Less than two years ago, Cristian Volpato was released by a second A-League club after they decided he wasn't good enough to progress in their youth system.
Fast forward to August this year and Volpato has just been selected in Italy's U19's national side after securing a five-year contract extension at Serie A side Roma and boasts Francesco Totti as his agent.
Though eligible to play for Australia, the attacker's rapid rise and initial rejection in the country he grew up in has opened the door for the Azzurri to pounce.
Volpato's remarkable road to Roma began when the founder and technical director of Australasian Soccer Academy, Tony Basha, realised two A-League clubs had somehow allowed a talented player to slip through their grasp.
"He got released by Sydney FC as a junior and then he got released as a 15-year-old by the Wanderers as they were going into the U16's," Basha told Sporting News.
"His mum rang me one day, said the Wanderers didn’t want to re-sign him and can you help him? So I made some enquiries and the club said they had better players than him.
"I invited him for a session, looked at him and I said, ‘Mate, this guy’s a star, they got rid of him?’
"I’ve been involved in the game for a long time and I can see talent people can’t see. Straight after the session I got on the phone to Roma and told them I had a player. I knew after one session that this guy was a gun player.
"We had to tweak a few things. We were training every morning at 6am, doing double sessions, staying until midnight in my centre. I wanted to test his character before I sent him - make sure he was ready physically and mentally."
Basha, who was also behind Mitch Duke's rise to the Socceroos, took Volpato under his wing and was determined to give the youngster the best chance to shine in Italy.
After seeing the teenager commit fully to what it would take to play football professionally, Basha sent Volpato to Roma with confidence and it didn't take long for the Aussie to reward that faith and turn some notable heads.
"He went over for a two-week trial, it turned into four and after that I got a call at one in the morning. It was Cristian and his mum was crying in the background. He goes, ‘We made it’. I’ll never forget it," Basha said.
"Francesco Totti eventually saw him play, went up to his mum and said, ‘Your son reminds me of how I used to play, I want to manage him.’
"Cristian asked me what to do and I said 'Is the Pope in Rome? Sign straight away!'. After he signed, he got a five-year extension at Roma, he’s getting paid a good wage and now he’s been selected in the Italian’s Under 19's team."
Basha had previously flagged Volpato's potential to Socceroos coach Graham Arnold but Australia's national team took too long to hand the teenager a chance to get involved in their youth set-up.
"They did call him but they didn’t call him into a camp. I told them if Italy come calling, he’s going to go Italy and low and behold," Basha said.
There's little wonder why Italy have pounced on the 17-year-old considering he scored five goals and contributed four assists across 21 appearances for Roma's junior teams last season.
It's certainly been some rise so far for Volpato, who could well have slipped through the cracks if it wasn't for Basha and the Australasian Soccer Academy stepping in when they did.
"It’s been a rollercoaster ride but he’s scoring goals and killing it over there. He’s in the top 20 Italian players for his age," Basha said.
"So he went from Sydney FC, who couldn’t spot his talent, to the Wanderers, who thought he wasn’t good enough, to the national team of Italy."
Volpato's story is of no surprise to Basha, who opened his academy in 2006 after becoming fed up with the state of Australian football.
"I got sick of all the political games and there just aren’t enough professional clubs in Australia," he said.
"When I went overseas it opened my eyes. You’re blind until you go there and see how they work. I was in Italy and in one area of Milan there were 12 pro teams.
"I do it for love. I don’t do it for money. I want to give these kids a chance to live their dreams."
Something Volpato is now doing in Italy after being told twice that dream wasn't going to come true in Australia.