Gustavo "Gus" Cerro (born 17 July 1969 in Rosario, Argentina), is an Argentinian-born former Australian footballer. Son of a former

Newell's Old Boys Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Rosario, Santa Fe. The club was founded on 3 November 1903, and is named after Isaac Newell of the English county of Kent, one of the pioneers of Argentine football. A ...

player, the former creative midfielder played over 200 matches in the old Australian

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 ...

. He also played in Malaysia for

Pahang Pahang (;Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a ...

and

Negeri Sembilan Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan'') is a state in Malaysia which lies on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It borders Selangor on the north, Pahang in the east, and Malacca and Johor to the s ...

. Selected for Australia's U16 national team playing in the World Youth Cup in China, he grew up in Canberra. First debuting for

Canberra City Civic is the city centre or central business district of Canberra. "Civic" is a common name for the district, but it is also called Civic Centre, City Centre, Canberra City and Canberra, and its official division name is ''City''. Canberra's Ci ...

in the National Youth League at age 15, Cerro moved to Sydney and joined Parramatta Melita Eagles in 1989 under manager Raúl Blanco after a year out with injury. Thankfully his ankle injury was treated by Socceroos medic Dr Siri Kannangara. In season 1991, Cerro became a fan favourite at Melita playing alongside former Argentine first division player Alfredo Barrios,

Gabriel Méndez Gabriel Antonio Méndez (born 8 May 1988) nicknamed "El correntino", is an Argentine professional footballer who is currently a free agent. He plays as an attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association footba ...

, Hugo Giménez, Greg Brown,

Marshall Soper Marshall Soper, born 12 May 1960, is a former football (soccer) and Australia International. A bustling but skilful centre-forward with a reputation for hot-headedness, he was originally from the Hunter region, 2 hours north of Sydney. In 198 ...

and former Copa America-winning Uruguay defender

Washington González Washington González (born 6 December 1955) is a Uruguayan footballer. He played in 32 matches for the Uruguay national football team from 1978 to 1983. He was also part of Uruguay's squad for the 1979 Copa América The 1979 edition of the Co ...

. Winning the 1990–91 NSL Cup. In fact, Cerro says the former Uruguay Stints followed in the NSW State League for

Bonnyrigg White Eagles Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in Bonnyrigg, Sydney, New South Wales, currently playing in the NSW League One. The club was founded in 1968 as Avala Sports Club and took its current name in 1992. H ...

(formerly Avala) and

Marconi Stallions Marconi Stallions Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in Fairfield, Sydney, New South Wales. The club has been crowned Australian champion four times. The Stallions are the soccer team of Club Marconi, a social ...

for a record NSL transfer at the time under manager

Frank Arok Ferenc "Frank" Arok ( hu, Árok Ferenc; 20 January 1932 – 12 January 2021) was a Yugoslavian-Australian ethnic Hungarian association football player and coach. Career Arok played for FK Jedinstvo in Yugoslavia during the 1950s before coach ...

. He is remembered for a brilliant solo goal dribbling and scoring outside the 18 yard-box against South Melbourne. A move to West Adelaide Sharks followed consolidating a first team spot and performed brilliantly with teammates and fellow countrymen

Pablo Cardozo Pablo Cardozo (born 23 December 1972) is a former Australian soccer striker. Career Cardozo played mostly in Australia, but also had unsuccessful spells in Europe and also played in New Zealand with Waitakere United. Cardozo signed with the ...

and José Iriarte under manager Raúl Blanco. Fondly remembered at the South Australian capital, enjoying two full seasons. In 1995, out of match fitness for four months, he was transferred to Pahang FC in the Malaysian Super League which was to be his first taste overseas. Joining José Iriarte and former Socceroo Alan Davidson, his time at Pahang featured a Piala or

Malaysia Cup The Malaysia Cup ( ms, Piala Malaysia), formerly known as ''Malaya Cup'', is an annual association football, football tournament in Malaysia, held at the end of the calendar year. The cup was first held in 1921. Despite its prestige and popular ...

1–0 final loss to Selangor featuring fellow Australian international

Mehmet Durakovic Mehmed (modern Turkish: Mehmet) is the most common Bosnian and Turkish form of the Arabic name Muhammad ( ar, محمد) (''Muhammed'' and ''Muhammet'' are also used, though considerably less) and gains its significance from being the name of Muh ...

. He returned to Australia, signing for the Canberra Cosmos for a short stint before moving back to Malaysia where he left a good impression and joining

Negeri Sembilan FC Negeri Sembilan Football Club is a Malaysian professional football club based in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, that competes in the 2022 edition of the Malaysia Super League. Founded in 1923, the club's home ground Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium. Nege ...

in 1996 for four seasons. His second stay in Malaysia did include a brief stint with Melbourne Knights in 1998 before rejoining his club in Malaysia where he partnered countryman José Iriarte where they had previously played together at West Adelaide. Cerro's fourth season in 2000 featured a 2-0 Cup final loss to Perak at the Shah Alam Stadium in Selangor. Gus is father of musician

Montaigne Michel Eyquem, Sieur de Montaigne ( ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), also known as the Lord of Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularizing the essay as a liter ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cerro, Gustavo Men's association football midfielders Living people 1969 births Argentine emigrants to Australia Australian expatriate men's soccer players Footballers from Rosario, Santa Fe National Soccer League (Australia) players Negeri Sembilan FC players West Adelaide SC players Parramatta FC players Australian men's soccer players