This season, Davide Frattesi has cemented himself as one of the best box-to-box midfielders in Serie A.
The 22-year-old developed in Roma’s youth ranks before making the switch to Sassuolo. However, he had been repeatedly sent on loan to Serie B sides in the past few years.
But following Manuel Locatelli’s transfer to Juventus, the Neroverdi finally gave the young Italian a chance, and he’s been proving his prowess since the start of the campaign.
The former Empoli and Monza man has thus far scored four goals this season, but his most memorable one remains the one against the Bianconeri during the Neroverdi’s 2-1 victory at the Allianz Stadium.
Ahead of the reverse clash on Monday, Frattesi fondly recalls his strike, while explaining why it meant so much for him to find the back of the net against the Old Lady.
“The first thing that comes to my mind when thinking about Juventus is my goal, the victory at the Allianz Stadium and the thought of my grandfather Carmine, who was a die-hard Bianconeri fan. That goal was my greatest emotion on the pitch,” said the Sassuolo man in an interview with Tuttosport via Calciomercato.
Frattesi also remembers his first meeting with his idol Claudio Marchisio, back when he was still a youth player at Roma.
“One of the first times when I was called up for the first team in Roma, we went there to warm up, and the Juventus players did the same. Marchisio was among them.
“For years my grandmother Stefania had been making collages for me with photos of myself and her, telling me: ‘You look like him’. I replied that she said it because she saw me with the eyes of love.
“I went to ask him for the shirt. It was a great emotion, I had only played in the Primavera, but he immediately told me that at the end of the game he would give it to me.
“At the final whistle, despite having lost, he immediately came to me. I didn’t know what to do. I thought that he wouldn’t want my jersey, Instead he asked for it.
“We stayed in touch ever since. People of that human depth in are rarely found in football. We all know the player. I see myself a little in him, there is something similar.
“I also discovered that we both spent a year in Empoli, but surely I have to keep working and a lot. He made a very important career, He was one of the strongest Italian midfielders. I have to work to try to be able to emulate him one day,” he concluded.
