The former Lazio center back is now part of Inzaghi’s coaching staff at Al-Hilal: “We live in compounds and adapt to their culture, praying five times a day and training in the afternoon. At Formello, they called me a spy at first because I had been at Roma. It’s just a shame I didn’t play for the national team.”
Sebastiano Siviglia’s story teaches us that if your old life reaches out to you, you take it, even if it means taking a walk in the desert and changing direction. “‘Seba, what are you doing? Are you following me?’ Simone asked me in early June. And I followed him.” The former Lazio center back became his friend Inzaghi’s technical assistant at Al-Hilal, starting over in Riyadh after a three-year hiatus.
What is life like in Saudi Arabia?
“We live in compounds where we have everything we need. Riyadh is an open construction site where building is constantly underway. You have to adapt to their culture. Here, we train in the afternoon and not in the morning, and there are five prayers a day.“ Why did you take a three-year break? ”After Potenza, I had a few offers, but nothing concrete. When Simone called me, I didn’t think twice.” How much has Inzaghi changed since his playing days?
“A lot. At Lazio, it was a constant stream of jokes and laughter. He and Tare teased each other. Once, Igli drank two liters of tea in five minutes because of a bet he lost.”
Where does the story of Seville begin?
“In Palizzi, a small village in the province of Reggio Calabria. My father was a laborer, my mother a housewife. They told me that soccer wouldn’t put food on the table. I studied to be an accountant, and if I hadn’t played, I would have worked in real estate. But this ‘disinterest’ left me free. I started in the Interregional league, then Parma signed me, but between the ages of 18 and 19, after doing my military service, I thought about giving it all up.”
Why?
“I was registered with Audax Ravagliese. Parma had signed me on loan. But the president died and I was left without an agent. A year and a half of inactivity. I thought, ‘What’s the point of playing?’. One day, I called Salvatore Matrecano and offered my services to Nocerina, in Serie C2. They took me on. That’s how my rebirth began. One of many. Two promotions in two seasons, the last one in Serie B with Delneri.“
In the end, he made the leap to Serie A with Verona in the summer of 1996.
”And I didn’t even want to go. ‘Now you pack your bags and go to Bentegodi. Right now,’ Delneri told me. In that strange dialect that only he understood. He was decisive.”
First Atalanta, then Roma. Why didn’t you go there?
“West Ham and Betis wanted me, but the Giallorossi had won the Scudetto. I had made my Serie A debut against Batistuta’s Fiorentina, who ended up at Roma. For me, it was like coming full circle, but I didn’t play much. In hindsight, it was the wrong choice. I chose to leave.“
Parma and Atalanta before the second rebirth, however: Lecce.
”That’s where I met my partner and my daughters were born. I needed the warmth of the south. I remember Corvino, a gruff but kind man who you had to run away from when he got angry, and a second half of the season with more than 30 points.“
Finally, Lazio. How did the deal come about?
”Tour in Valencia with Parma. Late at night, around 2 a.m. The phone rings. ‘Hey, is this Seville? Will you come and play with us?’. I asked who it was. ‘This is President Lotito’. I was one of his nine signings in one day.”
Were they skeptical at first?
“Yes, also because of my past at Roma. Some people called me a spy. But time has erased everything. Lazio was the masterpiece of my career. The partner with whom I would grow old.“
Your fondest memory?
”The backheel goal against Fiorentina in 2010, which I call ‘the backheel of God’. It was my last goal in Serie A in my final year as a player. I erased the boos from the year before, when I celebrated a goal against Torino by putting my hands to my ears.“ Why did you do that? ”We were doing badly, the fans were angry. I wanted to tell the curva to stick with us, but the stadium booed me. I was on the ground, disappointed. That backheel against Fiorentina put things right. But if it had been up to me, I would have played another year at Lazio.“
Random anecdotes. One about Lotito?
”The night before the 2009 Coppa Italia final, he called me again. ‘Sebastiano, we have to win.’ ‘Tomorrow, we’ll be the ones lifting the trophy.’ It was the first of his tenure, followed by the Super Cup the following year in Beijing. I thank Matuzalem because he made me win a title by scoring… with his nose. A phenomenon. A gangster of technique and grit. A bit like Pirlo and a bit like Gattuso, with the necessary proportions.”
He also wore Nesta’s number 13.
“A source of pride, but Sandro is Sandro. I was one of the symbols of a working-class Lazio team that made people dream a little at that time. In 2007, we played Real Madrid in the Champions League. Me, Mutarelli, Ballotta, Mudingayi. On the other side were Raul, Sneijder, Van Nistelrooy. But it ended 2-2.”
Another name: Paolo Di Canio.
“Before the 3-1 derby win on January 6, which I didn’t play in, he took the team home to watch Braveheart to get everyone pumped up for the game.”
Speaking of derbies, you called Totti a “cuckold.”
“Because he called me a ‘faggot.’ It was just banter, though: it ended there.” .
Do you have any regrets?
“I would have liked to play a game for the national team. In 2005, with Lippi, I came close: I ended up on a list of 36 names ahead of a tour of the United States. I didn’t go, but I got what I deserved. And then I had Lazio. And Lazio was my life.”
