From the first steps in D with Pordenone to the conquest, thirteen seasons later, of the highest category in Cremona. «When I talk to Braida the theme of Friulanity emerges and he tells me: ‘We have hard bones’. He cares about his origins “
The debut in Serie D at 17 with Pordenone. Then the apprenticeship: the Primavera in Novara, the years in C1, the season at Real Vicenza in C2 (2013-2014). And then again: the only C, the B, the play-offs played and lost. Now the Serie A, obtained at 30 years. Without help.
Luca Strizzolo is another Friulian who reached the top thanks to hard work. The Bicinicco striker has earned his place in heaven with Cremonese, the club that signed him in January 2019.
“I made a dream come true,” he says. Not only that: he has just renewed (two years) with the grigiorossi. “The last step is missing, the debut: I count on making it.” It would be the closing of a circle.
Strizzolo, the last 90 ‘of B: to center the jump, you had to win with Como and Monza losing with Perugia.
«We said to ourselves: let’s do ours, then let’s see. Alternatively we face the play-offs. It went well. It is true, after the knockouts with Crotone and with Ascoli in the third last and second last, it was difficult to hope for a direct jump. But we have always believed in it. Serie A represented the culmination of a path ».
The turning point a year and a half ago, with the arrival of Mr. Fabio Pecchia and the director Ariedo Braida?
«The latter, with the sporting director Simone Giacchetta, worked very well. When he meets me the theme of Friulanity emerges. “We have hard bones,” he says. He cares about his origins. The coach? He has given us so much. You can see that he has accumulated skills, that he has studied. Then, given the work done in Juventus Under 23, he knew many young players ».
Alla Cremonese has launched many: Zanimacchia, Fagioli, Okoli, Carnesecchi …
«The last two are more than ready for Serie A. Zanimacchia works hard, is committed and is technically good. He has great room for improvement. Fagioli, compared to him, is further along the path ».
Pecchia also had an impact on her: he changed her role, with excellent results.
«As a center forward he transformed me into a 4-2-3-1 winger. Together with his staff he thought that, in that position, I could free my stroke and attack the depth well. I made myself available, I set no limits. And at 30, I learned something new. It was nice”.
The coach will not stay in Cremona. Instead, you are ready to restart with the grigiorossi in Serie A.
«A dream, but still one step away, the debut. It will depend on the choices the club makes. I’ll talk to the managers. I signed the renewal for another two years, I’d like to continue, breathe the air of high-level football ».
How long has it been since mister Giovanni Bosi made her debut as an outsider in D in Pordenone …
“After the promotion he wrote to me. He congratulated. At the time he believed in me. I also found it in Treviso in C. I worked a lot to get up here. I wanted to do something big. I did it. I represent a small piece in the history of Cremonese ».
Pordenone was a milestone in his career: after D, the year in C in the 2015-’16 season and the one in B in 2019-’20.
«If Davide Gavazzi and I, after the lockdown, hadn’t had any physical problems, we could have gone to Serie A. We were a fantastic group. And some of us, like Ciurria, were in great shape. Sin. I believed in the double jump. I hope the green lizards pick themselves up. But it is in such difficult moments that victories are born ».
A dedication for the promotion?
«To my family, to my brother, to my girlfriend Silvia. I am very attached to them. And they supported me all along the way ».
Unlimited access to all site content
1 € / month for 3 months, then 2.99 € per month for 3 months
Unlock unlimited access to all content on the site