The former Inter, Genoa, and Torino defender: “I used to sleep at Lucio’s house in Sovigliana. He’s a very generous person as well as a great coach. I changed Mazzone’s mind: he thought I was a playboy, then he called me a great professional.”

Fabio Galante is a happy-go-lucky guy with a gentle cheerfulness, a natural attitude that provides the background music to his daily life. He carries sunshine in his pocket, in his trading cards—twenty years of faces, gelled curls, and five different jerseys—he smiles often and says he is lucky “because if the Lord saw me sad one day, he would drop a pole on my head and say, ‘What more do you want from life? His father and mother, Giovanni and Maria, had a shoe factory in Monsummano Terme, the town where Fabio grew up. They made soles for shoes, and he also went there to work as a boy. Perhaps that is where he got his ability to keep his feet on the ground, his sense of discipline, and his awareness that the truth of a shoe is not in the upper, but in the comfortable support provided by the sole.

Galante, you once said, “If I had been uglier, I would have had a better career.” Upper, sole. Outside, inside. Aesthetics, substance. We always come back to that. What people see in us, what we are. Yes, I was cute, I used to date girls from the entertainment world, but on Sundays, as soon as I made a mistake, the poison started: who knows where Galante was last night. It’s hard to shake off labels, I’ve always ignored them, but certain comments hurt me. There was also envy. Once I called a journalist who had given me a 5 in his review. I asked him to explain his rating and he replied: ‘What do you care about a 5 when you have all those women?’. I was devastated. What kind of way is that to deal with things?”

What were you like as a child?

“I played as a striker and supported Inter. I also liked Torino because Ciccio Graziani played there. My dad used to say to me, ‘Watch how Graziani moves and copy him.’ At fourteen, I was playing for Empoli’s youth team: that’s where it all started.”

You met Spalletti in Empoli.

“He was the veteran of the team, he was like an older brother to me. He taught me everything. I spent a lot of time at his house in Sovigliana, staying with his mother Ilva. I love Lucio. He’s an extraordinary coach and a special, generous person.”

At twenty, Serie A with Genoa.

“I am still the highest-paid player ever in Serie C. Spinelli paid over three billion lire, then sold me to Inter for triple that plus Centofanti. I always had a special relationship with ‘Sciù Aldo’; we were together for nine years, three in Genoa and six in Livorno. I recommended Alino Diamanti to him and took him from Serie C2 to Serie A. He said to me, ‘Belin Fabio, does he go to discos?’ And I said, ‘Yes, coach, but think what he could do if he didn’t go.’ So he took him on. I was to Diamanti what Spalletti was to me.”

It was Scoglio who launched him.

“The Professor had his superstitions, he came out with slogans like ‘There are only 21 ways to take a corner kick’, but he was ahead of his time. When he arrived halfway through the season to replace Maselli, he said: ‘There are 18 games left, I’ve done the math: we’ll only lose two, so we’ll stay up’. Well? He was right, we only lost two games, we saved ourselves in style.“

How were your three years at Inter?

”Wonderful, a great team with a unique coach, Gigi Simoni. In 1998, we won the UEFA Cup in Paris, the first trophy of the Moratti era. I had the privilege of playing with the greatest of all, Il Fenomeno. In Moscow, against Spartak in the Cup, he scored a goal dancing on the ice, he invented it out of nothing. And we said: our tactics are working, right Ronie? He was greedy for everything, food and life. Once I went to visit him in Madrid, at the training camp, and on the bedside table next to his bed he had dozens of chocolates, pastries, and sweets. I said to him: Ronie, but you have to play tonight… And he replied, with his mouth full: sure… That evening he scored twice.”

Mazzone gave him the best compliment, didn’t he?

“Yes, in Livorno he said publicly that he thought he was dealing with a playboy, but instead he found an exemplary professional. It was like a caress. I’ve always got on well with coaches, which confirms my seriousness. I got on very well with Camolese at Torino and Livorno: he was very competent, but he got less than he deserved.”

Who was the strongest striker you had to mark?

“Shall I list the strikers I’ve come up against? Batistuta, Sheva, Del Piero, Totti, Mancini, Vialli, Vieri, Inzaghi, Montella, Di Natale, Toni, Gilardino, Lucarelli… Pippo was incredible: he sought out the ball, not the other way around.“

What were your qualities as a defender?

”I was clean in my anticipation, good in the air and at getting into position, decent at marking. And I would break down opposing strikers by talking to them during the game (laughs), I would confuse them.”

Did you miss the national team?

“A little, maybe I could have played a few games, but I’m proud to be one of three, myself, Panucci, and Cannavaro, to have won two European titles with the Under-21 team.”

What are you doing today?

“I’m a brand ambassador for Inter and a talent on the new Serie A radio and TV channel. I’ve been with Francesca for ten years, she’s a wonderful woman. We love to travel, we’ve even been around the world, from Japan to California. Oh, one last thing: we hope to expand our family soon…”