Stella was born in 1991 to Italian parents: his father from the Ligurian town of Recco and his mother from Verona, in Veneto.
In the late ‘90s, his parents teamed up with business partners to open the restaurant Il Caminetto, in Moonee Ponds, which served some of the first authentic Italian pizzas in Melbourne.
Stella’s mother collaborated with Rete Italia in 2006, the period in which her 17-year-old son left for Italy to pursue his passion for football, going to play a season with the AC Chievo Verona youth team.
Upon his return to Australia, Stella made his Victorian Premier League debut with South Melbourne FC at the end of 2008.
He consolidated his position with South the following season, making 19 appearances and being named the team’s under-21 player of the year.
Stella’s class and finesse while playing in Melbourne did not go unnoticed in Italy and, at the end of 2009, his moment came: he was offered a three-year contract with Siena, who at the time played in Italy’s top-tier Serie A and was coached by Antonio Conte.
Stella was part of the senior squad, although during his first year at the club he mainly played with the Primavera squad in order to find his feet in his new environment.
From 2011–2012, Stella went out on loan to Italian Lega Pro club U.S. Borgo a Buggiano 1920, where he made 21 appearances, scoring four goals and assisting six for the club before returning to Siena to begin the 2012/13 campaign.
He later moved to Scottish club the Rangers for the start of the 2012–13, before returning to Australia to play for Melbourne Victory FC.
Francesco Stella in action during a Melbourne Victory training session, in 2013. (Photo: AAP)
“Francesco is a young player with plenty of talent and I believe we can really develop him over the next two-and-a-half years,” the club’s then-coach, Ange Postecoglou, said at the time.
“For a club like Siena to see potential in him when he was just 17 years old is a fair indication of his quality.
“While things didn’t work out for him over in Europe this time, the prospect of first team football was enticing to him and I’m confident we’ve got ourselves a player who can perform regularly in the A-League.”
Stella spent the majority of the 2013–14 season playing in the National Youth League, scoring eight goals, before moving to Thailand in early 2015 for a season with Sisaket FC in the Thai Premier League.
In June 2015, he signed a short-term contract with local club Avondale FC in the NPL Victoria, before returning to the A-League on a one-year contract with the Central Coast Mariners and then heading to Norway to play for Obos Liga Club Nest Sotra.
Having been around the world and back for his football career, the 27-year-old knew that – as with any athlete – his sporting success could not last forever.
Stella signed with Port Melbourne SC in 2017, while also thinking about the next logical play in his game plan.
Not long after, he opened his pizzeria, Classe 90, in Keilor East.
“Pizza invites you to socialise; I also see it at home where I have a wood-fired oven and I always invite family, friends and teammates over, as I did when I lived in Italy,” Stella said in an interview with Rete Italia.
Family friend and architect, Mario Di Natale, transformed the old catering kitchen at East Keilor’s Centreway into a cosy restaurant, with its centrepiece: a wood-fired oven covered in terracotta-red mosaic tiles with “Classe 90” in black.
Only top quality ingredients are used at the pizzeria, including Caputo flour from Naples for the dough – which is left to rise for a minimum of 24 hours – Caffè Trombetta coffee beans, wine from Carlton’s Enoteca Sileno, and products from Sapori International, Basile Imports and Genobile Saba.
The restaurant’s menu features 14 pizzas alongside a specials board.
Diners can savour the classic flavours of margherita, marinara, ortolana and San Daniele, as well as more “contemporary” options that are unique to the venue.
“Our pizzas are very colourful,” Stella said.
“You eat with your eyes first, so I take great pride in the presentation.”
Stella is rightly very proud of his pizzette fritte, a delicious entrée topped with buffalo mozzarella and prosciutto.
Sweet tooths can enjoy the dough balls served with nutella, strawberries and crushed roasted hazelnuts.
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Classe 90 had an offer of a margherita and a spritz for just $20, every Sunday between 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm – an initiative that could be revived once Melbourne emerges from the current lockdown.
Meanwhile, Stella still plays professional football with Caroline Springs George Cross FC in the State League Division 1.
“It’s difficult to balance training and playing with work at the pizzeria,” he concluded.
“I’m in the pizzeria making the dough every morning and then I’m there again in the evening, except for when I have training.
“But I have an excellent team and I’ve always wanted to do something like this... I’m really enjoying myself.”
