Ex-Red Cristiano out to make Mt Gambier a soccer satellite Former Adelaide United striker Cristiano with sons Matheus, left, and Raphael with Adelaide Olympic's Matthew Pelizzari and Para Hills Knights' Michael Mullen. MT GAMBIER can become a satellite haven for soccer, says former Adelaide United striker Cristiano. The Limestone Coast region's most famed soccer product is Mt Gambier-born 2006 FIFA World Cup Socceroo Josip Skoko. Skoko put Mt Gambier on the global map during his stint at the World Cup tournament in Germany and in England when the midfielder was playing for Wigan and Stoke City. Now Cristiano - who scored the goal of the tournament during the FIFA Club World Cup when he represented Adelaide in 2008 - says he's on a mission to win Mt Gambier in the battle of the football codes. Cristiano is part of Football Federation SA's game development staff. "The thing is kids want to learn soccer and we need to be there to teach them about the game," Cristiano said. It will be my first time in Mt Gambier and I'm expecting many kids to be there and they're waiting for me to go there. But it's a program we have to keep doing because as soon as we don't have a presence there the kids lose interest. It's about us keeping up the work in regional areas and children want to see us have a presence. With Olympic facing Mt Gambier's Inter and Para Hills tackling Mt Gambier Apollo in round one of FFSA's Coca Cola Federation Cup on Saturday, Cristiano will take soccer to the children of SA's western border area tomorrow. Cristiano is slowly conquering SA as an ambassador for the new game development team, where the north of SA and the Adelaide Hills have seen hordes of kids enjoy soccer for the first time.