The footballer is in Qatar today: “That evening, Neymar brought Leo, we only talked to him about Paris: the next day, he decided to come. Why did I leave? Winning had become repetitive.”
Marco Verratti is the stuff of fairy tales. He is now at Al-Duhail in Doha, Qatar, “a happy life choice that has allowed me to rediscover things and motivations that I had lost.” To complete the fairy tale, one transformation is missing: to become, one day, a prince in blue and white. “Yes,” he admits, “my desire is to play even just one minute in Serie A with Pescara.” That’s something he’s never done with his favorite team, the club of which he is co-president with Daniele Sebastiani. With Marco, it’s a journey on a flying carpet. We start in Doha.
“Let’s say I needed a new challenge, new stimuli. I already knew Doha and always liked it: when the opportunity arose, well, that was my life choice. And I’m happy with it. How is the league? Competitive. Last year, I was in another team, Al Duhail finished second after being in the lead for a long time: the goal is to win the Doha Bank Stars League. Do you know the difference between here and Europe? Here, if a player is on the bench, he’s not grumpy or angry: here, everyone smiles anyway, the desire to be together and play goes beyond everything else. In Paris, winning had become a given: here, I’ve rediscovered something ‘childish’, the joy of winning, like when you were a kid. Happiness. In Paris, winning had become monotonous, repetitive.“
Let’s go back to the dream: even just one minute in Serie A with Pescara, something you’ve never done…
”It’s a dream, yes. We always have to give ourselves a goal: maybe I’ll achieve it now that I’m 50% co-president. That’s it, just for my Pescara I would have done what I really wanted to do: they gave me everything, I wanted to repay them with my heart.“
Zeman and promotion to Serie A.
”A fantastic person, no one gave us a chance that year. We were young, unknown, strong. There’s no better coach for a young player: he found me ‘the’ position, I’d played there a bit under Di Francesco but Zeman made it definitive.“
Two of his former Euro 2020 teammates are back: Immobile and Bernardeschi, in Bologna.
”Ciro will score a lot of goals, he’s a superb player, generous. He’ll score double digits. Bernardeschi is also a great guy.”
Do you remember when you chose PSG?
“It was difficult because I had achieved something incredible in my hometown and I had to give up my dream of playing for my favorite team in Serie A. One day, before leaving, I took Sebastiani aside and said, ‘I’m going, but if I’m unhappy after six months, I’ll come back.’ Getting to Serie A with Pescara and not playing was tough for the young Verratti.“
PSG, a sea of stars: any anecdotes?
”I remember a fantastic evening that became almost magical. We were in Ibiza, Neymar came up to me and told me that we would be having dinner with Leo Messi that night. So we ended up at the table with me, Leo, Paredes, Ney, and Di Maria. We talked and had a good time. And we tried, so to speak, to convince him to come to Paris. Late in the evening, we said goodbye, and the next day we read that there were problems between him and Barcelona. Then, in the early afternoon, Neymar called me: ‘Marco, Leo is coming to us.’ Incredible: from having him at dinner to having him as a teammate. It was a magical evening. Neymar? A golden boy, generous, humble, who gives the world to the people he loves. We still talk. Same with Mbappé: he’s hungry, competitive, and I’m convinced that sooner or later he’ll win the Ballon d’Or.“
A player who’s less of a ‘star’ but still super?
”Thiago Motta. They said he did trivial things, but he saw things before everyone else. And with simplicity.“
PSG wins without stars today.
”That’s not true, they have stars. They’ve created a great group, they think a lot about the collective, Luis Enrique has been very good. They will win for years and years to come. Ah, one thing: they wrote that I left PSG because Luis Enrique wanted me to. That’s not true: I can assure you that it dates back to long before my chat with Nasser (El Khelaifi, ed.), when I told him I was leaving because I wanted a new challenge. We’re still on great terms, he’s a great guy.”
How do you see the new Serie A from the outside?
“I’m very intrigued by Gasperini with Roma. Gasp has built something great with Atalanta. Allegri? I hope he does well with Milan, which is very popular here. As a coach, I have a soft spot for Sarri: he has his own style and certain principles remind me of Zeman. The idea of controlling the game and, above all, the merit of helping players grow is the most valuable thing a coach can give. Is Napoli still in the running for the Scudetto? Last year was truly a miracle: only someone like Conte could have achieved that. For me, however, Inter remain the favorites because of the players they have, and if they sign Lookman, they will still be the strongest.“
How many times have you ‘risked’ returning to Italy?
”I’ve had offers practically every year. The truth is that I didn’t want to go back. I’m a guy who always gets attached to the places I live.“
What will you do when you grow up?
”The president. I’ve seen a bit of everything in my career, and I think Sebastiani and I make a good team. Having experienced every level of the game, I know what a player needs. Sebastiani has been strong and incredible: he has endured even difficult moments. And he’s there: that’s why I wanted to go 50-50 with him at Pescara, as well as because it’s the team I love. How will I manage it? I want our players to focus solely on playing. Because everything else is taken care of. Then, if we go up to Serie A as we hope, maybe I’ll fulfill that dream…”
