The former Juventus and Milan midfielder: “My mother hid the keys to stop me from going to Turin when I was 13. In 2007, when I saw Nedved and Buffon at Juventus, I thought: ‘The most I’ll ever do here is carry water bottles. ..’“
”It was Padre Pio’s hand.“ The title of the film about the career of Antonio Nocerino, a midfielder who played for forwards and playmakers all over Italy, is reminiscent of Paolo Sorrentino’s film. ”At the age of seven, you usually write a letter to Santa Claus, but I wrote to Padre Pio instead.”
Why?
“My mother often took me to Lourdes. One day I asked her if Padre Pio would make me a soccer player, and she told me to write it down on a piece of paper. ‘Pray and persevere’. The rest is history.“
Has your faith never abandoned you?
”Never. My son is named Francesco in honor of Francesco Forgione, Padre Pio. I have been to Pietrelcina, his hometown, dozens of times. During my career, I often wore the number 23, the day he died. And when Juve called me to Serie A, I was in San Giovanni Rotondo, at the sanctuary. It was the summer of 2007. My sporting life is a series of coincidences.“
When you think of soccer, what comes to mind?
”Endless games in the street. I grew up in Naples, in the Pallonetto di Santa Lucia neighborhood, a place where you learn quickly how to survive. I was a lively, bright child. My mother was a housewife, my father a railway worker. We didn’t eat very often at home. Every now and then I helped my grandfather deliver chickens door to door; he had a poultry shop. They taught me to be content with little.“
How did Juventus notice you?
”By chance. I was 13, and my father was my coach. A scout was in Agnano to watch another boy and spotted me. I was chubby, they called me ‘panzerotto’, but he immediately asked who I was. The funny thing is that before the last tryout, I had back pain and almost didn’t play. My father convinced me to do it: I scored two goals in half an hour.”
“The day before I left for Turin, my mother locked the door and hid the keys. I jokingly told her I would climb down from the balcony. I cried every night, there was fog, and we southerners were treated badly, but I didn’t give up an inch. At Juve, I learned discipline and seriousness.“
And did these concepts serve you well?
”They shaped me. When I was 18, Avellino called me to Serie B. Zeman noticed me in a game I wasn’t even supposed to play. It was my graduation year, and I asked to skip a tournament to study, but the coach called me up anyway. The Bohemian was in the stands. ‘You’ll be our midfielder,’ he said. ‘These guys are crazy,’ I thought. In the end, he made me a footballer, but he pushed us hard in training: we did step-ups… with our teammates on our shoulders.“
At the beginning of his career, he had several mentors.
”I had Gasperini at Crotone, and with Ventura I scored my first goal in Serie A in a game that was later lost on the table. But the one who changed my life was Iachini in Piacenza, who moved me to inside forward. He taught me all the moves.“
How did you return to Juve?
”I didn’t even have to go there, Napoli, Udinese, and Fiorentina wanted me, but Ranieri told me to give it a shot. I saw Buffon, Nedved, and Del Piero and thought, ‘What am I doing here? I’ll be the water boy…’ I felt out of place.“
In the end, he played 36 games, 26 of which as a starter.
”I’ve always run for the stars, but my strength has been recognizing my own qualities. I wasn’t Pirlo, I was Nocerino: I had to do my job well.”
After Juve, Palermo.
“The place where I had the most fun: I would have stayed there forever. Three amazing years, with barbecues, dinners, jokes, and phenomenal players: Miccoli, Pastore, Cavani, Ilicic. I didn’t care about the money. In 2010, Zamparini rebuilt everything, and I went to Milan for €500,000. Looking back, it makes me laugh.“
How was the impact?
”I saw Gattuso, Ambrosini, Van Bommel, and the others, and I thought, ‘Here we go, they’re putting me in the closet.’ But instead… boom: 11 goals between the league and cups.”
How many assists from Ibra?
“Three or four. His approach was devastating: he gave me a nudge in a practice match and I flew. But I went looking for the goals. Zlatan was marked by two players, and behind him there was a gaping hole. I slipped in there.”
What was your best moment in Rossonero? “The goal against Barcelona at Camp Nou with my father in the stands. It encapsulates where I started and where I ended up, the suffering and the difficulties. The food on the table that was sometimes missing. From Piazza del Plebiscito to that stadium…” And the worst? “The goal taken away from Muntari. Impossible not to see it. We would have won the Scudetto again.“
A word for Berlusconi?
”Aura. He knew my children’s names and even where they went to school…“
And for Allegri?
”Courage. He had it with me.”
In 2016, he left Italy for Kaká’s Orlando, who convinced him to leave. Why?
“I felt inadequate, I no longer recognized myself in what I saw: selfies, social media, whatever… What’s more, my wife and I had just lost our parents within a month of each other. I had played for West Ham, so I said to myself, ‘Why not give it another go?’. We’ve been living in Florida since 2020.“
How much do you enjoy coaching now?
”I enjoy coaching more than playing, believe it or not. I coached the kids in Orlando, then the Primavera team in Potenza and Miami. Las Vegas, in the second division, wasn’t the project I thought it would be, so I left. Now I’m not coaching, but I watch all the games and continue to study. I still dream of returning to Italy, but I’m happy here. So is my family. We live near Disneyland Castle.”
Do you have any regrets?
“Yes, three: sitting on the bench a lot at Euro 2012, not playing for Napoli, and losing the Coppa Italia final to Palermo in 2010. Winning there has a different flavor. In fact, you know what? As soon as you can, get on a plane and go to Sicily. It will change your life.”
