The Casertana forward made his Serie A debut at age 18 with Palermo: “Just a few minutes, but unforgettable—it’s my favorite team. Leo had to pick a young talent for the national team and mentioned my name—I was speechless. This year, I want to go all the way in the playoffs.”

The first person to envision Accursio Bentivegna’s goals was a psychologist: “At school, I was shy; I had a hard time expressing myself. They sent me to a specialist, and after a few sessions, he advised me to try expressing myself through soccer.” The journey began with a scholar of Freud, continued on a Palermo-to-Milan flight that could have been one-way, even made an appearance in a documentary about Maradona, and culminated at Casertana—right in the thick of the Serie C playoffs—with a string of crucial goals. But in Bentivegna’s resume, from Sciacca to Agrigento, at a certain point his roles were multiplying: “I tried acting once, but it was tough. My father forbade me from becoming a fisherman like him: he wanted me to pursue my dream of becoming a soccer player to the very end. I fulfilled his wish. And mine, too, despite Messi…”.

Yes, he’s made an appearance in his life as well. And quite a splash. Thanks to a list compiled by “La Pulce” in 2015: the 10 talents of the future. Bentivegna was on it, too.

“An Adidas project asked him to pick one player per country. For Italy, he chose me. When I found out, I was speechless. I’d had a great Viareggio Tournament, but I never thought even Messi would notice me.”

Looking back, did that nomination do you more good or harm?

“It certainly created a lot of expectations for me. It’s a whirlwind that sweeps you up and can change your life—even to the point of backfiring. It’s no coincidence that my career took a downward turn, going from Serie A to Serie C.”

You were a teenager, yet you’d already made your Serie A debut with Palermo.

“It was only a few minutes, but unforgettable: the Barbera was a gigantic arena. I was playing for my favorite team, and I almost scored against Cagliari: Brkic saved it.”

Let’s clear this up right away. Did you and the other nine players meet Messi?

“We were supposed to, but the meeting was canceled due to his schedule. A real shame.”

It’s anything but a shame to talk about Casertana’s current form, though: you’re in fourth place among the powerhouses of Group C.

“We’re playing well and we don’t want to let up. Up there with us are teams that have nothing to do with the third division, but facing them gives us a unique sense of motivation.”

What has been Casertana’s standout game this year?

“It’s hard to pick just one. The one everyone cares about most is the derby against Salernitana, but we lost that one. So I hope we can make the return match one to remember.”

You’ve already scored 8 goals. Do you know that every time you score, Casertana wins?

“It’s an honor for me: 7 goals is a lot, and it makes me proud. I can only thank the staff, the club, and my teammates who have always believed in me.”

A lot of people have believed in you, ever since you were a kid. But what were you doing in the short film *Maradona Baby* when you were a kid?

“Back then, a director was scouting the fields looking for a kid who could dribble well. One afternoon, he came to Kronion, my soccer school. He chose me.”

And how did your acting career go?

“It was a bit of a drag: we’d rehearse the same scenes over and over from morning till night. I wasn’t used to certain things—I was just a kid.”

After movies came soccer—the real thing. Inter came calling.

“I flew out with my dad to meet the youth academy directors. On the flight back, he asked me, ‘Did you like Milan?’ I told him no. And he said, ‘Me neither.’ The truth is, I was still just a kid; the cold and rain I encountered right away in the city had put me off. And if I had accepted Inter’s offer, the whole family would have had to move up north anyway.”

Would you make the same choice again?

“Yes, because that meant joining Palermo—the team I’ve always loved, the one that gave me my Serie A debut.”

They were blown away, just like Messi, by the 2015 Viareggio Tournament. The one where he scored a brace against Donnarumma’s Milan.

“Yes, even though Gigio only let in one goal—because then he tackled me from behind as I was coming out of the midfield and got sent off…”.

But could you tell he was destined for greatness?

“Absolutely. Within a few months, Mihajlovic gave him his Serie A debut. A true star.”

Like the ones he got to know during his years in Palermo: Dybala, Vázquez, Belotti…

“Paulo struggled at first, but he came into his own thanks to his undeniable talent. In training, he’d leave us speechless. I still keep in touch with Belotti every now and then: I exchange messages with him, Emerson, and Lazaar. And Enzo Maresca is also on the team: you could tell he had a future as a coach, because he was, first and foremost, a very intelligent person. He had a long-term vision.”

Between Palermo and Caserta, he spent a decade on loan all over Italy. Como, Ascoli, Carrarese, Juve Stabia, Imolese, Novara… were they all the right choices?

“No, not all of them, especially in the early part of my career. I should have focused solely on playing; I needed to show what I was capable of. Instead, I made more than a few mistakes. In Carrara, though, I had some wonderful moments with Baldini, injuries aside: he’s more of a motivator than a coach. An amazing guy.”

 Any advice from Baldini that really stuck with you?

“Everyone always has a little something extra to give deep down. And sometimes I also think back to what Iachini told me when I was about to score my first goal with Palermo.”

What was that?

“You should’ve curled it. No way Brkic would’ve saved that…”

A legend besides the inevitable Messi?

“I never missed a Del Piero game. And my favorite shot is still the curling shot, just like he used to do.”

Your resolution for 2026?

“To score in double digits so I can take the team out to dinner. And to see Casertana make it all the way through the playoffs: we aren’t the strongest, but we know how to fight harder than others. Kind of like last year against Pescara: in the end, we came out on top during those playoffs.”

Would you go back to Palermo?

“I wish. It’s my home, after all: we came close when Baldini was there, but I was at Juve Stabia and they wouldn’t let me leave.”

A little joke: if Casertana gets promoted to Serie B, what will Bentivegna do?

“ I might shave my head completely.”

Now a bit of a challenge: 15 goals with Casertana or Palermo in Serie A?

“If those 15 goals help us get to Serie B, I’ll take those. But if they don’t count for anything, you know how I feel…”