Musa tells Parisi: “He played for free and was not afraid of anything”.

Shy shy behind parents, curious eyes but no breath. Just a whispered “thank you” because Fabiano Parisi was taught the value of gratitude. The journey in football began at one in the morning in an ordinary hotel near Avellino, together with his family, and today continues between Empoli and the national team, called up by Mancini in place of Toloi and Emerson Palmieri for the matches against Albania and Austria.

In 2018 he was playing in Serie D. “’So, what are you doing? Are you coming to us?’ I said to him. And he signed”. The speaker is Carlo Musa, 32, former sports director of Avellino between 2018 and 2020. One of the first to believe in the qualities of that seventeen year old rejected by Benevento: “I knew him from the days of Vigor Perconti, when they told me he was hunting for a team, I called him right away”.

Do you remember your first meeting with him?

“We were on retreat and he showed up with his parents, Anna and Carmine, the latter who passed away a couple of years ago. He had just tried with Ercolano in Serie D, but nothing to do, so he chose Avellino. The beauty is that for the first few months he did not receive any reimbursement, he signed in blank ”.

He played 41 games that year, the best?

“The debut with Ladispoli. Fabiano was bold, sure of himself. He found himself facing an outsider bigger than him and made him disfigure. The veteran looked like him, not the other. It’s usually rare to find guys who don’t let their feet be put on their feet, but he played with his head held high. He didn’t care if the opponent had played in Serie C or he was an important name in the category: he just had to run more than the others with the ball at his feet ”.

The beauty is that he used to play half forward.

“At Vigor he won an Allievi Elite championship as a midfielder. In front was Ben Kone, today play-maker for Frosinone leaders in Serie B. That day he scored three goals and Fabiano was one of the best. In Avellino it was an Under, and usually the young players are always deployed on the wings. And in fact Fabiano also played as a winger”.

One of the first to notice this was Eziolino Capuano.

“He turned it into a full-back full-back. With Giovanni Bucaro instead, the coach with whom we won the Serie D championship and the pole scudetto in 2019, he worked a lot on the defensive phase”.

And what advice did she give him?

“To stay humble. We often had individual talks, where I advised him not to get too excited and to stay Fabiano, the boy who showed up on retreat with his parents without expecting anything”.

“Football is full of 16-year-olds ready to ask for money after the first goal. Not him. As mentioned, Parisi signed blank and played for free for several months, then I convinced the president to give him a refund. On the day of his signing, his father never spoke of money, but he told his son to try and see how it would go ”.

Great: promotion to C as owner.

“He also won an attendance award. He had played the most.”

And today he was called by Mancini.

“I never had any doubts. A trip to Lanusei comes to mind, an important match. The president promised a prize in case of victory. Fabiano didn’t believe it, he was enthusiastic, he kept going to the team manager to ask if he was true or not. He was happy, he is starting to earn something with his dream of him and he was not going to give up ”.

And in fact he didn’t. Do you still hear it?

“Of course. I congratulated him for the national team. I’m a reserved type, I don’t like being intrusive or asking for t-shirts, but once he took me by surprise. We were training near Empoli and he came to see me. He is like that, a good boy who grew up in an excellent family”.

Another memory you’re fond of?

“The goal against Vibonese in Serie C. He jumped three players and then kicked on goal, but also the lob against Picerno. Beyond the technique, however, he has always won duels on second balls. The goal scored against Cremonese reflects that a lot. If there is a high ball, in the end he gets it.”

In short, it is for the national team.

“It was just a matter of time. And trustworthy.”