Important Words From The Podcast: You’ve found that 2024 has been great for you. Now that you’re focused and making progress, doesn’t it seem like a new beginning?

“I believe that 2024 is going incredibly well for the team and for myself. Even when things weren’t going well, I still had faith in my talent, confidence, and the effort I put in. You understand that playing football may be mentally taxing and depressing, but I’ve always been fortunate to have my teammates and family at my side.

“I’m happy right now because I’m finally showcasing my abilities and supporting the team as well.”

We appear to have found out a way to win ugly sometimes, which is especially true in this league. You have to put in a lot of work, and the schedule—four games in ten days, recently—must have been difficult.

“I had no idea that was even feasible! In my professional career, that was the first time [it happened]. It’s difficult to consistently play sexy football when you have that many games.

Therefore, you must ensure that you can accept the points even if you are not performing at your best. You are the winner of ugly if you win ugly. This was the distinction between the previous games and the ones we had won. Since we are now on it and every circumstance is for us, even though in the past we might have always been close, things might have gone against us. Sheffield Wednesday: We play poorly in the first half and down 1-0, but we improve in the second half to win 2-0. Even if it wasn’t the best game, we defeated Stoke 1-0, so these are the kinds of victories that, in the end, seem to matter.

You’re Italian, you played in Switzerland, and I’d love to get to know you as a guy. How did you get into football? “I used to live near a 5-a-side field, so I could watch people playing from my window, and I was constantly tempted to join in. It took around an hour to go to Verbania from Milan. I went outside my house and started playing with my dad, my cousins, and my buddies.

“I consider myself fortunate to have parents who have made great sacrifices for me. I think the finest gift I can give Leeds and football is that I’m in a situation where they are my life. We all now live together after they relocated with me.

“Just before COVID, I was with Inter Milan from the age of eight to sixteen. My family and I came to the decision that if I really wanted to play professional football, I might as well try my hand at a lesser level. This turned out to be the best decision for me because it allowed me to play professionally right immediately with Zurich. Without my trip to Zurich, I would not be here.