A lifetime at Roma, a Scudetto at Milan. Alessandro tells his story: “I started out stealing plays from Pizarro, at Barça a goal that’s worth two. And if I have to go into battle, I’ll take Nainggolan with me.”
If it’s true that life is a journey, there are always places you like to return to. Alessandro Florenzi’s places have more dirt than grass to kick a ball around on, with children shouting and tower blocks all around. That’s where he said goodbye to soccer a few months ago with a heartfelt video, and that’s where his adventure began. “My parents ran a sports field in Acilia, near Rome. When I left school, I would go behind the containers that served as changing rooms. There was a small dirt field where I spent my days with a ball. My mother would blow the final whistle when she shouted that it was closing time and we had to go home. I was a happy child, I was small, and everyone called me Sandrino.”
A happy and talented child. Both Lazio and Roma wanted him.
“My parents said to me: you choose, the place where you feel most comfortable. And as soon as I left Trigoria, I immediately said: ‘I want to play here’. I didn’t think I’d spend almost my entire career there…“
His name appears in 1,039 Sports Prediction headlines, the first of which reads: ”Florenzi, Roma has a new Pizarro.“
”I played at the bottom of a three-man midfield, and in those days ‘Pek’ ruled the roost. I stole his moves and plays. Another player I loved was Fabregas. Then I played in many positions, I was the joy of fantasy football players, they bought me and won.“
He had two baptisms in professional football.
”My debut in Serie A in place of Totti was unforgettable. And the loan to Crotone changed my life. For the first time, I was living alone and in a new city, I had to do my own shopping, cook… things that make you a man.“
Florenzi, soccer, and video games. That time in Sweden with the Under-21 team…
”Kalmar, 2013, European Championship qualifying playoffs. We were a superstitious group, and every away game had to include a game of Play. At the hotel, we looked at each other after leaving our rooms. There was a problem: the TVs were old and didn’t have cable connections. But we couldn’t give up on that ritual, so we took up a collection and sent the press officer to buy a TV. He came back with a huge thing. The superstition worked. The next day, we won, with goals from me, Insigne, and Immobile. Be that as it may, we took that giant TV with us, and as soon as we arrived at the airport, we were told that we would be leaving late due to a storm. We hooked it up there, between the seats in the waiting area, took out the console, and started playing. The video games were useful.”
What?
“It was a great way to spend time together. There were 12 or 13 of us in one room, joking around, talking, becoming friends. If I’ve learned anything in my career, it’s that that’s the secret to winning. An individual can score three points, but it’s the team that wins the championship.”
Florenzi, the man of beautiful goals. He scored with an overhead kick against Genoa, and Totti said: “If I score one like that, I’ll retire.”
“Francesco can say whatever he wants, he’s scored unforgettable goals. From that point of view, I can’t even think of comparing myself to him.”
In 2015, he scored with a lob from midfield against Barcelona, and then the Puskas Award went to the unknown Wendell Lira…
“I was upset. In my opinion, the rules are wrong. They talk about objectivity with regard to the competition, but I scored in the Champions League and he scored in Brazil in the Goiano championship… I’m still happy to have scored a goal that’s worth at least two.”
Florenzi’s grandmother’s heart.
“Grandma Aurora had never been to the stadium, and the day before the match against Cagliari (September 21, 2014, ed.), I told her: ‘If I score, I’ll come up and hug you, I don’t care’. The thing that still sticks in my mind is De Rossi’s look when I came back onto the pitch and the referee gave me a yellow card. He came up to me and said, ‘You did something truly incredible. But if you do something stupid now and get another yellow card, I’ll kill you in front of everyone.’ My blood ran cold. When Daniele spoke, it was like a sheriff was speaking… After the game, we burst out laughing.”
During his years at Roma, the team always came close to victory without ever achieving it. Why was that?
“I don’t consider it our fault. With Garcia and Spalletti, we came very close; we were very well equipped. But we were competing with a Juventus team that scored 100 points in the league…”
He didn’t leave on the best of terms with the Roma environment.
“There were many misunderstandings, but I never responded to everything that was said about me. I always wanted to let my performance on the field speak for itself and show respect for the jersey: I gave it my all, and no one can ever say otherwise. I want to emphasize that I never argued with anyone, and when I meet fans, they remember me fondly.”
The five best players you’ve played with?
“Totti, Ibrahimovic, Neymar, Mbappé, and Di Maria. I sit on the bench and applaud.“
The craziest?
”In a good way, Nainggolan, he’s worth five. He lives an incredible life, always at his best. Off the field, you can do whatever you want, but what matters is what you do on the field. And you could see that in him, with his determination, his ferocity, his desire to help his teammates… If I had to go into battle, I’d take Radja with me.“
The worst dressed?
”Me, but I’ve improved. Actually, Manolas was worse than me: I remember him with a black shoulder bag…”
Florenzi the numerologist: how did you develop this passion?
“By following a podcast and reading a few books. If you add up the numbers of your date of birth, you get a number from 1 to 9: mine came out as 7, and the only year I won the Scudetto, at Milan, I had 25, 2+5 makes 7. See? You can connect so many things…”
