On December 29, 2019, the Milan Sports Newspaper today interviewed Roma midfielder Zaniolo, after two cruciate ligament injuries, the star of hope is tenaciously recovering from training, he talked about his early career experience, his mood after two serious injuries, and said that his recovery training is progressing smoothly, and also issued a declaration of return.
Who is your football initiator?
It was my father who scored a key barb in carararese against Witte Besse and I saw people giving him a standing ovation. I felt a lot of excitement and pride at the time, and since then I've been exposed to football at school and I immediately felt happy, when I was seven years old and that's how my football career started.
I heard that you accidentally broke a TV set while playing football as a child, is this true?
Yes, I had an accident while playing football with my grandfather. The two of us were fighting each other, my grandfather ran a little slower, I wanted to do a slippery shovel, but I slipped too far and hit my head directly on the TV... I ended up sewing two or three stitches.
You played for Fiorentina in your youth, how was life there?
I went to Florence when I was 12 years old, I was still in high school, I used to live in Spezia, and then I had to train in a van every Monday to Friday. The principal of the school gave me a special permission to leave school at 12:50 instead of 13:10, and I ran to Florence in a pickup truck to train and then came home at 9:30 p.m., every week for two years, until I settled down at the boarding school in Florence at the age of 14.
So how did you feel about living alone since you were 14?
It was tough, I was very close to my family, so the first two or three months were terrible. When I live at home, it's fun to hang out with my friends and play football, but at boarding school, every night after you finish playing, you think, "Hey, I'm so far from home, I really miss Mom and Dad." "For the first three or four months I would be in tears every night, and I would call home and they told me, don't worry, you'll get used to it soon and won't call us when the time comes. I cried and said, "Okay." But I found out that they were right, and then they all called me at home, wanting to know how I was doing...
When in Florence, people say you are not suitable for their youth team...
It was my last year in the Florentine youth team, and I was training with them and I thought I could stay. As a result, on the last day of the transfer period, the manager of the team said to me: there is no room for you here, we have other candidates, you are not in Fiorentina's plan, you should go to find a new team. It was a turning point and I was worried about not being able to play and I felt like it would be a huge mistake to waste 12 months on staying with the Fiorentina youth team, so I chose Serie B Entrera in hopes of growing up. It may seem like a step back, but for me it's actually moving forward.
Then you go to Inter Milan, in fact, your situation is a bit strange, teams like Fiorentina and Inter Milan did not realize that they have a treasure in their hands, what is your explanation for this?
I think Inter have been looking for ready-to-play, mature players, and maybe I wasn't ready. But they still took a fancy to me, took me to the team and then traded me to Roma, for which I am very grateful to Inter. It's great to be in such a brilliant city and join a solid strong team, I will work hard for the city and the Roma fans, I am very happy in Rome.
You made your Serie A debut in Rome and made your first time in the national team, you must have been very excited, right?
For me, the debut was the first day in Rome, and it was amazing to walk into the Trigoria training base and see so many champions: Drossi, Kolarov, Dzeko and Pastore, and I was playing in the youth team a year ago.
As for the day of my first appearance, I didn't expect it at all, but it was playing in the Champions League at the Bernabeu. Coach Di Francisco stopped me at 11 a.m. and said: Are you ready to play? I replied: Yes, but it was only a knee-jerk answer, and I started shaking after I said it...
I ran into the room and didn't come out until 19:45 when the bus departed, I didn't sleep at all, I couldn't rest at all, because my body was tense, I didn't call my family, I was completely frightened. When you make your career debut against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, it means a huge responsibility, but I have to thank my teammates who immediately calmed me down and when I walked into the pitch, I just thought about the Bernabeu, just the game in front of me, nothing else, fortunately I played well.
What about the national team? You were named to the national team squad before you played in Serie A, and Unlike Fiorentina and Inter Milan, Mancini immediately saw your potential.
I was at my home in Spezia, with friends, because Rome was on holiday. I was in my room, Sky Sports on the TV, and I cut to channel 200 and I saw Mancini's national team roster, my name in it, and zaniolo's four words appeared on the TV. I thought, how is this possible, it must be a mistake, I should be in the U21 or U20 national youth team. Twenty minutes later, the manager of the national team called and said, "Niccolò, I've come to congratulate you, we'll be waiting for you at the Coviciano training base on Monday." I quickly called my parents with tears in my eyes...
Now that it's been a long time anyway, can you tell me what you did with Keane Jr. that made Di Biagio and Mancini so angry? (Zaniolo and Keane were once expelled from the U21 national youth)
I was late for a meeting with Di Biagio because we were late for several meetings, the coach was angry, I admitted that I had done something wrong, I had done something stupid. The coach wants to send a signal to everyone in the team and he was right to kick us out because the rules have to be followed and no matter who you are, the team is number one. With Mancini is also because of things like being late, although it is not too serious, but the rules are the rules. Luckily we don't make that mistake anymore, we focused on training hard and we were more mature, and before that we were kids and didn't even realize we were playing for the national team, and now we know exactly what we're doing and want to be able to stay in the team forever.
Let's talk about those tough moments, what happened to the first injury? You were in the explosion phase at the time...
The first injury was completely unexpected, and I've seen other players with cruciate ligaments broken, but I never thought it would happen to myself. So it was a really big blow, I got up, my feet were on the ground, and then I immediately realized what was going on, it was a terrible pain, even now it would be a little chilly in retrospect. So at that moment, it was like the world collapsed, I knew that everything was going well, this year's performance was so good, the body was also very healthy, and the result was suddenly a huge setback, it was really a head-on blow... Then I started rehabilitation training, I still had a lot of work to do, I needed to adjust my mindset, so I played with my sleeves, trained hard, and got back on the court.
So after the injury, did you ever feel like you were broken?
The second injury was even more difficult, and it was as if the sky was about to collapse when it happened. I had just recovered from my first injury, felt like I was in good shape, scored two goals, coach Mancini took me to the national team and let me start against the Netherlands. Then I felt a similar pain, exactly the same as the first time I had a knee injury, and everything was shattered. I didn't want to hide it either, and after that week I fell asleep crying every night, unable to speak and rarely eating. The blow was too fatal and I also chose to change surgical hospitals, Dr. Mariani did a great job, his first surgery was perfect, I just couldn't go through the same scene anymore and I needed to change the location of the surgery.
Have these injuries made you grow anywhere?
These two serious injuries have really matured me a bit, both professionally and personally, the injuries have seriously hurt me from the inside out, but they have also really promoted me. I used to go to the gym as a necessary job, but now my career, my future, depends on my fitness recovery, and if I want to get back to the court an hour earlier, I have to put more effort off the court, and maybe I can eat junk food before, and now I have to control myself. So injuries do make me a better player, a better man, on some levels.
Do you feel like you've changed a lot from a year ago?
Before the injury, I was just a kid who could play football and didn't know anything. Now I have a deeper understanding of my body, diet and routine. Before I was just immersed in the joy of football, now I realize that it is a difficult and beautiful job and I can't wait to start over.
Did you feel lonely during your injury?
No, never has it been, thanks to my family. I have to thank them for being with me during my most difficult moments, and on the day I was injured, they drove to Rome and never left. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they couldn't see me when I had surgery, but my family was still waiting outside all day, and they wouldn't have left me alone, otherwise I really didn't know how to go through the second operation.
Hey, have you heard that the European Championship has been postponed for you? (Joke)
In fact, the impact of the first injury is not so great, because the epidemic league is interrupted, I can recuperate during the shutdown period, and actually miss only a few games. But the second injury was too bad, I knew the European Championship was postponed, and that was one of my main goals.
So when are you going to return?
This time I'm not in a hurry, I'm recovering well. Every day I go to Trigoria to train, and after the last check,I can now increase the load a little bit, and when I have the same strength in both my left and right legs, it's time for me to return. I still have my whole career waiting in front of me, so there is no need to force myself, not bad these games in front of me, the future is the most important.
So you're almost going to return to the court in the spring?
It's almost April, at most April, and then you can usher in the European Championship.
2020 will be tough for everyone, especially you.
In fact, I kept telling my dad that if we insisted on a few more days, it would be next year and we could turn a new page.
Will you go and get vaccinated?
If there is a chance, of course it will.
Can Roma win the league?
We started off well, the team was in good shape, and the squad was strong and there was nothing missing. But the game has to be played one after another, the league cycle is very long, you never know what's going to happen, but we will do our best to play every game.
What kind of coach is Fonseca?
He is determined, well prepared and has been doing great leading the team so far. And he's also a very sincere person who will tell you everything to your face, whether it's positive or negative, and I appreciate that. Fonseca and his coaching staff are of a very high standard, with detailed pre-match preparation for every game, and I think he is a very good coach.
There was also a Roma player who was badly injured but after returning from injury he won the world title, and that was Totti.
Francesco is a legend, and just looking at his achievements and contributions will give you goosebumps. On top of that, he was a great person, he was very caring to me after I was injured, gave me a lot of advice, taught me how to recover from my injury, stayed calm, and told me that although everyone was looking forward to my return, no one would urge me.
Which coach has helped your "criticism" the most in your career?
In fact, every coach's criticism is important, and if you're not so self-righteous, those criticisms can allow you to correct your own problems. In fact, I was reluctant to defend before, so I would like to thank Coach Fonseca for putting me on the bench at the beginning of last season, but also helping me to become a more well-rounded player.
You scored a really good goal against Sassuolo and in fact your first Serie A goal
I still remember the scene: I accelerated on the right, then got rid of it in disguise, made a fake shot, the defender and the goalkeeper both fell to the ground, I chose a spoon to pick out the shot, which was the only shot space, and the goal was born.
If you had to choose a jersey, any of the games you've played, which one would you choose?
Roma vs Porto, I scored twice in the Champions League for the first time. It was indescribable emotion, scoring in a crowded stadium, everyone was shouting your name, I couldn't sleep for the next two or three days, I was so excited that I didn't realize what I had done.
Will Rome be the end of your career? Or is it a staged stop? Have you considered playing for other teams in the future?
I felt very good in Rome, it was a great club. I'm happy, the Roma fans love me and I love them and the club has been very supportive of me, so I don't have the idea of changing the environment, there's no reason to do that.
You were 6 years old when Italy won the 2006 World Cup, do you remember that?
On the final day of France and Italy, I happened to be in Disneyland in Paris, so I didn't dare to get too excited. We were all watching the game at McDonald's in the park, and I wanted to play the carousel, but the game wasn't over yet, and when Grosso scored the last penalty, our whole family jumped up in excitement, and the people around us looked at us very badly, but there was no excess.
What does football mean to you?
Life, I was born for football. The passion that football brings is unmatched by other things, and of course, family and friends are also important. I miss football a lot, I'm going to give everything I want to get back on the pitch and I'm going to do my best to get back to 100% of myself.
(Editor: Yao Fan)