One of Italian soccer’s most promising talents, his fall from grace and rebirth: “The locker room in Bari wasn’t easy, especially among the senior players… I took responsibility for my actions and trained alone for 13 months. After escaping from the training camp, Casiraghi wanted to tell the newspapers everything, but…”

Davide Lanzafame lived two lives in one. At 20, he was one of the most promising talents in Italian soccer: with Juventus, he won the title of top scorer in the Viareggio Tournament, paving the way for a rising career. Five years later, however, his path came to an abrupt halt. The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Bari, together with some of his teammates, investigated him for taking part in match-fixing involving two games: Bari-Treviso and Salernitana-Bari. It was a sudden, abrupt turn of events that marked a clear break in his career: “I took full responsibility, paid for what I did, and started over.” The price was high: a 13-month ban and a career to rebuild. From there, Lanzafame pressed the reset button, starting over step by step. Today, he coaches, is at peace, and looks back on the past without hiding.

Do you think you’ve succeeded in really starting over?

“In my own small way, yes. I always wanted to be a coach after retiring. I started in Hungary but then I came back, prioritizing my daughters. Today I am happy. I always tell my boys at Autovip San Marco, in the Piedmontese Promotion league, that at 17-18 years old you need personality to make strong choices.”

What lessons have you learned from your life?

“That it’s possible to rebuild yourself from scratch. Fame, contracts, trust. I did it at 25, when everything seemed compromised.”

Let’s put it in context. August 2012, Davide Lanzame investigated by the Bari Public Prosecutor’s Office for sports fraud.

“The charge related to two fixed matches: Bari-Treviso 0-1 and Salernitana-Bari 3-2, both defeats. I have always faced up to the issue, taking full responsibility. I paid for what I did, receiving a 13-month ban.”

At what point in your career did that blow come?

“At the worst possible time. I was in Catania, I was doing well with the Under-21s, and the senior national team was within reach. In an instant, I found myself without a contract. I trained alone, with a mental coach and a physical trainer. A period of deep introspection began. Then I started again.“

How did you find yourself involved in the affair?

” When I arrived in Bari, I was 20 years old, very young. In certain contexts, if someone in the locker room tells you how to play a game, you can’t say no. I don’t want to name names. The environment was not easy, especially because of the influence of the senior players. But I’m not looking for excuses: I took responsibility and paid the price. It was a huge blow. Many would have given up, but I kept going. I owe everything to my strength of character.“

You once said: ”I hoped to save myself even after the first arrests in Cremona.“ Do you deny this?

”Yes, it’s all false. Those must be the words of others that someone wanted to put in my mouth. The Cremona Public Prosecutor’s Office had nothing to do with my case.”

Is the story about Hungary as an escape true?

“No. I went to Honved in 2013 to look for something different. I needed a break after so many years in Serie B. Marco Rossi called me, and I didn’t think twice. I took my wife and left. They called me crazy. In five years, I won two league titles, one national cup, and two top scorer titles. I was reborn there.“

And to think that you started out in the amateur leagues…

”I started at Barcanova when I was five thanks to my father, who was a manager there. Then I had a trial at Torino, which went well, but they didn’t sign me. At that point, Juventus came along and I didn’t think twice. It was thirteen memorable years in which I grew as a man and a footballer, alongside some phenomenal players.“

With Juve, I was top scorer at Viareggio, then we were knocked out by Nainggolan’s Piacenza.”

Davide Lanzafame

My fondest memory in black and white?

“I won everything between Berretti and Primavera. I owe a lot to Guido Mattei, my mentor since Under-13. A football master, he was the one who taught me the technical side of the game. In 2007, I was top scorer at Viareggio with seven goals, many of which I scored as a substitute. We were knocked out in the round of 16 against Nainggolan’s Piacenza. At that moment, I was in the spotlight, and I was thinking big. If it hadn’t been for the incident that involved me, who knows how things would have turned out.“

What kind of player was Lanzafame?

”I played in pretty much every position. Striker, second striker, attacking midfielder, winger, inside forward, and wing thanks to Conte. Antonio was a hammer: in Bari’s 4-2-4 formation in my first year, I scored 10 goals and provided three assists in Serie B. At first, he pulled my ears, but then he realized my potential and played me regularly. He had to pamper me, but he was the coach who changed my career.”

Is there anything you would like to do?

“In Hungary, I was about to write my autobiography with a journalist. It never came out, but I would like to publish it in the future.”

Is there an anecdote you’ve never told anyone?

“When I was in the Under-21s, Giovinco, Balotelli, and I ran away from the training camp one evening. We were staying in a hotel in Tel Aviv, and we stayed out chatting and joking around. Casiraghi and Zola noticed we weren’t in our rooms, caught us, and gave us a telling-off. The next day we were playing against Israel in the European Championship playoffs. Casiraghi threatened us that if we didn’t win, he would tell the newspapers everything. We won 3-1, Balotelli scored twice and I made an assist. Thank goodness.”