FORMER Cirencester Town defender Matt Smith has been mixing it with football's elite.
The 31-year-old Sports Management Masters graduate from Hartpury College, plays for Australian A-League champions Brisbane Roar and was selected to join an A-League ‘All Stars’ team – including Italian legend Alessandro Del Piero in his final game down under – against a Juventus select XI.
Smith was even handed the captain's armband when Del Piero – Juventus’s leading all-time appearance maker and record goal scorer – was substituted after 60 minutes.
The game caps a fantastic year for Smith who lifted the A-League trophy for a third time and celebrated the birth of his third child, Ava.
Juventus fielded a strong team including the likes of Carlos Tevez, World Cup winners Andrea Pirlo and Gianluigi Buffon, as well as rising French star Paul Pogba.
Smith’s All-Stars team was eventually beaten 3-2 despite finding themselves 2-0 up midway through the second half. Goals from Marcelo Carrusca and Tomi Jurric were cancelled out by second-half strikes from Fernando Llorente, Pogba and Simone Pepe.
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