Angelo Catania (Vigor Lamezia): ‘With a bit more luck we could have aimed for first place’

Lamezia Terme – With his eleven goals, he is the main scorer of Vigor Lamezia, as well as one of the most prolific footballers of the entire Calabrian Excellence tournament. Personal haul of goals that could have been even more congruous if in this second round he hadn’t been bored by a few too many physical ailments. Angelo Catania is chasing his sixth career promotion, which, for this season, can now only be achieved through the regional and national Eccellenza play-offs. Born in the deep north, as the inflection of his voice betrays, but with both parents natives of Isola Capo Rizzuto, the almost thirty-one year old center forward has made the fortunes of many teams in the south, and Calabria in particular. His hiring last summer was greeted more than positively by the Vigo area, also because in the previous four seasons he has always been a harbinger of as many category jumps. After the promotion, at the beginning of his career, from D to C2 with Mantova, he returned to celebrate in the 2017-18 season, when, at the end of the national play-offs, he achieved a place in D with the Castrovillari shirt. Followed by the victories, this time direct, of the Calabrian Excellence with San Luca, Locri and, last season, Gioiese. With the last three teams mentioned, he also raised the regional Italian Cup to the sky.

However, he kicked the ball for the first time in the Po Valley. “I started playing in Mantua – he recalls – going through the entire youth system up to the Primavera. I was then purchased by Brescia, with whose shirt I played another year of Primavera. Then Serie D again in Mantua, Villafranca Veronese, between Serie D and Eccellenza, and a half season in Isola Capo Rizzuto in the top regional tournament. I then decided to gain two years’ experience in the Maltese B series. Back in Italy, I always played in Eccellenza with Cutro, Alcamo, Castrovillari, Locri, San Luca, Gioiese and, since last summer, Vigor”. To go back to what, according to Catania himself, has so far been the most beautiful and, at the same time, important goal of his career, we must take a significant leap back in time. “When I was still playing in the Mantova youth team. We were playing against Atalanta which, especially then, had a youth sector made up of very strong and almost unbeatable teams. I scored the decisive 3-2, in the 95th minute, with a nice technical gesture: after overcoming an opposing defender with a sombrero, I fired a great left-foot volley from the edge of the area. But it was also a heavy goal, as it allowed Mantova to beat Atalanta for the first time in a youth sector match. So a goal served to write a small page in Mantua’s football history.”

In the first round he was the most decisive player among all the sixteen teams of this Eccellenza Calabria 2023-24 tournament. Alone, six of his nine goals, including the first five scored, brought nine points to Vigor. In fact, he scored the 2-1 goal against Isola, both goals in the 2-1 comeback against Palmese, the 2-2 against Soriano, the winning goal (2-1) against ReggioRavagnese and the one that decided the match home against Cittanova. Only two goals, none of them decisive, in this second half of the tournament. Last Sunday, in the home match against Brancaleone, he returned to inflate the opponent’s goal almost three months after the last time (home match against Soriano). However, it must be considered that he has missed three of the last ten matches due to physical problems. In five of the remaining seven he also played less than once. “I would say that so far it has been a fairly positive season on a personal level. I had a very important first half of the season, with nine goals in eleven games played as a starter. In this second leg so far I have taken the field four times from the first minute, scoring two goals. I had some physical problems and therefore it was a more complicated second half of the championship for me.”

Fresh from “trebles” with Gioiese, last summer Angelo was one of the prized pieces on the transfer market. Many clubs tried to sign him, but he kept his first word. “I had the first contacts with Vigor already in May and I promised that I would wait for their offer without making an agreement with any other company in the meantime. Once we received the proposal from the green and white club, we quickly reached an agreement and therefore I immediately signed, also because you can’t say no to such an important and renowned club as Vigor Lamezia.” The championship played so far by the team has been more than positive for Catania. “Excellent season. We found a strong team like Sambiase on our way, even if, perhaps, with a bit more luck we could have written a different epilogue regarding the first place finish.” Last Sunday the former Mantova player returned to starting football after four games in a row in which he had always taken over late in the second half. “On a physical level, I’m now well again and I’m ready for these play-offs.” Play-offs of Excellence which evoke sweet memories in the footballer born in Verona on 8 October 1993. “With Castrovillari we beat Acri 2-1 in the regional final. Therefore, in the subsequent national phase, we first eliminated the Sicilian Dattilo Noir thanks to a 1-1 away draw and a 3-1 at home. Then, in the final against Agropoli, we drew 1-1 in Campania and won 1-0 in the return leg.”

This time, however, we will have to challenge one of Soriano and Cittanova in the regional final, so we would face a team from Puglia (which could also be that Molfetta or that Bisceglie who we faced for a long time in C2 in the first half of the nineties). Finally, the possible national final would be against the winner of the Basilicata – Campania B match. “The regional final – says the center forward who boasts over one hundred and twenty goals in his career – is a one-off match. The game is played on ninety, or possibly 120′, in which we will have two results out of three, but obviously we will have to go onto the field determined to win it in regulation time. The possible subsequent national phase will be very difficult also because it will be played in a period in which it is usually very hot. To succeed you must be very mentally concentrated and know how to dose and manage your strength well. The Apulian teams, then, are traditionally very strong. I know something about it having faced one, Barletta, two years ago, when I was in Locri, in the national phase of the Italian Cup. They are very hot squares, fields on which it is difficult to play. But we have a very strong and experienced team, and therefore in this case we will compete on equal terms with everyone.”

Few doubts, given the role he plays and his favorite team, about Angelo Catania’s footballing idol. “I am a die-hard AC Milan fan and, consequently, the player who inspired me as a child has always been Van Basten. Footballer of unique elegance and superb technique. Fantastic, then, to watch play. My hobbies? Once the season is over, I love traveling and going to relax on some isolated beach. Or spending time with friends, not forgetting a game of tennis every now and then.”

Ferdinando Gaetano