The former Milan and Inter player: ‘I played my best games staying up late the night before.’ Anecdote about Capello: ‘He told me, ‘If you become a professional, I’ll cut my…’
An interview far from ordinary for Francesco Coco, former Italian left back, gave to So Foot. A career spent between Milan, Inter, Torino, and Barcelona, accompanied by 17 appearances with the senior national team. Today, at 46, he candidly confesses, sharing some remarkable anecdotes: “Most of my best games were played without sleeping the night before because I was out with friends, partying, and drinking, I was basically drunk before most of the games.”
The former Rossonero then continued, discussing his experience with Fabio Capello as a coach: “We loved and hated each other. One day he took me aside and looked me straight in the eyes: ‘If you become a professional, I’ll cut my ba**s.’ Then a year later, he put me in the first team and made me a professional footballer. He did it to motivate me.”
DRUNK BEFORE THE BARCA GAME
Coco then revisits his years at Milan: “I had total confidence in my footballing and physical abilities in everyday life. This led me to believe that I had the right not to always be professional. Two days before the match against Barcelona, where I also scored a goal, I remember going out until 7 am, came home, grabbed my bag, brushed my teeth, and left for Spain. I was still drunk. Yet, I can guarantee that I played one of the best games of my career.”
THAT TIME THAT BERLUSCONI SHAVED HIM
The last anecdote is linked to Silvio Berlusconi the former Milan president: “I always had long hair, and they always ‘bullied’ me for this reason. Then one day, Berlusconi himself came to cut my bangs. Today, players arrive at training with a bag in their head; before, it was an unacceptable thing. If you did it, they labeled you as a rebel.”
