatti (born 23 April 1975 in Sydney, Australia) is the Communications Director and Spokesman for football's international players' union FIFPro. Before his present role, Orsatti worked as a sports journalist and football commentator for ESPN in the United States. A former professional footballer himself, Orsatti spent his formative years as an investigative football journalist and broadcaster with the

Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from the Australian Government. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World ...

(SBS) in Australia. He previously sat on the

Australian Professional Footballers' Association The Professional Footballers Australia (PFA), formerly the Australian Soccer Players' Association, is an Australian trade union affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions that represents professional male, female and elite junior so ...

(PFA) Awards Committee alongside a host of former Australian internationals and media professionals.

Football career

Growing up in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia, Orsatti's football career started to show promise while playing for the youth teams of former

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

club

APIA Leichhardt APIA Leichhardt Football Club, also known simply as APIA (Associazione Poli-sportiva Italo Australiana), is a semi-professional soccer club based in the suburb of Leichhardt, New South Wales, Leichhardt in Sydney, Australia. The club was formed ...

. He attracted interest from various Italian clubs including

A.S. Roma ' (''Rome Sport Association''), commonly referred to as Roma (), is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its existence, except for ...

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

Pescara Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...

and Lucchese during the 1992/93 season. After two years in Italy, Orsatti suffered a serious knee injury while playing for Italian lower division club Penne. During the European summer of 1994, he was offered a contract by then Serie A club

. However, after multiple knee operations he never returned to full-time professional football. In 2002, he appeared in the 'If Only' series on SBS, in which Australia's

1974 World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the ...

defender,

Manfred Schäfer Manfred Schaefer (born 12 February 1943) is a former association football defender. At club level he won titles with St. George Budapest. With the Australian national team he participated in the 1974 World Cup in his native Germany. As coach ...

, described Orsatti as a "big time" player whom he had expected to excel in one of the world's top competitions.

Media career

Orsatti completed an Associate Diploma in Journalism at Macleay College in Sydney, in 1995. After joining SBS as a cadet journalist in 1996, Orsatti quickly rose through the ranks to become the weekend host of the network's daily, prime-time 30 minute sports news show, ''Toyota World Sports''. At 21, he was one of the youngest free-to-air presenters in Australian broadcasting at the time. He was later assigned to major sporting events that included the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

Basketball World Championship The FIBA Basketball World Cup, also known as the FIBA World Cup of Basketball or simply the FIBA World Cup, between 1950 and 2010 known as the FIBA World Championship, is an international basketball competition contested by the senior men's nat ...

, World Swimming Championships, and the summer

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

of 2000 and 2004. Orsatti specialised in football, on SBS, covering marquee events such as the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

and English

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football ev ...

s. He travelled to the 1998 World Cup, in France,

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

, in Korea/Japan,

Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

in the Netherlands/Belgium, and

Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...

in Portugal. Orsatti was the face of SBS'

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

coverage. Before his departure from SBS to ESPN in late 2007, Orsatti also wrote opinion pieces and presented 'The Shootout', alongside former Australian international midfielder,

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, for

The World Game ''The World Game'' was an Australian football (soccer) television show broadcast on the SBS network, as well as a dedicated associated website. The show debuted in 2001 and was the only Australian TV programme dedicated to both football news ...

website. Orsatti anchored SBS' award-winning telecast of Australia's Round of 16 World Cup match against Italy. SBS received a

Logie Award The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...

for the event, the highest distinction in Australian television, for the Most Outstanding Sports Coverage of 2006. Orsatti was strangely overwhelmed with happiness after Australia lost the match, angering many Australian viewers, for whom he was meant to be broadcasting for.

The Farina incident

In March 2005, Orsatti was allegedly assaulted by Australia's national football coach

Frank Farina Frank Farina OAM (born 5 September 1964) is an Australian football (soccer) coach and former player who played as a forward. His playing career spanned Australia, Belgium, France, Italy and England, and was a major player for the Australian ...

.The Muppets jibe that fuelled a war
Sydney Morning Herald, 3 April 2005 According to police and eye-witness reports, Farina grabbed Orsatti by the throat following a heated verbal exchange in the players' tunnel immediately after a friendly international against

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. Orsatti dropped the charges after Farina, who often accused SBS of unfair criticism, issued a public apology and promised to co-operate in the future. Farina was ordered to undergo anger-management counseling and was sacked four months later by

Football Federation Australia Football Australia is the governing body of soccer, futsal, and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only esta ...

(FFA). Farina's demise, while not a direct result of the alleged altercation with Orsatti but three straight defeats at the 2005 Confederations Cup, came during an administrative overhaul of Australian football. Farina's departure ultimately led to the appointment of Dutch coach

Guus Hiddink Guus Hiddink (; born 8 November 1946) is a Dutch former football manager and professional player. He enjoyed a long career playing as a midfielder in his native Netherlands. Retired as player in 1982, Hiddink went into management, leading both c ...

who led Australia to its first World Cup finals appearance in 32 years.

ESPN

Orsatti moved to the global headquarters of US sports broadcaster ESPN in December 2007. He fronted a variety of shows, including the cable network's international version of its flagship daily program,

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...

, in the Pacific-Rim and Atlantic markets, covering parts of Africa, the Caribbean, Middle East, Asia, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. He was a regular contributor to ESPN's many football telecasts, providing English commentary for

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

and

matches. Orsatti also appeared as a regular host of ESPNFC.com's daily half-hour show which was broadcast across the channel's US-based platform and seen in a variety of other markets worldwide. In May 2008, Orsatti made his US television debut on

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially fo ...

anchoring the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League and also made numerous appearances as the host of ESPN's English Premier League coverage for a large US viewing audience. Orsatti was based in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

for ESPN's coverage of the 2008 European Championships. He offered daily reports and analysis for the US and international markets. He fulfilled a similar role in South Africa during the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

Major events

South Africa – ESPN reporter * 2009 UEFA Cup Final, Istanbul, Shakhtar Donetsk-Werder Bremen, ESPN Commentator *

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

, Switzerland/Austria – ESPN reporter/analyst *

, Germany – SBS studio host * 2005 FIFA World Cup qualifier, Australia v Uruguay, Sydney – SBS sideline interviews/commentary *

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, Athens, Greece – SBS studio host *

2004 Tour de France The 2004 Tour de France was a multiple stage bicycle race held from 3 to 25 July, and the 91st edition of the Tour de France. It has no overall winner—although American cyclist Lance Armstrong originally won the event, the United States Anti ...

(cycling) – SBS studio host/commentator *

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...

, Portugal – SBS reporter *

2003 UEFA Champions League Final The 2003 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place at Old Trafford in Manchester, England on 28 May 2003 to decide the winner of the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League. The match was contested by two Italian teams: Juventus a ...

, Manchester, England – SBS reporter * 2001 UEFA Champions League Final, Milan, Italy – SBS reporter *

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, Sydney, Australia – SBS reporter *

UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

, Belgium/Netherlands – SBS reporter *

2000 UEFA Champions League Final The 2000 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place on 24 May 2000. The match was played at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France, to determine the winner of the 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League. The final pitted Spanis ...

, Paris, France – SBS reporter *

1998 FIBA World Championship The 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation and hosted in Greece from 29 July to 9 August 1998. The tournament was contested by 16 n ...

(basketball), Athens, Greece – SBS reporter * 1998 World Cup, France – SBS reporter * 1998 FINA World Swimming Championships, Perth, Australia – SBS reporter

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orsatti, Andrew 1975 births Sportsmen from New South Wales Living people Australian people of Italian descent Australian expatriate soccer players Australian sports broadcasters Soccer players from Sydney Association footballers not categorized by position Association football players not categorized by nationality