Dino Fava Passaro told Fanpage.it his story in football. From Serie A with Spalletti’s Udinese to the failed negotiations with De Laurentiis’ first Napoli: “I found myself negotiating with him and with Christian De Sica”.
Dino Fava Passaro has just won yet another amateur championship after the successes of previous years among the ranks of Portici, Giugliano, Afragolese and Savoia. TO 47 years old the former strikerUdinese he triumphed with the Sessanaa team from Sessa Aurunca, which achieved Excellence after dominating the tournament Promotion. A special success because he arrived with the team from his hometown. Fava also spoke about this in an interview with Fanpage.it in which he retraced the most important stages of his career between past, present and future.
“I don’t know if I will continue to play next year, now I would just like to rest and unplug after the Italian Cup final.” The attacker made his Serie A debut with Udinese thanks to Luciano Spalletticurrent Italy coach: “I have only good memories with him, we remained on excellent terms.” In the middle that particular negotiation experienced when the first Naples Of De Laurentiis thought of him to rebuild the blue team from the ashes starting from Serie C: “In Castelvolturno I also found Christian De Sica at the table who was trying to convince me to accept”.
Dino Fava celebrates after scoring a goal for Udinese at Inter
Dino, at 47 you have won yet another championship. What does this success taste like?
“A great satisfaction because it happened in my town, in Sessa Aurunca. Before this success I had already won 4 consecutive championships in the amateurs between Portici, Giugliano, Afragolese and Savoia. It is certainly very nice to win the championship even if it is difficult to do it every time because then many factors have to come together.
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You built your career step by step with sacrifice and dedication.
“I started from nothing and arrived in Serie A. From D to C2, up to C1, then Serie B and subsequently Serie A and with the sound of goals I conquered this career with strength. They are the most beautiful things, when you get there without anyone to give you any push.”
How many goals have you scored in your career, are you counting?
“Unfortunately not, but I think I’ve done quite a few (laughs, ed.). Especially with the amateurs I’ve lost count.”
We remember you in Serie A especially with the Udinese shirt. It was Spalletti who made your debut.
“I honestly didn’t expect him to make me debut in Serie A. I arrived in Udine on the last day of the transfer market when the championship had already started. Spalletti first brought me on the bench against Inter, bringing me into a match in which I also won the penalty which then Pizarro made a mistake. Subsequently I made my debut as a starter in Ancona in which I scored a double.”
Fava in action with Salernitana.
What memories do you have of Spalletti?
“The coach is really very good, I got on well with him straight away. I remember that when I arrived in Udine, Spalletti told me all kinds of things. He wanted me to always do the movements he asked of me better, he demanded a lot, he got very angry with me and with others.”
Did it have a big influence on your growth?
“What I did in my career was all the result of instinct, I never had a guide. However, with Spalletti I improved a lot, he made me understand many things that I didn’t yet know at that moment. He made me understand that the as a striker he was evolving and also had to come back, he often called me back in the defensive phase, it was tough for me and at a certain point I was also convinced that perhaps I wasn’t suited to play in Serie A given the many reminders from the coach.”
Fava’s celebration after a goal against Brescia.
Then what happened?
“After the hat-trick scored against Perugia I was hoping that during the week he would be a little calmer with me and instead it was the same thing. I remember then that one day at training I was destroyed, lying on the ground, and he asked me: ‘What’s your problem? ‘And I replied: ‘Nothing, I’m sorry that she always scolds me.’ Which in the end turned out to be very true.”
Today you still bring all these teachings to the field among amateurs.
“Yes, now I bring these words back to the younger guys because they are a real pain in the ass when we train. I still have the mentality of a professional and I want everyone to train as hard as they can and do things right. I don’t want to adapt to the category.”
The farewell to Udinese was unexpected. You were closed by the various Iaquinta, Di Michele and Di Natale. Were you disappointed?
“Yes, I was disappointed, it was a company choice and linked to my contract. Then they told me that they wanted to focus on Iaquinta, even though I thought that after having had a year like that I should stay. But that’s fine.”
Dino Fava marked by Sinisa Mihajlovic in a Udinese-Lazio match.
Is it true that you rejected Napoli?
“It’s a true story. Napoli was in C1, I was playing and doing very well with Udinese and in the meantime Pierpaolo Marino became Napoli’s sporting director. They offered me an excellent contract to return to playing in C1 but I didn’t feel like it. going down from Serie A to C1, even if it was Napoli. I didn’t want to return to Serie C after the many sacrifices I had made and therefore I refused only for the Serie B. It would have been different.”
How did the meeting with Napoli happen?
“De Laurentiis had just arrived and I knew about the project they wanted to do. When we met I remember that there was nothing in Castelvolturno, I went to the hotel and found myself at a table with Pierpaolo Marino, De Laurentiis and Christian De Sica, who perhaps was there for some film he was supposed to make, I remember that De Sica was also part of the negotiation and he was almost convincing me to go to Napoli.
Why did you decide to continue with amateur football, what motivated you?
“When I started to climb over the years I got closer to home, first playing Serie B in Salerno and then C1 with Paganese. Subsequently I started playing amateur football. What drives me is this passion that never abandons me, I do it almost automatically. For me today, training and being with the boys has become something that’s inside me and I’m also lucky enough to be playing at a time where football is at a very low level compared to the years in which I played in Serie A. Certainly 20 years ago at my age I still couldn’t play in this category. Now I still enjoy it.”
You also played with your son, how exciting was it?
“I have realized yet another dream of my life. And to think that he began to get passionate about football when we moved to the south. We managed to play together and the only regret is not being able to get him to provide me with an assist which He’s a full-back.”
The championship won at Sessana?
“I scored 6 goals while playing little this year, also due to some injuries. It’s an experience that has left me with a lot, when you win in your country it’s always very nice but at the same time also very difficult. It must be said that President Schiavone wants to do well since he took over the Sessana and would like to confirm himself in Excellence next year too”.
Will Fava be there?
“I don’t know if I’ll be there as a player, but he would like to bring me into this project. Finish on a high note by bringing Sessana back to D? I don’t know, now I’d just like to rest and unplug after the Italian Cup final against Battipagliese.”
