From his debut, victories, time at Lazio, and the toughest defeats... Alessandro Nesta held nothing back while talking about his entire career in an interview with Camel Live—from successfully joining Lazio through a trial (and rejecting Roma’s offer) to becoming a coach after retirement.
Anecdote About Roma
“My father turned down Roma, and we were proud of that. My family are die-hard Lazio fans. When I was seven or eight, I played seven-a-side football, and the team I was with was affiliated with Roma back then. But my dad found out Lazio was holding trials. He said I couldn’t go to Roma—I had to try out for Lazio.”
Transfer to AC Milan
“A few months before transferring to Milan, I had a chance to go to Juventus, but I didn’t want to. Then the Juventus deal fell through, and I was supposed to join Inter Milan. But after the ‘May 5th Incident,’ Inter disappeared—maybe they made other choices. Then, on the last day of the transfer window, an opportunity from Milan came up. I didn’t want to go at first because I was sure Inter would win the league the next year. But in the end, I joined Milan, and we won the Champions League in my first season. I was lucky.”
The Call from Real Madrid
“The year before I went to Milan, after a friendly match, Real Madrid called me and told me I should play for them. I replied that I was playing for Lazio, and they thought I was crazy. The next year, though, I was forced to leave Lazio—because I hadn’t been paid for eight months.”
The Humiliating 1-5 Derby Defeat
“In that derby we lost 1-5, I messed up and was substituted at halftime. I was completely stunned and mentally drained. The day before, the club told me they wanted to sell me and that I had to leave. But I still felt disappointed in myself for not holding it together. Back then, I thought: to get over this defeat, I had to do something incredible. It wasn’t until later, when I scored a penalty in the Champions League final between Milan and Juventus, that I truly got over it.”
The Dream of Coaching Lazio
“Do I dream of coaching Lazio? Part of me does, part of me doesn’t. I think if I were to coach any team, this would be the only one that would make me lose sleep—because I’d feel too much responsibility. But if it ever happens one day, we’ll see...”
